End of the Trail

Hola

Yesterday some of us women from the park went to McAllen.  We had a delicious Chinese buffet and then went to shop at a 2nd hand store.  Most of us like to snoop around those places. 

Flowering Shrub at the Dolphin

Shortly after returning to the park we car pooled to the End of the Trail Sports Bar for live entertainment between 3 pm and 7 pm.  I like it that things begin and end early here.  Most of our fellow RVers went and we filled a couple of long tables.  Here they differentiate between beer and liquor......many bars only sell beer.  If you want hard liquor you bring your own and buy a "set-up", which is ice, mix, lemon, etc. 

The band consisted of a husband and wife team called "12 String Tim and Sharon."  They could sing pretty much anything that was requested and knew how to work the crowd.  Sharon would do a costume change every once in a while and mingle with the clientele. 

She was fairly agile.  She danced the Can Can and ended with the splits.  It was difficult to tell who was having the most fun....the band or us.  We danced right to the end.  It was a great evening!

Brenda and I were supposed to join another couple to go dancing at a different RV park at 7, but we both felt we had enough fun for one day and begged off. 

There is no end to the activities one can participate in and the people one can meet.  Today we have to do our grocery shopping and our exercises.  Who knows how the day will end?



Ouch! Moan! Groan!

Hello Friends and Family

Today I went to Progeso to begin my dental work.  I hate going to the dentist, but it is so much cheaper there and work needs to be done.  Today he drilled for almost 2 hrs. so needless to say, I will not partake in pot luck this evening at the park. 

Brenda and I also did some shopping.  Brenda bought a very pretty, cool, colorful dress and I bought a cool pink blouse.  I told Brenda we will have to throw out one of our old clothes each time we come home with something new, otherwise we will run out of storage space.  We both decided that it is time to spoil ourselves a little.  When we were raising our families we always put our wants on the back burner, but our children have been gone for a long, long time now.  Time to break the habit!

I thought I would add more photos from S. Padre Island since it was such a pretty place to visit.  On Friday we, as a park, are going to the boat parade on the island.  I missed it last time and don't know why.  I do remember it was scheduled. 


 

How do you like the decorated palm tree?  We see many of them. 

On Thursday it is Women's Day Out in our park and I believe we are going to McAllen to shop.  McAllen is the largest place in Hildago County. It is approx. 130,000 in pop.  I went to a very nice museum there on my last Texas trip. 

Friday is always "No Cook Friday" and the park goes for supper.  Brenda and I skip that.  We like to eat most of our meals at home.  Food is very reasonably priced in the stores and the markets carry fresh fruit and vegetables.  Food is also relatively cheap in restaurants considering how large the portions are.  Really one could buy one meal, split it for 2 and maybe even 3, but fewer calories to cook at home.  Here at Wendy's you can buy different types of hamburgers for 99 cents.  I don't think I could make a hamburger at home for 99 cents, do you?

I found on my last trip that it was returning to Canada that was the shocker.  I could not get over how expensive things were in Canada compared to southern Texas. 

It was another beautiful day weather wise.  One just cannot complain about the weather.  Yesterday was 28C and today was a bit cooler, but still a no-jacket day.  I love it!

Until next time.......buenas noches!

South Padre Island

 

Yesterday Brenda and I went to South Padre Island to visit our friends, Carol and Bob.  They live in a duplex across the street from the beach.  When we arrived it was pouring rain.  We debated on whether we should even go as it was chilly and wet in Donna as well, but decided we would go anyway.


Carol

We were glad that we went.  On Saturday evening we went to PadreRitaGrill to hear live music.  The singer was a fellow named J. Michael Laferty and he was fantastic.  We really enjoyed his singing and the back-up band.  We sipped on our margaritas and listened to him for the whole evening.  Our water was served in "red neck wine glasses" which were pint jars with stems. 

Carol and Brenda

  
We awoke to a gloriously sunny day and decided to walk along the beach.  There were a lot of people out either just walking or fishing.  We had to be careful not to step on the jellyfish.  Carol had been in some of the hotels along the beach and took us to some of them so we could see rooms that had been built and the view from upper patios.  We saw many birds that I did not recognize.  There were flocks of pelicans in the air and floating on the waves. 

          It seemed rather incongruous that there were Christmas decorations out and yet there were many flowers in bloom.  It takes a while to get used to that.  I am only used to a white Christmas and palm trees decorated in lights are still a foreign concept to me. 

After our walk we decided to go to Boomerang Billy's to hear Leslie sing.  I had heard Leslie sing the last time I came to Texas, and  I was taken once again with her powerful and beautiful voice.  Leslie sings a lot of songs from the 60s  and she has quite a following.  She has been singing at Boomerang Billy's for many years and is part of the Idiots Club.  It costs $5 to become an Idiot and then you can get a discount on your drinks.  Once you are an Idiot you can purchase T-shirts and other Idiot paraphanalia. 

Most of the Idiots there were wearing a T-shirt.  Some were wearing T-shirts from previous years so there were Ts of various colors.  There are other places on S. Padre that give discounts to Idiots if they show their card or wear their T- shirts.  One lady had cut her shirt so that it had little fringes on the bottom.  She then knotted beads onto the fringes and it looked quite stunning.  Some people just seem to know how to make their clothes look chic.

While listening to the music I also watched sand castle lessons on the beach next to the bar. 

 

                                      There were about four couples taking lessons.  I don't know how much they were charged, but they were doing a good job.  The instructor had a variety of tools - from small knives to drinking straws.  I am not very artistic and wouldn't try this myself, but I enjoyed watching others try their hand at it.

All in all it was a pleasant two days.  There is always lots to see and do on South Padre Island!  This was our first trip to the island, but I know we will make many more trips before our time in Texas is over. 

                                                        



 


  


Progreso, Mexico

Hola amigos y amigas,

Today Brenda and I went to Progreso, Mexico.  Being American Thanksgiving, there were hardly any tourists there which pleased us as we had the town to ourselves.  We didn't really have any plans; we just wanted to look around and see what there was to see. 

Rio Grande




 

We parked on the American side of the International Bridge and walked across.  There were women and children under the bridge asking for coins.  They hold out their hats hoping people will throw coins down to them.                                                                                                                                                      

 

On the other side of the bridge we noticed a nice sign welcoming tourists back to Progreso.  They depend on tourism to make a living.  There are many, many pharmacies, dentists, optometrists and craftspeople.  Everyone wants to sell you something as you walk down the street.  You often hear them say, "It is almost free" or "special deal for you, lady".                              

                            

 Brenda wanted to buy the pink dress in the photo, but I talked her out of it.....no room in the motorhome.

She gets her mind set on something and it is difficult to deter her, but I succeeded, finally! 

You will have noticed that we both have a blog going.  It is funny that we both put almost the same photos on our sites.  Something to be said for the "cohort effect".  This evening there was a gathering at the neighbours and we had a pleasant time of visiting.  The crowd dispersed as the evening cooled.  Seems like we are busy everyday.  Always things to do. 



Lazy Day in Donna

Brenda and I were going to go to Mexico today, but Brenda was tired so we decided to have a lazy day here in Donna. 

 The above photos were taken yesterday.  As you can see we are not suffering from the cold.  We were on our way to the hall for pot luck supper.  It was delicious!  I was careful not to overeat - a tendency I have at pot luck suppers.  Brenda made a Greek Salad and it went over well. 

Rec Centre at Dolphin RV Park

Yesterday my neighbour patched my bike tire so today I rode about the park for about a half hour.  Then we decided to go out and find postcards.  That is a taller order than you would think.  We went to three stores and only one sold postcards and then they only had a choice of 4 cards.  Tomorrow in Mexico I will try to find some.  I know that on my last visit to this part of the world I found postcards in Mexico.  Also, I promised my Caitlan that I would send her some American money for Christmas, so that is on the way.  It seems weird to hear Christmas music when all is green and it is so hot.

I thought I would take some photos of some of the flowers in the park.  I know some of my readers like flora.

The bark on the palm trees looks like cement, but is soft and smooth.  I don't know the names of the above flowers.  At the end of the lane here there is an orange tree laden heavy with oranges.  It is on the Dolphin property.  I wonder if anyone would care if I snitched one?  It is getting really warm here in the motorhome, so best wrap this up and go out in the breeze.  Until tomorrow..........

 

San Juan, Texas

Hola,

Today we went to the San Juan Market with our friend, Jude.  What can you see there?  You can see birds in cages....lots and lots of birds.  We did see an abundance of



What is this?

various kinds of roosters, doves, canaries, hens, guinea hens, parrots, etc. Can anyone identify the bird on the right?  We also saw snakes!

Boa Constrictor in a dirty cage

 

Are you kidding me?

We saw many puppies - mostly Chihuahuas.
 There were stalls and stalls of clothing (most selling for $1/item), stalls of shoes, purses, hair bling, jewelry, tools, etc.

There was a stall that you had to pay to get into so we avoided that one, although it did look interesting.


We were curious!


 

They were also advertising two headed calfs and the like.  Perhaps next time we are there we will pay the $2 and see what is behind the curtain.

They were also selling fast food.  Brenda and I had a Mexican dish.  I am not sure what it was.  I know it had lettuce, cheese, jalapenos and two kinds of sauce on it.  It was served on a strange eatable Styrofoam type of rigid bread.  It was tasty.  

While we shopped we were treated to live Mexican bands -

 What else could a person want in one afternoon?

By the way; I took our bikes off the bike rack and Brenda's bike has two flat tires and mine has one flat tire.  We had been riding them in burr country on our way down.  I did not think that a burr would flatten a tire, but I was wrong.

Until tomorrow -

Donna, Texas

Hola Amigos,

It seems rather strange to be in one spot.  But, it feels good.  I have been renewing old friendships.  I have only been here one day, but have already made contact with those within the park who have returned and with some from outside of this park.

Across from my motorhome

The plants have grown so much in the three years since I have been here.  The owner planted bougainvillea all along the back of the RV parking sites.  It is very pretty. 

You can see my car dolly parked there.  On my last Texas trip I seldom saw a dolly.  On this trip we saw many.  They must be making more cars front wheel drive. 

The weather has been fantastic....very warm.  It has been cloudy the day and a half I have been here.  That is good as it can be very hot and one likes to ease into the heat.

Bougainvillea

Today Brenda and I went to the flea market.  They sell almost anything you can imagine.  It would take hours to go through the whole market.  I needed some bulbs for my motorhome and some fuses.  I found everything I was looking for.  T-shirts were selling for $1. 

We walked around the large market for an hour or so and then went across the street to the vegetable and fruit market.  We stocked up on veggies.  We bought a pineapple.  They core and remove the outer skin with a tool and then bag it for you.  It was wonderfully sweet and juicy. 

On Wednesday a small group of us are going into Mexico for the day.  On Saturday, Brenda and I have been invited to S. Padre Island.  We will stay overnight with friends. 

Flea Market

Lots to see

Haven't decided what we will do tomorrow.  Brenda says she is doing her yoga and I will ride my bike.  Other than that, who knows?

Keep warm and happy Y'all.

 

Reached My Destination

Ouch!

 

 I can hardly believe it.  We are here in Donna, Texas!  We decided to stay at the Dolphin Motel RV Park which is where I stayed before.  It was so good to see Wes and Jude again and their dog, Pockets. They are the activity directors for this park.  The owner of the park remembered me from 4 years ago!  The park has changed.  The plants have grown so much. 

 

We had two free parking nights.  We pulled off the hwy one afternoon in response to a sign that said, "Parking Area".  We did not know what that meant, but pulled in and there were no signs saying we could not park overnight, so we did.  Last night we saw some pink picnic tables on the map.  According to the legend they meant "Wayside/Roadside Parking".  We came to a junction that had parking on all four sides of the hwy so we stopped there for the night.  Trucks were roaring by us on all sides, but we both slept like rocks.  There is a lot of pipe-lining going on in the area we passed through and the trucks were constant on the hwy.  We stopped at a little town called Tilden.  It was packed with semi's and industrial trucks.  It was a very poor town.  We drove down some of the streets and were surprised that people kept chickens in town.  (Although I have dear friends in B.C. who do that, but they only keep two hens).  The roosters must have kept the town awake.   

 

The weather has warmed up considerably.  We are happy about that!  I was warm enough but Brenda is frozen at the best of times so she found it hard when the cold front was in. 

 

After getting set up we went to H.E.B. to buy groceries and were amazed on how many groceries were bought for so little.  We did not buy fruit and veggies; those we will buy at the market tomorrow.

 

Well, we just wanted everyone to know we reached our destination safely and will post more tomorrow.

On the Road Again

Tomorrow we will be on the road again.  We did take the day off just to rest and get some maintenance done.

Every once in a while we need to catch up on laundry, so today we packed up dirty laundry and went into town.  The state park is 4 miles from town.

Balmorhea is a pretty little town and I am not sure what sustains it.  We did see a farmer in the field, but could not discern what the crop was that he was reaping.  There are 3 motels here and a hotel which seems rather over kill for a town this size.  In the year 2010 there were 479 people here. 

Brenda and I walked about the town, but happened to arrive when most businesses were closed for lunch....not that there are a lot of businesses here.  Of course, we had our cameras with us.

Tomorrow is Brenda's birthday.  I felt bad as we had to burn her last man when the cold front moved in.  Fortunately I was able to replace him with one that is fireproof.  He is rather rough around the edges but sharp in some ways. 


Brenda's new man

I took Brenda out for a birthday lunch at "The Cutest
Restaurant in Balmorhea".  The food was delicious and very, very plentiful.  I had the thickest quesedilla I have ever seen.  I had to bring half of it home for supper.  There were a lot of men there having their noon meal and let me tell you that they grow them tall in Texas.  We were very impressed.

Cutest Restaurant in Balmorhea

 

We came back home and loaded the car on the dolly before it got dark.  Once dark I attempted to turn the light on over my computer and it would not work.  Brenda, who was sitting on the sofa across from me tried her light and it would not go on either.  We checked the fuses and as near as we can figure we need a 15 amp. fuse.  So now we sit on our computers with no overhead lighting and I for one keep typing the incorrect letters. Isn't that strange?  I am pretty good with the touch method of typing, but dim the light and I become finger-blind!  The computer connection at the park is very poor, so I am close to my level of frustration! I keep losing my internet connection.  So, before I go stark raving mad, I will sign off for tonight.

Fort Davis

Hola amigos y amigas

Today Brenda and I drove to Ft. Davis Observatory.  As I said, I was there before, but really wanted Brenda to see it since we were so close.  I remember it being very cold at the observatory peak and warned Brenda.  We dressed very warm....winter coats and all.  That was a smart move on our parts.


McDonald Observatory

The room that houses the Hubby Eberly Telescope is kept at the same temperature as the night time temperature of the night before.  The lecture was given in that room today and the temperature was about 3C. 

The view from the top is spectacular.  The astronomer was telling us about a fire they had last year.  It was as near as a mile to the McDonald Observatory.  A control burn was done to save the facility.  Scary!

We then went for lunch at Ft. Davis State Park Indian Lodge.  The food was very good.


Indian Lodge



If I hold my face like this do I look younger?

We later drove to Pecos, Texas to pick up some grub for our sparse fridge and cupboards.  I told Brenda that tomorrow we are not getting up so early and we are definitely not driving for more than 4-5 hrs.  She said she does not believe me.  Even though I did not drive the motorhome today I was on the road most of the day.  I would really like a day with no driving at all!  It just seems like we rise so early and then think that we may as well put on some miles.  I think we are just ready to be in HOT weather.  It was really hot in Arizona, but then the cold front moved into North America.   It could be worse...we could be in Alberta.  Me thinks we should take tomorrow off.

Balmorhea, Texas

Canadian and American friends and family:

We crossed into Texas at 1:16 p.m. today.  I drove right through El Paso with no problems.  El Paso is a big city.  It is about 650,000 people, but the freeway went right through the city with no stop lights.  I drove longer than I wanted to today.  We hit the road at 8 a.m. and arrived in Balmorhea at 8 p.m., so it has been a long day.  We stopped to gas up on the hwy about 30 miles from here.  There was a young couple working at the service station.  He asked me where I was from.  I said, "from Canada".  The young woman said, "Is that a different country?"  They seemed like a nice couple, but were far from knowledgeable when it came to geography.



Balmorhea State Park in Texas

We are parked at Balmorhea State Park.  I haven't had time to take any photos yet, but will take many tomorrow.  We had a difficult time finding a parking site in the dark.  I hate night driving (presbyopia or old eye).  I am glad I had Brenda here to help.  We did get settled finally and are just relaxing with a cup of pretend coffee (made from grain).  We put pretend creamer in our pretend coffee and it tastes pretty darn good!

 A cold front has moved in and it has been chilly the last couple of days.  It is only 7C here this evening. The locals told us that it will get hot again!

Tomorrow we hope to go to Ft. Davis and see the big telescope.  For those of you who followed my blog on my last Texas trip, you may remember that I stayed at the same park and went to the same observatory.  It is a very scenic drive to Ft. Davis and Brenda would like to see it. 

Have a good night and I will update tomorrow.



Cooler

Still in Bowie, Arizona

Beaver Tail Cactus

Brenda and I decided to stay another night in Bowie....just to rest up a bit and enjoy being in one spot for 2 days.  It is only 8C here this morning, but it is supposed to reach 18C by this afternoon.  It is windy and wet.  We have been hearing reports from my family in Alberta re: weather and feel blessed to be here even if it has cooled off.  I can't believe how much snow has fallen in Alberta.  That is why I am south this winter.  Hopefully I will never shovel snow again.

The train passes by us about every 15 min.  We had a good laugh about that last evening while attempting to watch a movie on-line.  Whenever the train went by we could not hear the movie.

View from my motorhome at Bowie RV Park

 

The air is very arid here.  Brenda and I both have dry, cracked lips and feel dehydrated some days even though we are drinking a lot of water.  I don't think I would like to spend the winters in Arizona.  It is just too brown for me.  We are both surprised everyday on how much non-arable land there is in the U.S. Every once in a while we see a sign that says to watch for wildlife and we wonder what kind of wildlife can exist in areas without grass or water.  I read there are rattlesnakes, scorpions and tarantulas in this area. 

Cactus in Bowie

This afternoon Brenda and I biked into town.  It is bigger than I thought it would be.  There are 3 schools and an arm of the University of Arizona.  The way the old guys at the RV park were talking it sounded like there was nothing there but a post office.

United Church in Bowie

There are a lot of Mexican people living in this area.  Many of the store clerks are Mexican.  We find we get really good service here.  Some of the service stations have staff to check your tires and the like, so that is nice. 

We have been staying at a lot of places for free.  There are many places to do that, but every once in a while we crave wi-fi and big showers.  Staying for free of course, allows us to spend money on other things.  The trip has been very enjoyable so far.

Hope you are all keeping warm in Canada. 

Bowie, Arizona

Hello Y'all,
Brenda and I have been putting on a lot of miles!  We seldom have internet connection so we have not been able to keep up our blogs. 

 Earlier in the day we had stopped at Wal-Mart in Parker, Arizona and Brenda purchased a bike.  We traveled on to Gila Bend and spent the night at a truck stop.  We biked around Gila Bend looking for a wi-fi signal.  We stopped at a gift store and were invited in to use their wi-fi.  We just quickly emailed our families and did not spend time to blog.  Today we continued on hwy 10 east and drove right through Tucson, Arizona.  It was not too bad of a drive, but I was happy to leave the city. 

We stopped at a rest area approaching Willcox.  There were really strange rock formations there, but no info as to how they got there.

This was also the area where some fairly famous Indians lived.  We were hoping we could camp there overnight, but the sign said no overnight camping.  We continued on our way and reached Willcox.  Willcox had two RV camps, but they both wanted almost $30/night so we decided to continue on and find a cheaper or free camping spot. 

We turned into Bowie, Arizona to find a small campground.  It is $14/night and that includes all hook-ups with wi-fi.  The man behind the counter was very funny.  He did not give us a camp site number so I asked him if he cared where I parked and he said I could park anywhere I liked, but he suggested I camp at an empty site.  Later I went into the store.  There were about 4 shelves spaced quite a distance from each other.  There was little merchandise on each shelf.  He said, "It don't take long to look around, does it?" The sites are mostly empty and the few RV's that are parked here look permanent.  I feel good as my RV is one of the newer ones. 


My neighbor

Bowie RV Campground

 



 

A fat man with a lot of missing teeth stopped by our campsite in his 1/2 ton.  He asked if I needed any help to get set up.  He told me he had lived here as a child, moved away for 35 yrs. and now has been back for 10 yrs.  He pointed out his trailer and was very proud of the fact that it was under a shelter. I asked what was in the town of Bowie and he said nothing but a post office.  The next nearest town is about 45 miles away. 

We have seen a variety of cacti.  We saw a lot of those cacti with the arms....the ones you see in photos.  They looked like they had been attacked by an insect or something and did not look healthy at all.  We also passed 6 policemen with machine guns who had stopped a van on the side of the hwy and were searching the van.  I had read that the border wars between Mexico and the U.S. had escalated lately, so was wondering if they were searching for drugs.  We are less than a 100 miles from the Mexican border.  Brenda wanted a phone card and the service station sold cards only written in Spanish, so there are a lot of Mexican people living in this area of Arizona. 

Tomorrow we are going to be in New Mexico. 

Hope you are all well and keeping warm.

Valley of Fire

Nov. 5, 2012 - Greetings Friends and Family

WE left Jackpot and drove all day.  Nevada looked basically the same from one end to the other.  There was sage brush on both sides of the hwy and hills in the distance of both sides.  Service stations were few and far between.  We made certain we had both gas tanks full every time we left a service station.  There were signs on the hwy telling us how far between stations.  Most of the land we passed was non-arable.  Houses were non-existent. 

The weather was beautiful.  We had decided to make time after checking on the internet and seeing that  snow was coming to Ely and areas close to Ely.  The snow was not supposed to arrive until Wedn. but we wanted to be certain we missed it.  We stopped at Wells, Nev. to get gas.  The attendant  checked the tires all around the motorhome, inflating when necessary and changed the oil for me.  I was thankful for that as I needed an oil change and was not sure where I should go where I could get in and out.

Our next stop was Lund, Nev. as we saw a post office and I had postcards to mail.  I wanted to buy more stamps, but the office was closed for lunch.  We couldn't help but wonder how people kept their cars gassed up as there was no gas station there and the next nearest one was approx. 36 miles away.  It was fairly bleak and desolate around Lund.  You need to enjoy your solitude to live along the hwy we drove on. 

Lund, Nevada

Wondering if we were going to make it to the next gas station, we finally arrived at Ash Springs.  There was an RV park there, so we decided to spend the night.  Parked next to us were a couple from Ft. McCloud, AB.  They were originally from Rimby, AB.  They also were on their way to S. Texas and will be parked in the little town just east of where we will be parked.  They will be in Weslaco and we will be in Donna. 

Brenda said she always wanted to see the Valley of Fire, so that is where we headed.  There is a state park here so we decided to spend the night.  We are fairly close to the bathroom and showers so feel like we hit the jackpot.  We have power and water, but no sewer. However, there is a common dump site.

  It is so, so beautiful here.  The rocks are red.  I would suggest you check it out on the internet.

 

Some idiot put his name on these ancient petroglyphs.

I took a photo of this shrub because the stalks were blue and made a nice contrast with the green.

  It is 29C at noon.  Finally Brenda is warm.  We put out the awning so we don't get too hot to sleep tonight, but I do have A/C in case I have to cool off our home for sleeping.  It has been a while since I lowered the awning, but we got her done!

Brenda got instructions from Dwight (retired school teacher from Rimby) as to how to avoid going through Las Vegas and places to see as we head south east. 

Nov. 7 - We are parked at Parker tonight at an RV park.  Hitting the road again tomorrow.