- April 21, 2020
2003, Padre Island National Seashore, Big Beach. Back in the day before the beach eroded away, there were three trails one could drive on. Each trail varied in difficult depending on how long it was since rain. Generally, the deepest sand was closest to the dunes where the “hero” trail was. This hero trail was truly a slog, at 2200 rpm, and 15 miles per hour, for hours on end. Even with the best of coolant systems when driving with a 15 mph wind, overheating must be watched for carefully. The middle trail, halfway to the high tide line, was less used and and not quite as dry and deep. The trail adjacent the high tide line had a little moisture in it sometimes and was generally the least soft. But most summers, when rain was uncommon and heat intense, the four-wheel drive only sign meant what it said. Fast-forward to the 20-teens: the beach is mostly gone at high tide everywhere, and so is the soft dry hard sand. The four-wheel drive only sign hasn’t had a whole lot of meaning since about 2013.