On our way North

I've gotten behind again in updating our travels...we left Rio Grande Valley location on April 4th to start our travels North. Had planned to drive to Canyon Lake, TX (about 300 miles) but our plans changed when the winds changed! Left with a south wind pushing us along, but by lunch time a cold front came in from the north and driving became more of a challenge. We finally stopped in a little town Beeville, TX to look for a place to spend the night. That proved to be a challenge too...the local Wal-Mart (which often allows overnite parking) would not let us stay there. We finally found a tiny RV park on the edge of the local mobile home park...not fancy, but at least a place for the night. Took off the following morning and arrived at the Canyon Lake destination on Tuesday.

Port Mansfield

Port Mansfield is a tiny village located north of here on the Laguna Madre (the bay between Texas coast and South Padre Island). It also includes access to the intercoastal waterway which leads to Port of Brownsville.
  If you want to be a fisherman this is the place to be...residents have long piers from their homes, or live on the harbor with a "drive in" boathouse under their home. There are public boat launchs and fishing piers for those without water access. Some just fish from shore...
   While there we met a local resident who was in town from his ranch to mow lawn at the beach house. We talked with him awhile and learned about farming and ranching. Crops currently being planted are cotton, some corn and soybeans, and a grain called milo (used for livestock feed and biofuel production). Cattle still roam the thousands of acres of scrubby ranch land; when they need to round-up the cattle many ranchers use helicopters to locate the herd, then send in the cowboys on horseback, thus blending new and old technology!

Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show

On March 16th we took advantage of "Senior Citizen's Day" and attended the RGV Livestock Show.  It was held during "Texas Week" which is Spring Break for all Texas schools. Similar to our MN State Fair, the Livestock Show gives kids from 4H and FFA chapters around the Valley a chance to show their animals and be judged for ribbons & prizes. This was the 72nd Annual show...we saw many different breeds of beef cattle, including huge Brahman bulls weighing over 2000 pounds! There was also a three day old Brahman calf with its mother. Other animals being shown were hogs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and a few chickens...kind of took us back to our Farm Roots.

World Birding Center and Wildlife Refuge

The World Birding Center of Texas is a network of sites including State and National parks that spreads across three counties in the Rio Grand Valley. So far we have visited three major parks: Estero Llano Grande State Park, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.  Each park is unique but all are focused on wildlife preservation. We've seen many colorful birds unique to this area, and many that migrate through the region. Some plants are flowering now, and the butterflies were enjoying them. Most animals are well hidden, but we did see a wild pig, some alligators, and an armadillo.  It's a great area for wildlife photographers!

Boca Chica Beach

This week we experienced Boca Chica Beach! It's like driving to the end of the world...we went to Brownsville and picked up Boca Chica Blvd (also known as hwy 4)...then drove about 20 miles until the highway ended.  At the end was nothing but sand and Gulf waves. The adventure is to drive on the beach to the point where Rio Grande River and the Gulf meet. The beach sand is hard packed if you stay near the break line for the waves...we took off with the Honda, and drove probably 5 miles or so along the beach. We parked and walked the final yards to the mouth of the river, as the sand was not as firm to drive on. At this point the water is shallow (we were told) and you could walk across to Mexico. We watched fishermen catching fish with nets on the Mexico side.

Two Big Events

On Saturday (Feb 12) we took part in two big events in RGV: 
   First event was the Don-Wes Flea Market (located between the towns of Donna and Wesleco--thus the name). It is billed as one of the biggest flea markets in the valley. They had everything from antiques to cowboy hats; Winter Texan t-shirts to RV supplies; live music with dance floor; imports from Mexico; if they didn't have it you probably didn't need it!  We wandered around and just took in the sights. One thing they were lacking in were places to eat, so when we got hungry we left...
   In searching for a place to eat we realized we were close to Gonzales Burgers, a place that had been recommended as a "must see". We found the restaurant and went in to order, only to learn it would be about 1 hour wait. So, we waited, and it was worth it.
   Gonzales Burgers are famous because they are HUGE and really tasty.  Each "patty" contains about 1 pound of ground beef! (We had been warned to order only one & share.)  The restaurant is owned by a family; they grind the beef (something like 175 pounds each night), make the patties, and do the cooking. Each day they open for lunch about 11am and take orders until the meat is gone...we were 3rd from last to get served on Saturday, and it was only 1 pm when we got there. Another interesting fact: there is no sign out front to identify the restaurant...one of the family members told us the sign blew away years ago and they just hadn't gotten around to replacing it yet...but everyone finds them anyway!

Two Weeks in RGV

Just realized we've been "Winter Texan's" for two weeks already! Last weekend (Sunday) we ventured out to a Texas Rodeo in a small town south and east of San Benito...got seats close to the "chute" where the bulls and bucking bronco's came out, trying to dislodge the riders. Also had calf roping, and the Budweiser Clydesdales were part of the show. Was fun!
   Then this week we took a trip with others from the RV park to South Padre Island (SPI) where we took off for a 4 hour "cruise" of the Port of Brownsville. Crossed a harbor and were able to see a couple pairs of dolphins, and lots of pelicans, gulls, and other water birds.  The Port of Brownsville is connected by a 7 mile long man-made channel which ended in the Port. Lots of shrimping boats there, plus several big old ships, including a military vessel, which were being demolished and salvaged for scrap metal.  The metal goes to Asia to be remade into cars!
    After the cruise we all went to a restaurant on SPI for shrimp dinners.
This week has been colder and windy again, which makes outdoor activities more difficult.  We are hoping for warmer weather for the weekend...