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10 January ‘09

Saturday

We’re finally there, that is, we’re finally in Brownsville, Texas.  After leaving Falcon State Park a couple of days ago, we arrived to an 85 degree, 92% humidity day.  We were only 40 miles away yesterday but we decided to stay one night at Wal-Mart and do a little last minute shopping before arriving here.  Hell, we finished our shopping in about 15 minutes so we should have continued on.  In staying at Wal-Mart, the “rules of the road for RV’rs”, no slides out, no chairs, bbq’s, no nothing out side of the RV while parked for the night.  Yesterday we stopped before 3, it was hot and sticky, and it would have been natural to have put the chairs outside for a little breeze and a “cool one” but NO…we’ve got to play by the rules…  Louise and I had a little chat about this and decided that this “dry camping at Wal-Mart” is only going to happen when it’s the last resort.  I guess I’m most to blame for doing the Wal-Mart scene as I’m looking at saving the almighty dollar, or as Louise told me...your just being “cheap”.  Well for the next 5 nights we’ll be staying in a very nice RV park and we’re paying a total of $128.  I guess $26 dollars a night isn’t too bad considering that I can put my chair outside and use my bbq whenever I want.   After arriving and pulling into our site, I started setting up for our stay.  As I mentioned earlier the temperature is just above the comfortable area and the humidity is STICKY,        resulting in having to change my clothes because of heavy SWEATING…I had almost forgotten what that was like…  (I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about warm to hot temperatures and sweating when we’ve got family and friends that are freezing their bippy off up in the northwest…SORRY…).  Seeing as we still had a few hours of day light left we decided to drive out to Boca Chica peninsula.  This is where the Rio Grande flows out into the Gulf of Mexico, and we’ve been following the Rio for awhile now.  We decided to take a walk along the beach and put a toe or two into the surf.  The water was cool, but tolerable, the sand…really fine and really sticky…  By the time we were ready to leave, a big weather front came marching in.  The sky turned black, the wind started to blow hard, and it started to rain.  By the time we got back to the coach the temperature had dropped by 20+ degrees … now we’re talking “normal” for the area. 

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8 January ‘09

Thursday

We’ve been at the Falcon State Park for the last two spectacular days.  As an example, we awoke to the sun coming through the front windows this morning and thoroughly enjoyed the day as the temperature rose to 82 degrees.  We are sitting in an amazing area…  the campground is on the banks of a HUGE reservoir  and at the other side of the dam flows the continuing waters of the Rio Grande.  With the weather, the water, and the natural fauna this area is a bird haven.  This morning we drove up to Roma to visit the National Bird Society branch and viewing area.  The viewing platform sits high above the Rio Grande and gives a great over-view of the birding grounds below.  We were hoping to get some information from them as to the “perfect” location for us to view the birds and get a good paddle in.  They did have a suggestion for us and we took it…  Back up river we found the location they were talking about.  Unfortunately I can’t remember the name, but it was such a small community that you wouldn’t find it on the map anyway.  We were told to drive down this paved road for about a mile, watch out for 3 or 4 “topes” (huge bumps in the road…), and continue down a narrow dirt road that begins at “the Cumquat tree”.  At the end of this roadway you will find a little park (boy they weren’t kidding about being little..).  This is actually a state park but you wouldn’t know it by the advertizing…  Anyway, way back in the heavy and dense foliage sits a 5th wheel trailer and the host to this park.  They have semi cleared out an area, set up a dozen or so feeding areas, and give a large variety of birds a place to be viewed by people like us and fed at the same time.  We saw so many birds of varying colors and sizes and it gave us the “need” to get out on the water to see more. 

_Well we inflated the kayak and set out up stream.  The water looked absolutely flat, but once we got out there we quickly noticed that we had a heck of a current going against us.  There is a 30 acre island about 200 yards upstream from where we put in, and our goal was to paddle around it and take in all the bird sightings and sounds.  By the time we had reached half way around this island we had to turn around and let the current take us…  It wasn’t dangerous, but it was surprising in its strength.  After we returned to our starting place (the park), we pulled out our “lawn chairs” and sat on the bank for awhile to just enjoy the area and the warmth of the day.

_About 20 minutes later an older Ford pickup came down the dirt road, parked back from us a little and just sat there.  After about 5 minutes we heard a small boat coming up the river from behind some trees on our left.  It just so happened that there were 5 young men in this boat and they immediately pulled up to “our” bank and unloaded 4 (we didn't take pictures of this...).  These 4 men quickly made their way to the pickup and left the area “IMMEDIATELY”… what a surprise….  We decided we had better move on as well, so pulling up stakes (and kayak) we headed back to our campground and got ready to paddle the reservoir.  We had a good 2 hours of daylight left and enjoyed every minute of it, including watching the sunset while paddling back to the car. 

_6 January ‘09 Tuesday

Yesterday it was Wal-Mart and today…Costco.  Now that we’re caught up with “shopping” we’re ready to explore San Antonio.  On one side, shopping at Wal-Mart was easy as we’re parked in their parking lot, but Costco…it’s 20 miles away and on the other side of town.  Once we found Costco we were surprised to find another Wal-Mart just a block away.  Seeing as how we came in on 90 instead of 10 and we were heading south on 35 when we leave, the Wal-Mart we’re in was the right choice after all.  After spending more than an hour at Costco we still had plenty of time to see the sights.  First we had to find the Alamo. 

_Now San Antonio has really made it easy for those tourists that are coming into town for the first time.  Signs are everywhere directing you to every site you could want to see, besides, the Alamo is located right in the center of town and there was plenty of good parking at a fair price.  The city has done a great job of keeping the Alamo in pristine condition and to have “information” boards large enough so that you can read them while looking over someone’s shoulder and of course, displays of artifacts that were plentiful and well displayed.

_We ventured across the street, down some stairs, and strolled the Paseo Del Rio (River Walk).

_Unfortunately our timing wasn’t the best to see River Walk.  They just started their annual “Mud Walk” Celebration…that is where they drain the river and clean all the mud and debris that has been left throughout the year. 

_That’s OK, we still had a good walk and even found a place to treat ourselves…Haagen Dazs, and we even ate it on a beautiful deck overlooking the Mud Walk Celebration (those working down in the river banks and lower, doing what needed to be done).  San Antonio also has 4 absolutely beautiful 18th century missions that have some wonderful history behind them being Spain’s outposts along its northern frontier.  Unfortunately we only had time to visit one and that one was Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo…”San Jose Mission, the Queen of Missions…”.

_The missions are all a part of The National Park systems and they have done a great job of maintaining them and staffing them with knowledgeable personnel.  Our 1 hour tour was excellent and well worth the time for all to see. 

_4 January ‘09

Sunday

Yesterday when we arrived in Sanderson, it was 74 degrees, but this morning when we were ready to leave it was about 38…what a change.  The blue sky was now covered with high clouds that blocked out the sun from yesterday and a wind was blowing cold.  Fortunately the wind was going to be a tail wind for us most of the day.  It ended up pushing us all the way to Langtry and Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site.  Langtry was the home of Judge Roy Bean and the community that he developed, named, and ruled over with an iron hand (or gun).  His court was held either on the front porch or at the bar of his “Court” (Salon).

_If the weather was wet it went inside and if it was nice outside it went to the porch.  In either case, you really didn’t want to be the defendant in front of Judge Roy Bean…guilty or not…  Justice was swift in Judge Bean’s court.  When an accused was brought in, Judge Bean removed his toweling apron, hauled out his law book and notary seal, and called a jury from among his customers.  Although Judge Bean had the reputation of being the “Hanging Judge”, there are no records of anyone ever being hung from one of his decisions.  Seminole Canyon sits at the confluence of the Rio Grande and Pecos Rivers.

_It also sits high on a hill over-looking a prehistoric rock art collection that was left behind 7 to 10,000 years ago.  After checking in, finding our site, and having lunch, we headed out to see were the rivers converged.  We had just driven across the bridge that spans the Pecos River but when passing over it I didn’t get too much of a chance to “sightsee”. 

_The bridge is going through a resurfacing and more, and we had to share a single lane to cross.  That single lane was “very single” and it took all I had to keep it off the rail, and at over 300 feet above that water I just didn’t want to check out the view until later.  Well that “later” arrived and we found a couple of lookouts to enjoy the views.  Without a doubt, the Rio Grande and the Pecos had a lot more water here than the Rio Grande had around Big Bend.  After checking out the “convergence”, we drove back to the visitor’s center at the park.  We had signed up for a guided hike into the canyon.

_Because of the fragile nature of the pictographs and the canyon, the only way to see it is with a park guide.  The round trip hike was only about a mile and once we were down in the canyon we found the cliffs above us about 50 feet. 

_The pictographs were painted on the ceilings and walls of the cliff dwellings but unfortunately they have started to fade badly so those that will come to see them in the future may be out of luck.  But on the other hand, it’s only been 7,000 years…

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3 January ‘09

Saturday

After gathering everything up and stowing it in the coach, we headed out to say our good-bye’s to everyone at Loma Paloma RV/Golf Resort in Presidio.  This was one of those stops that we’ll remember for a long time because of their efforts to make us feel at home.  Just about everyone that was there were those that have been coming to this location for years and staying the winter.  Who knows, maybe we’ll be doing the same thing with them soon.  Anyway, we backtracked to Marfa, took a right turn and headed east on T-90.  The drive across this part of Texas wasn’t the most spectacular drive that we’ve taken, but with the wind pushing from behind it was certainly enjoyable.  Right after passing Alpine I decided that I was getting hungry, but I sure didn’t want to turn back.  Marathon was another 30 miles ahead so I it was either find a large enough spot to turn onto or tough it out and hope that Marathon has something to offer.  T-90 was and is a great road to travel, they have taken care of the roads 100 times better than California and a lot better than most other states we’ve driven in.  The only problem is, they don’t have any room to get off the roadway and they have very few rest stops to drive into.  Well I was able to wait it out the 30 miles and we did find a great little restaurant just as we pulled into town.  Marathon is a quaint little town that at one time hosted a grand hotel and a thriving cattle community.  Most of this was because of one man…Mr. Gage…  He had a huge cattle company that covered over 600 hectors of land and he also built this upscale hotel here in Marathon.  Now this little restaurant/soda bar, wasn’t around when Gage was here but if it had, it would have been a real success.  Louise and I both ordered the “old fashioned” hamburger and chocolate malted…nice and thick and sooo good for us, right?  Another 60 miles down the road and we pulled into Sanderson.  Now Sanderson is one of those little towns that is in a world of hurt.  Their economy is at zero and it doesn’t look like it will get better any time soon.  I was getting a little tired prior to Sanderson so I decided to call it a day.  Half way through town I noticed a large empty lot behind a bank and decided that that would be our over-night location.  After pulling in to the lot, Louise and I went onto Main Street and walked to the end…two blocks.  On the way back we happened to notice a white pickup coming around the corner.  It was one of the two Sheriff’s that handles this town.  After a little conversation I asked him if it would be a problem it we were to settle in for the night…”Nope, Ya’all have a good night”… 

_2 January ‘09 Friday

Thursday morning went by quickly.  I was doing my “thing” (please don’t ask…) and Louise was busy baking a Lemon Poppy Seed Bread for today’s New Years dinner (at 1 PM).  If we could just get out of bed we would have more time to do things in the morning, but we have always and still continue to be, a tad bit “drowsy” at that time of day.  If we had an excuse for this morning, it was because we stayed up way beyond midnight to watch too much of the New Year come in…  As we walked across to the clubhouse at the golf course,

_we were greatly surprised as to how many campers and locals that were making their way to dinner.  We had been told that there was going to be a couple of birthdays celebrated at dinner as well.  One of them was going to be 92 and the other just wouldn’t tell…it’s a woman thing…  There was also another very interesting person attending.  He was about 6’ 3”, stood very straight, and his eyes were in full contact with you when in conversation. 

_He wore a beautiful Texan 10 gallon hat, red scarf, buckskin vest, blue shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots with SPURS.  With a firm handshake, you were being introduced to:  A. Kelly Pruitt…  At this point, I really want you to “Google”   A. Kelly Pruitt and read his story.  When I did it, I felt I got exactly what I had met earlier… We found him to be a very interesting person and someone that we would like to see again and spend more time with.  He invited us to his “ranch” to see his new sheep and to spend more time with him and “Wolf” (his WOLF is a real live wolf which he has had since a pup.) but unfortunately our times just didn’t work out this time around.  Friday, we did drive into the Big Bend National Park.  We left the motor home behind and took the car so that we could make better time.  We had heard about this movie set that was constructed just outside of Big Bend and alongside the Rio Grande. 

_The small village or Rancheria was constructed in 1985 as a set for the border-western comedy “Uphill All The Way” with Roy Clark, Mel Tillis and Burl Ives.  Since that time, nine different movies have been made on this set with a couple additions of buildings from those originals.  Some of the other movies were:  ’93 Rio Diablo,’95 Streets of Larado, and 6 others since…  After seeing the set after last year’s flood, our guess is, it most likely has heard the last words of “ACTION”.

_Later and a little further down river, we came upon a group getting ready to float the Rio.  We could almost see ourselves get the kayak out and join them, but we had other things to do today so onward we went.  Terlingua was our next stop.  Terlingua is a “Western Destination Resort” complex.  Someone or some group has and is spending a fortune in making this “town”. 

_It sits at the western entrance to the Big Bend National Park and offers a beautiful setting, loads of things to do, and wonderful homemade foods to spoil you with.  Let’s just hope that this economy doesn’t just eat it alive before it even has a chance to survive.  OK, let’s get with it, we headed off to finally enter into Big Bend.  About 25 miles up and into the mountains, we finally came to the west entrance to the park.  Today’s drive was to take us to the Castolon Visitor Center and Santa Elena Canyon.  From the original entry gates, it was another 45 miles until we were in front of the opening of the Santa Elena Canyon.  The golden colored water was moving very slowly out of the high walls of the heavily shaded canyon.

_There was no rushing sounds at all, just a quiet and serine feeling as the water touched the fine white sand at our feet.  We immediately made the decision that we will be back and we will be spending a great deal of time right here and throughout the rest of this incredible park.