Sea Rim State Park, Sabine Pass and Texas Point

Following our morning at Village Creek SP, we grabbed lunch in Lumberton, then headed south towards Beaumont towards our next destination, Sea Rim State Park  on the coast just west of Sabine Pass. 

Much of the adventure of Sea Rim State Park is just getting there.  It is about ten miles west of the town of Sabine Pass on Texas Highway 87, which goes along the Texas Gulf coastline.  However, a 20 mile stretch of  Highway 87 between High Island and about 2 miles west of Sea Rim SP was washed out in 1989 by Hurricane Jerry and has never been replaced.  Therefore the only access to Sea Rim SP is south through Port Arthur, then west on 87 from Sabine Pass.  

Sea Rim SP is missing on many of the maps I reviewed, because it was closed in 2005 and only partially reopened last year.  More on that below.   On the map above, Sea Rim SP would be just to the east of McFaddin National Wildlife Refuse and includes the smaller of the two circular lakes (Fence Lake). It includes five miles of beach on the gulf side of Highway 87 and a large amount of marsh land primarily accessible only by boat on the north side of 87.  That is easier to see in the blown up satellite picture below. 

  
Port Arthur Oil Refineries

I had hoped to see some of the oil refineries as we passed through Port Arthur.  I was not disappointed.  Texas Highway 87 goes beside and through the Valero Port Arthur Refinery and either next to or through the Motiva Refinery (not sure which refinery was which).  Motiva is the largest refinery in the U. S. with a capacity of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).  The Valero Refinery, at 300,000 bpd, was the largest refinery in the U. S. until expansion of the Motiva plant was completed within the past year.  These refineries have a broad range of capabilities, including the ability to handle heavy sour crude.  The refineries were close to the road and on both sides, with lots and lots of pipe racks going over the road...almost like going through a tunnel.  We could also easily see the large ships that were at dock, apparently unloading crude.  It was exciting to see all of this at close range.  I thought about stopping to take pictures, but decided better of it because I didn't want to look like a terrorist checking out the place.  However, in retrospect, we probably could at least have stopped at the historical plaques here or here.

We went up over the Intercoastal Waterway on a high bridge, then were paralleling the Sabine River.  We made it to the town of Sabine Pass, then headed west.  With the exception of a few homes, the only thing in that direction is either the state park or the wildlife refuge.   The marshland in this area is extremely flat and there are few trees, all of which makes the area seem more desolate.  Without any barrier islands for protection, it is easy to see how hurricanes have ravaged this portion of the coast.

Sea Rim State Park

We did not know what to expect at Sea Rim State Park.  It had been destroyed by Hurricane Rita in 2005.  It was within weeks of reopening when it was again destroyed, this time by Hurricane Ike in 2008. The park only partially reopened last summer.  Their website indicated they currently have only limited use and cautioned visitors to plan on being "self sufficient".  However, we knew that the rangers had placed two geocaches.  Despite the ongoing reconstruction and limited facilities, they were obviously trying to attract visitors to the park.

We found the entrance to the park.  There were still no buildings except for what looked to be the ranger's residence on the north side of 87.  There were still some remnants of former docks or something protruding from the water.  However, there were multiple construction workers who appeared to be working on the boardwalk to the beach on the west side of the park. 

We proceeded east to the day use parking and followed the arrow on the gps which quickly put us on the Gambusia Nature Trail, a 0.75 mile loop trail on a boardwalk through the marsh.  This was very well done with multiple interpretive signs. 

Gambusia Nature Trail

We saw lots of birds, learned about many different types of marsh grasses, and even found a geocache. 

Caching on the Gambusia Nature Trail

By the way, Gambusia are small fish commonly known as "mosquito fish" because they eat mosquito larvae.  We did not have much trouble with insects because of the very strong winds, but definitely think there would be plenty of mosquito larvae in these waters to support lots of Gambusia.

After returning to GeoJeep, we headed towards the beach to see what we could see.  There is vehicle access to the beach at the east end of the park, but the road is gone due to hurricane damage.  Only remnants of the ashphalt remain.  Since we did not know how soft the sand might be and since we were the only people in the park except the workers on the west side, we chickened out and walked once we got near the beach.  As it turned out, it probably would have been fine, but it was not worth taking the chance given the very short distance.  We enjoyed watching waves coming in and the many birds.  There were also a very large number of shells of all sizes.

Sandpiper and waves in the Gulf of Mexico at Sea Rim State Park

Town of Sabine Pass

We checked out the park on the other side of 87 (just a boat launch and the remnants of some structures that had not survived the hurricanes), then headed back towards the town of Sabine Pass.  Despite its current small size, Sabine Pass has a long history.  It was first laid out in the 1830's and was projected to be a major seaport.  It was thriving by the time of its incorporation in 1861, but a yellow fever outbreak in 1862 and hurricanes in 1886, 1900, and 1915 contributed to the decline of Sabine Pass at the expense of the more inland ports (Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange).  The population was approximately 1,500 in 1984, with 39 businesses.  I don't know the current population since it is no longer reported separately from other locations in the county, but I would be surprised if it were that big.  I also doubt there are still 39 viable businesses.  I did not see the restaurants discussed from a decade ago.  Recent hurricanes, including those in 2005 and 2008, have taken a big toll on Sabine Pass. 

Having said that, there were some very interesting features of the town.  We were very impressed by the architecture of the school, home of the Sabine Pass Sharks.  It was very attractive with the central lighthouse feature...appropriate for this maritime location.  However, what really caught our eye was the fact that the entire first floor was a parking garage.  We had certainly seen many homes on stilts next to the ocean, but never such a large public building.  We originally assumed it was the high school based on the look from the street, but later found it was PK-12 with a total student population of approximately 335 students.  What was even more interesting was the fact that ABC's show Extreme Makeover Home Edition rebuilt the school auditorium and the town's fire station in February 2006 after Hurricane Rita (Season 3, Special #8)  The episode first aired on April 14, 2006.  (YouTube Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5).

Sabine Pass School (picture downloaded from http://www.12newsnow.com/story/14510394/sabine-pass-cuts)

Sabine Pass Battlefield

Our next stop was the Sabine Pass Battlefield and State Historic Site, along the Sabine River in Sabine Pass. We had talked about wanting to visit some Civil War battlefields, but this battle had not originally been on our radar screen!  During the Civil War, a small contingent of Confederate soldiers in Fort Griffin at this site destroyed two Union gunboats, took 350 Union prisoners, and forced the remainder of the Union forces to return to New Orleans.   Although this victory had little long term impact on the outcome of the war, the entrance to the Sabine River was then and continued to be of strategic importance.  Fortifications were built here as part of the Spanish-American War and there are still bunkers visible in the park from World War II for storage of munitions to support guns further down the Sabine River.

We enjoyed learning about the history of this location, but equally as interesting were what appeared to be large ship and oil platform repair facilities nearby.  

Walkway along the water at Sabine Pass Battlefield looking southeast.  Corner of the battlefield is to the right with several ship build/repair facilities of some type on the water.

 

 

Looking up river towards Port Arthur from the Sabine Pass Battlefield

 Jetty Road and Texas Point 

Our next destination was the tip of land about 3.5 miles south of Sabine Pass at the mouth of the Sabine River on the Texas side known as Texas Point.  There was a road that went down the narrow spit of land all the way to the end.  However, we discovered that it was only paved for part of the way and got progressively rougher as we went further south...likely the result of multiple hurricanes over the years.  The southern tip had been the location of a gun mount during World War II.  That gun mount is now a virtual geocache.  We took it slowly in GeoJeep and finally made it. 

In front of the gun mount at Texas Point

Much of Jetty Road is part of Texas Point Natural Wildlife Refuge and seemed to be only used by fishermen.  As desolate as this road is, there are a number of additional structures at the northern end for activities that need access to the Sabine River.  

A new Coast Guard station was dedicated in January of this year.  It replaced an earlier facility that was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

New Coast Guard station along Jetty Road south of Sabine Pass, built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane, was dedicated in January 2013.  Note the first occupied floor is raised 18 feet to withstand storm surge.  The photo was downloaded from this Coast Guard site.

The docks for the pilot boats are along this road.  There are also multiple companies that service oil platforms.

A drilling platform undergoing renovation at one of several such sites in Sabine Pass along Jetty Road

However, there are also still a number of empty buildings or vacant lots.  As seen in the picture below, the Frog walked out on one vacant lot marked For Sale to get a better view up the river.  Based on the debris still at the site, there had been buildings here sometime in the past.  However, more interesting to me was the historic Sabine Pass Lighthouse on the Louisiana side of the river.  It is visible on the left side of the picture.  It was first lit in 1857 and used continuously, except for part of the Civil War, until it was deactivated by the Coast Guard in 1952.  It has been badly beaten by numerous hurricanes and needs lots of restoration work.  A newspaper report in 2010 talked about an attempt to raise money for the restoration, but it is not clear if that project ever got off the ground.  In any case, it seems to be a beloved piece of history for citizens of the region.

The Frog walking towards the Sabine River on an abandoned property along the Jetty Road.  The historic Sabine Pass Lighthouse (the thing that looks slightly like a rocket) can be seen in the background on the left

We had squeezed a lot of things into one day of sightseeing and were going to look for a motel room in Beaumont, but the apps on my phone indicated their was no room in the inn.  Therefore we headed north and west to Winnie, Texas.  This ended up to be fortuitous, because we were able to have dinner at the quasi-famous Al T's Seafood and Steakhouse Restaurant.  It was an interesting place with local color and good food.  We passed on the gator meat, but took the opportunity to have shrimp.  This seemed appropriate since one of the locals in Sabine Pass had told us shrimp fishing season was in progress.