South Texas

The drive from Big Bend to South Texas, where my brother John and his wife Anna live, was a two day trip.  The route we chose was the closest main road to the border, through such towns as Laredo, Eagle Pass and Zapata.  There were many times you would have thought you were in Mexico.  We overnighted in the Eagle Pass Walmart.  We picked up a few necessities and observed that we were the ONLY gringos in the store.  Honest.  The public announcements were in Spanish only.  Shades of Quebec.  There was more evidence of border control than in the Big Bend area, though less than south Arizona.



We arrived in McAllen where John and Anna live and found an RV spot in a park less than a mile from their house.  That has proved convenient and hopefully lessened the imposition of out of town visitors.  Their little dog Riley is providing great company for Raggie.

John and Anna 

Greedy Raggie and Riley

The weather is warm, in the high 70's and 80's and not nearly as dry as in Arizona.  The humidifier has been stowed as it will only get more humid as we head for the gulf.  There is a pretty consistent breeze which keeps it comfortable.

Anna and I have had a couple of fun outings where I was able to combine necessary errands, haircuts and pedicure with some shopping.  Anna introduced me to a nice southern jewelry chain, James Avery, where I found a substitute for the lost favorite.  We also played a few holes of golf which I have not done for 13 years.  It was fun.

All four of us took a day and headed for the border.  The first stop was Sullivan, a small village on the Rio Grande which is known for the only hand operated ferry in the US.  The ferry  accommodates three vehicles and walk ons, then 4-5 men pull the rope across the river.  Interestingly there was a "ferry line" waiting to cross.  It felt like home.

Ferry Line

Hand Operated Ferry between US and Mexico

The second town was Nuevo Progresso where many Winter Texans go for pharmaceuticals and dental care.  Some of the places offer Margaritas while you wait to have you order filled.  An idea for Dave and Myra, my pharmacists in Vashon??  We had a good lunch and tasty margaritas.




The demographics of south Texas are interesting.  McAllen, where John and Anna live,  is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the US.  The advent of the maquiladoras and the North American Free Trade Agreement have contributed to the growth.  McAllen is also the retail center for both South Texas and the North Eastern Mexican states.  The population of McAllen is 77% Hispanic and 1% White but the area swells in the winter with the influx of Winter Texans, retired, largely White people from the midwest and Canada.  It is quite an interesting mix.
We had the Subaru serviced and both van drivers that took us to and from Bella spoke limited English.  It would be a great way to brush up on Spanish and be able to use it regularly.

The food is such a treat.  Mexican food is of course widely available and good BBQ is too.  We had a great time at Rudy's BBQ where you buy the meat by the pound.  

Rudy's Ribs and Brisket

We will head to the Gulf coast in the next couple of days.

On to West Texas

First, the promised picture of Raggie's friend Dude.  There is a dog under all that hair.

Dude

Leaving Arizona the weather was cold so the southern route through NM offered the best way to get to West Texas.  We hurried on to El Paso and hurried even faster through that sprawling city.  Our first destination was Fort Davis, at 5050' the highest town in Texas.  The days were nice but nights still got below freezing so no hose could be attached to Bella.  Fort Davis was originally a military post established in 1854 to protect the stage and immigrant routes going west from the Apache and Comanche Indians.  It is one of the best preserved western forts and is also known for having had contingents of African American "Buffalo Soldiers."

Downtown Fort Davis

Fort Davis parade ground and living quarters

The State campground is quite lovely and we were lucky enough to see a javalina walk in front of Bella.  They are common and apparently a major nuisance but we had not seen on in AZ or NM.

Javalina

  After two nights it was on to the Big Bend area.  There are both a national and state park and we picked a campground in between, in a town called Lajitas.  It was advertised as part of a 5 star resort and I looked forward to a nice dinner out with our first Texas Margaritas.

Empty but pretty Lajitas Resort


Since there were no customers and an absent bartender in the resort,  we headed a few miles east to Terlingua Ghost Town.  The town once served a mercury mine.  The old theater is now a thriving restaurant and the porch, which is shared with the general store, is where you sip your $2 happy hour Margaritas.

Old Starlight Theater, now a restaurant

We took the 50+ mile drive west to Presidio, one of the few legal border crossings in the area.  It is a beautiful drive along the Rio Grande.  We saw a 1985 movie set which has been used several times since including for The Streets of Laredo.

 

We read a book about a man who homesteaded in what is now Big Bend Nat'l Park in 1909.  He built structures and pools where the hot springs abut the Rio Grande.  People came from great distances to cure a multitude of ailments.  Only the pool walls remain and the Texas boys apparently couldn't read the no alcohol sign.

One of the prettiest sights is Santa Elena canyon, narrow and steep.  It runs 8 miles with no exit and is a great pace for rafting when the river is higher.

One the way out of the park we saw a structure that served as a home to Gilberto Luna who raised 8 children and lived to be 108.  I could not stand up in the structure.  While I am fond of small homes, this one is pretty minimal.

Well, it will be a two day trip heading to McAllen, Texas to see my brother John and his wife Anna.

Heading East

The local farmers' market was such a treat

We have been away from home for almost 2 months.  While most of the places we visited were familiar, they were made special because of the friends we have seen.  Seal Beach was wonderful as usual, pleasant weather and all the people from the working days.  We enjoyed walking to restaurants two blocks away, doing some shopping and just generally catching up.  Because of a minor accident involving Bella while she was in storage, we got to see Jane and Ron at both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Jane and I had many occasions for fun outings.

The Seal Beach Christmas Parade features nearly every kid in town

We had a bit of time to kill before visiting Larry and Sherrill in Tucson so we stopped at the Colorado River, Lake Havasu, Oatman, Quartzsite and Ajo. The River and Lake Havasu were quite nice, Quartzsite was full of junk and old people (not a good combination) and Oatman was fun because of the wild burros (not really that wild when treats are offered).  Oatman is a destination for the motorcycle crowd.  Ajo had few tourists but lots of early mining history.

View of the Arizona desert near Oatrman

View from Lake Havasu Campsite

The Famous Lake Havasu London Bridge

"Wild Burros" of Oatman