I was able to get the senior National Parks lifetime pass for $10 just months before it went to $80, and in 8 months we have saved over a hundred dollars using it. Aransas NWR is another estuary area that has so many different species of birds and animals to see in one place. On a path between a tidal pool and the gulf, we had flocks of cranes fishing in the gulf while 10 to 12 foot alligators were sunning on the pond’s shore. Those cranes are from far northern Canada and they migrate the 2500 miles south to this area every winter. The waters are clear, the air is fresh, and as anywhere else on the Texas shores, the gulf’s horizon is dotted with oil rigs.