Down Mexico Way

Friday, April 16, 2010

Del Rio Tx to Big Bend National Park Tx   265 miles


Day 21


We heard the rain on the roof during the night, not a heavy rain...until dawn. It poured so hard that we delayed our departure for over an hour. Did you know that 'it hardly ever rains here'...?

We drove over Lake Amistad just as it was starting to ease up. Too bad, the lake is beautiful. I would have liked to see it with a crystal clear sky

We continued on US90 which in this area follows the Rio Grande. I've figured out that if there were no Border Patrol officers here, there wouldn't be any people in this part of Texas. We had to stop at a border inspection station. They walked their beautiful German Shepard around the RV while we chatted with a hottie officer. I told Jim the dog was trained to sniff for chili powder, cumin and cilantro

Then we rode, and rode and rode through teeny, tiny little towns (and I use the word loosely) some abandoned, for a couple of hours. Then the mountains appeared off in the distance. Most of them around the park are in the 6,000 foot range. We turned off US90 at another speck on the map , Marathon, Texas. We pulled off on the side of the road for lunch. The view wasn't the best...

Where my husband took me for lunch!

Sixty miles later we entered the park...the visitor center is still twenty miles in.  And the camping area is twenty miles from that!

The park is beautiful, and huge. We are  disappointed with our site, the whole 'campground' for that matter. It's a asphalt parking lot. You would think in a National park that you would be among trees and grass. Yes, I know it's a desert area, but there are trees here near the river. Speaking of the river...it's just a couple of hundred yards away, and at this particular point it is very narrow. Seriously, I could wade across it...like so many do, but coming in the opposite direction.



After we got settled, we took the Jeep and explored a bit. Everything is so remote. Many backpackers are here. Everyone is skinny.  Serious hikers these folks, even the 'old' people, our age! We could see a lot more if we wanted to hike into some of the canyons...maybe next lifetime. At least while we drove around the park it was sunny and warm, almost 90 degrees.  We've seen more rain in Texas on this trip than any other.

Mexico back, U.S. front

Cactus blooming everywhere...or is it cacti?

Some of the peaks in the park

Just walking by the side of the road , very tame

Came back for a nice easy dinner and NO national news. No TV, no cell phone, no radio...but it's nice for a change, a very short change. What we don't like is not knowing what is going on at home, especially with the house being shown so much.



Oh, and we learned something about...buzzards, or turkey vultures...whatever the heck they are. Before dinner we sat outside having a cup of coffee. A couple of buzzards landed nearby. Jim felt bad, he thought they must be hungry (especially when we saw one eating some dog poop, not our dogs!) so he threw them a handful of dry dog food. Bad idea. Immediately, about TWENTY of these nasty, gigantic, rotting flesh, eaters (and worse as we just saw) swooped down out of nowhere! They were not afraid of us and would not leave. WE had to leave.

When there were only two...

Tonight I went out around 11:00pm to look up at the stars. Wow. I have only seen the sky better that that once in my life when we were moored off of an uninhabited cove of St. Johns in the Virgin Islands. Theres no moon and no light pollution here, it's awesome.

We paid for two nights, but this campground isn't our style. I can see a parking lot campsite in a city area, but not out in a wilderness. We'll leave tomorrow.  Oh, and the forecast?  Heavy rain...

Run for the Border

San Antonio Tx  to  Del Rio Tx   155 Miles

Day 20

It rained all night.  Apparently we left before it got even worse according to the San Antonio TV news tonight. Too bad, the weather is playing havoc with the biggest festival of the year in that area. 

So off we went, driving west on Hwy90 instead of I10.  We are glad we did.  This part of the country isn't know for being an interesting ride, but being off the Interstate was much better.  Especially with the heavy rain, we were spared of the trailer trucks blinding spray.  The only real problem was with one of the old west towns, either Castroville or Hondo where there was a road project going on.  One side of the street had no drainage and of course, that was the side we were on.  Muddy water, two feet deep for several miles certainly made for a dirty RV and even dirtier Jeep! 

As we drove on,  a large building appeared on the eastbound lane, all vehicles are funneled through it.  Without thinking where we were, Jim mentioned that there must be an 'agricultural inspection station' up ahead.  Shaking my head, I informed him that I didn't think that they were looking for fruit and vegetables...they were more than likely looking into the Fed Ex truck to make sure there wasn't 500 illegals packed into it!

We forget that we are only a few miles from the border of Mexico.  In fact the RV park is 7 miles, as the crow flies) from the border. 

Just before we got to Del Rio, we passed a road sign that pointed to 'Alamo Village' the movie set made for The  Alamo with John Wayne.  The rain had stopped by that time, but thank God, that there was so much flooding in the area, because if Jim had thought the 7 mile drive off the highway had been safe, we'd have driven to it.  John Wayne...his childhood hero - not mine.   Floods are a good thing sometimes!

Not too much here...but great WIFI!

We got here early afternoon.  We didn't even un-hook the Jeep.  Jim asked the guy in the RV Park office if there was anything to see in town.  The guy said, "No."     Okay then.

I knew that I'd seen a huge lake in the area looking at the road atlas.  So I Googled it and sure enough, there is a dam only 9 miles away.  A road crosses the dam and halfway across is the Mexican border....half the dam is in U.S. and half in Mexico.  I tried to put the little 'google man' from street view across the dam to see what the other side looked like, but he wouldn't go...kept bouncing back, right to the middle of the dam.  Even he wants to live  in this country!

I told Jim if he squints really hard, he may see John Wayne riding over that hill!

So we watched the towering storm clouds just to the east and northeast of us that are causing such flooding not too far away, as we walked two miles around the park.  No trees, just scrubby plants, old ranch land, I can almost imagine the cattle drives coming through here in days gone by. 

Tomorrow we will leave early for our drive further west on Hwy 90 and into even more sparsely populated areas.  We will be staying inside a National Park campground, for the first time.  No cable and WIFI - for at least two days!


Pray we don't kill each other...

If I Could Talk To The Animals

San Antonio TX

Day 19

Well, the weather hasn't changed for the better...still heavy overcast and showery.  Late morning we decided to visit the San Antonio Zoo, one of the top zoos in the country.

The bird collection is one of the largest

Thankfully, I got the shot off a second before he sprayed...

Storks

While it's not as spectacular as the Doorly Zoo in Omaha, it's quite a lovely place.  The grounds are well kept, with huge (and I do mean huge) trees providing a canopy over most of the zoo.  One was so immense and covered with vines and birds, that it reminded me of the tree of life in Avatar. 

We saw some real sights, and the animals were interesting too! 

Since we were already half way to New Braunfels we decided to drive the additional 25 miles to Camping World to get something for the RV.  Trying to avoid rush hour traffic we drove FM1604 which circles the city even further out that I410.  Maybe the traffic was a little better than I410, but it was still pretty awful!  Good thing Jim drove for so many years in the northeast...it's kinda like the Jersey Turnpike out here.

Got back just before the skies opened up.  Jim grilled the salmon under an umbrella.  Thank God for Steamfresh, cooks in the package, for sides...easy dinner.

Tomorrow the weather is going to be even worse.  We will be leaving here and heading west.  This time we are not taking I10,  but US90, the older highway across the southern United States.  We could push it and get to big bend in one long day but won't.  We will more than likely stop for the night in Del Rio.   Then on to Big Bend National Park, a place that we've never seen before.  It's getting harder and harder to do that.

You Can Always Go...Downtown

San Antonio Texas

Day 18

We headed downtown after a forced march, by one of the entrances to Sea World, open only on weekends here this time of year.

Note to self:  Forgo the forced marches on days that you visit a walking tour city!

Last time we were here, two years ago, it was hot, we sought out shade.  Today, much cooler and overcast, made it easier to walk, and walk, and walk.  We parked at a $10/day lot about a block from the Alamo.  The tourist area ends abruptly somewhere during that block and turns a little scary.  The car was empty (took TomTom with us) and we looked around the lots thinking that a thief would want several of the other less gas guzzling vehicles more that ours.  So we weren't overly concerned...

First we stopped at the Alamo (mandatory in S.A.) and the surrounding buildings where we viewed a segment of a History Channel segment about what actually happened there. 

Next, on to the mall and Riverwalk.   Always lovely, this place.  What they have created with an aging section of the city, and a 'creek' is amazing.  We walked most of it, having done the boat ride a couple of times in the past.  Then we stopped for lunch...

I am always a little leery of touristy restaurants, they know you won't be back any time soon.  But we wanted to be part of the al fresco crowd so we stopped at one of the seven million TexMex places.  I was a little surprised Jim chose this, because we'd just had Mexican the night before.  The beef in my chimichanga tasted old, at first bite.  Then a few bites later I bit onto something tough.  On closer examination I discovered it was a TWIG!  Okay, if I'd been eating, say....spinach, I could understand how a 2 inch twig could end up in that.  But a beef chimichanga?  The only good thing about our lunch was that I didn't eat enough to gain weight!  Jim's meal wasn't much better.  Putting this one on on my 'Do Not Enter' list for my visit with friends in 2011. 

While we were 'enjoying' our lunch, we were watching a Japanese film crew filming a scene directly across the river.  I would guess it was a travel show, but there were six young people involved, obviously talking with each other...maybe a TV show.  Either way, we'll never know if we were in the background of their scenes, having lunch at the restaurant from Hell...don't watch a lot of Japanese TV!




On the way back out of Riverwalk, I spotted a Marble Slab (actually I remembered exactly where it was from the 2008 visit) and we both sat by the river and enjoyed a cup of ice cream.  I didn't feel too guilty, after that 'lunch'.  But something about a cup of ice cream being almost $6 is wrong...you know?

From the lobby of a Riverwalk hotel, the Hyatt, I think

By the time we got back to the car (no shattered windows) we were beat.  Stopped briefly on the way so Jim could buy an identical shirt to one he got a week or so ago (guy thing) because he loves it so much.  We both were exhausted so we decided to have a 'short nap'...which lasted almost TWO HOURS.  I guess we both really needed it, maybe it staved off the ptomaine poisoning... 

The weather isn't looking very good for tomorrow...it wasn't good today.  See a pattern here?

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Corpus Christi TX  to  San Antonio TX   165 Miles

Day 17

Damp, chilly, windy  and heavy overcast again in Corpus Christi this morning.  We headed north west,  on I37 toward San Antonio around 10:00 .  Not much noteworthy on this ride, other than some of the biggest refineries and chemical plants that I've ever seen.

We are staying on the west side of the city, literally right across the street from Sea World.  We are very happy with the RV park, nice neighborhood (NOT a ghetto!) no train in the back yard, not right on a highway so no traffic noise, good security, clean and near shopping centers and a mall!  We'll have to see if a dog in the homes adjacent to the park barks tonight. 

No walking today.  Jim rode his bike this afternoon...he forgot about hills.  We don't have hills in Charleston, he is now crippled.  *I* on the other hand, am aware that this is considered 'Texas Hill Country'...I think we are on the edge of it, but I have eyes and can see that it's hilly in this neighborhood!

He has been craving Mexican food.  The proprietors here suggested a place a few miles down the road.  Before we left I googled it and amid many great reviews, was an article about the restaurant getting two perfect scores from the health department.  That was good enough for us, so off we went.  I guess you could call it Tex-Mex, emphasis on the Mex.  Either way it was excellent, and reasonably priced.  Good dining experience...always ask the locals.

Some days the 30 foot box seems smaller...

I'm Walkin', Yes Indeed...

Day 16

Corpus Christi and Padre Island Texas

The weather was threatening - warm, overcast, muggy and very windy this morning.  I slept almost until 9:00 !  (big grin here) having the queen size bed all to myself for a couple of hours was nice. 

Had some breakfast and headed over the causeway for the beach on Padre Island.  We parked at the pier where we were yesterday and headed north on the hard sand beach.  A mile later we discovered a seawall which made the second mile even easier to walk.  It was a very enjoyable 4 miles and I usually don't enjoy a FOUR mile forced march. 


While we walked the beach we watched the seagulls hunting for food in the seaweed that washed up.  They seem to have an agreed upon distance between each other, about 12 feet.  Not nearly as much trash/plastic washing up here as on the Galveston beaches.  I thought it odd that there were no seashells on the beach. However, there were plenty of jellyfish, including a really strange looking one.  I emailed my son, the 'Great Identifier of Everything from the Sea', a photo of it...he will know.  It looked like a clear, plastic six inch oval with a sort of tail.  Some sort of jellyfish, I'm sure. 

A Jellyfish?

You never know what will wash up on the beach, wonder where it started it's journey?

But there were pelicans, so many pelicans!  We would see 'squadrons' of them approaching us while we walked.  One flock numbered over sixty and as they passed directly overhead we held our breath that NONE of the sixty would feel the need to uh....unload.  They are huge birds, they eat fish...do the math.  It would be SO not a good thing!  Thankfully after three 'squadrons passed our luck held.

We were almost back to the car when we saw the funniest looking dog.  As he and his owners neared, we tried to guess the breed, or rather what combination of breeds.  He had a long, dachshund like body, short bow legs, and a definite black lab head!  I thought his legs looked basset hound-ish too.  His owners said he was half black lab and half basset hound...I guess you could call him a 'Labbassett'.  Whatever he was, he was a super friendly little guy.  Wish I'd taken a picture!


We just beat the blowing mist by the time we got back to the RV, and it got chilly.  Jim was not put out at all, in fact, he was quite happy that it was an indoor sort of day...THE MASTERS GOLF TOURNAMENT
was on TV! 

Half way through...he looked like a LION!

Not a problem for me, I had a dog to clip  a LOT of dog to clip.  They are so many burrs in the grass this time of year, and being so short, they get covered. This time it was Rookie's turn. 

So much fur...

If I was God, I could have made another animal!