Big Bend to South Padre Island

Whenever Les gets a little bit bored, he just drags out a different toy to play with.

What's so great about this is that it's a wonderful conversation starter with the neighbors.







This is the Bromeilliad that Sterling brought to me when he came out on our first week, down in Ocotillo Wells. It's been blooming ever since. The blooms alternate on each side and last about a day. Isn't this a beauty.



You can click on any picture to see it larger!



We had a good day riding through the Davis Mountains. You have to understand, that most everything is 'big' in Texas, but they ain't seen the Sierra's! At home, we'd call these the foothills.... We rode up to the McDonald's Observatory for the view.










We really got a chuckle at Big Bend National Park. As y'all know (that's Texas talk), the Rio Grande is the boundary line between the US and Mexico. If you look closely at this photo, you'll see the rafting tubes on the Mexico side of the border... Is that so they don't have to swim?

A nice lady offered to take our photo. That's Mexico in the background.

In Del Rio is Lake Amistad. This apparently was the original road. Just something that made me chuckle.

And a picture of me at my first attempt at Chili Relleno's. Must say, they were a ton of work, but, oh my, were they good. Notice the fashion gloves.

South Padre Island suprised us. I don't know what we were expecting, but it wasn't this big resort area. We've been told that we're here during off season and that it's crazy at Spring Break.
We weren't able to stay on the Island (everything is wait-listed), so we're based in Mercedes, Texas, for a few days and site-seeing from here.

Today we walked across the border and had lunch in Progreso. It's a typical border town and since we don't have our dental work done there, or buy our prescriptions or get our hair/nails done, we just went over and had lunch. It was a fun afternoon. A funny side note, there are turnstiles as you go in and it costs .25 to get in to Mexico and then it costs .30 to get out. (Cars cost $2 to get in and $1.60, we think, to drive out. Also, when you leave you have to pay Texas taxes on your alcohol and cigarettes. The tax on a carton of smokes was $15)

We'll be heading up to Corpus Christi this weekend.

Storm watch

We spent 2 days in Del Rio, Texas, riding out a storm. We did have a lot of wind, but the rain skirted around us to the north.

If you're wondering about our country's Homeland Security budget, I can assure you that it's being spent on our border between Texas and Mexico. We've been stopped numerous times at highway checkpoingts, as we've traveled the highways along the border towns, checking to make sure we're US citizens. It was also interesting to watch them 'grade' the dirt roads that run alongside of the highways. They attach 3 tires to the back of their SUV and run down the dirt roads with the tires bumping and sliding along behind them. That way, they can see if there are any footprints in the dirt later. Clever! They're looking to hire a lot more Border Patrol Agents, so if you've recently lost your job, there's income potential here.

It was 84 degrees here today in Laredo Texas! We're boondocking tonight at the Wal-Mart and then heading south to Brownsville tomorrow. Destination: South Padre Island.

Too much time between updates.

Bisbee and beyond:
We spent a few days exploring Bisbee Arizona, a copper mining town (plus silver and gold) founded about 1880 The town reminded me of Nevada City and Les of Virginia City.









On our first day we walked around town and found the Stock Exchange saloon. It really was a stock exchange during prohibition. They had an open mic night on Thursday, so we grabbed some pizza and a seat at the bar. There was some really good local talent.

We took the tour into the Copper Queen mine, which was the original underground mine. Sonny, our guide for the mine tour, in his 70’s, had been a miner his whole life in Bisbee. He explained that the air in the Queen mine was all natural ventilation and the only toxic pockets were caused by the miners themselves. :-) The mine had 143 miles of tunnels on 7 levels, each level 100’ apart. It’s a constant 47 degrees in the mine. With the advent of modern machinery, the mining was done in 'open pit' style. This is the lavender pit, which was closed about 1974.

This was the first spot that we got mail from home. We discovered that you could have mail sent to your name at General Delivery. It worked well for us and we will probably continue to use that method on our trip. We think the trick is to pick a very small town with only one post office.

There is also really cute, old style RV park, called The Shady Dell, where you rent remodeled trailers by the night. Fun.

We took a motorcycle ride out to the border town of Naco (we had heard of this place from one of the campers in Tucson) and then on into Sierra Vista. There is nothing in Naco except a border crossing, a decrepit town and a dusty RV park with a small golf course across the street.

There’s a very nice museum in Bisbee (partnered with the Smithsonian), that focuses on the mining history. We spent a couple of interesting hours there.

New Mexico

After leaving Bisbee, we headed out of Arizona into New Mexico and spent a day in the Las Cruces area. We especially enjoyed our bike ride through historic Mesilla. This is a protected historical site with wonderful old buildings. It became part of the U.S. through the Gadsden Purchase.

According to local legend, Sam Bean and his brother, Roy, had lived and acquired property in Mesilla, but lost their property after the end of the civil war. They were confederate sympathizers and in 1864 their property was confiscated for “armed rebellion against the Government of the U.S. and in all respects aiding and abetting said rebellion.” Sam stayed in the area but Roy left and eventually went to Langtry, Texas where he became the fabled hanging Judge and the self-proclaimed ‘law west of the Pecos’. The trial and sentencing of Billy the Kid was also held in Mesilla in 1881.

Into Texas:

Old El Paso

El Paso was a huge surprise to us. We were thinking a smallish West Texas town on the border and were terribly surprised to discover a city of over 600,000 people! The I-10 through the main part of town was especially hair-raising. It’s interesting to note that the I-10 between New Mexico and El Paso, has a speed limit of 80 for cars and 70 for trucks.

I have finally (willingly) gotten behind the wheel of this behemoth. I’ve driven three times now (first day 30 miles, then 60 miles and today over 90!), on some wide country roads with minimal traffic. It’s good practice and good for the confidence level. Les is very supportive, but still sits on the edge of his seat. ;-}

We spent yesterday on the bike, touring through Big Bend National Park; beautiful, grand scenery. It doesn’t seem possible that today's very tame Rio Grande could carve all these canyons. BTW in Mexico, the river is called Rio Bravo del Norte.

The dental experience

So... we go through google and find some dentists in the area. The second one Les calls, Dr. Stanley Baird, can see him that day. We arrive early and hang out in the waiting room where we have a chance to visit with a very nice family of 6 ~ Mom, Dad, and 4 cute little kids, who are having a family dental day. Les finally get called in and explains his dilemma to the Doc, who graciously pokes and grinds and then sends Les happily on his way, with no charge. Thank you Dr. Baird. What could have been a nightmare scenerio became a story to tell. We appreciate your graciousness and hope your good karma brings you health, wealth and happiness.

...the 'pitfalls' of travel

So, yesterday (Sunday) we're heading south to Tucson Mountain Park to a favorite stop, Gilbert Ray Campground. While traveling through the little burg of Marana, there's a lot of activity on the side of the road and I spot a mexican gentlemen selling homemade tamales. I holler to Les to stop the coach, and I run back and buy 4 fresh tamales. Yum... We saved them until this afternoon, when I reheated them for lunch with some green enchilada sauce that I keep in the coach. I discover that there's a green olive in mine and I warn Les and he finds one in his too. By the time we get to our second tamal, he's apparently forgotten about the olive and proceeds to bite down on the pit, breaking out a filling in his tooth! Tomorrow we'll be searching out a local dentist to help repair the damage!

This was our sunset tonight as we drove back into the campground. Click on it for a full screen view.

Quartzsite and beyond

When we checked into the KOA in Blythe, they let me spin the ‘wheel of fortune’ and I won a fishing pole set! I’m going to hang on to it until Kyle comes out to visit.

On Monday morning, we hooked up with some friends, Mike & Rosalie, who we had met at the Monaco Rally in Lancaster last year. They were heading out into the Quartzsite desert to join some other Monaco Coach owners and we tagged along. We hung out there for a few days, going to the RV show in town and getting to know some fun new people. (Huggy Bob & Marlene, Rob & Jean, Jim & Peg, et. al. this is you! ~ Peg & Jim produce a web page you RVer’s and wannabe RVer’s might enjoy. http://www.americanrver.com/)

The weather has been so great that we’re hesitant to leave the Arizona area yet. High’s in the 70’s and lows in the 40’s and 50’s. On Friday, we made our way northeast to Wickenburg and are staying at an RV park called Horspitality RV Resort and Boarding Stable. That isn’t a typo. This is definitely a cowboy town and the hats and boots are not just for show! Today Les had a great day riding his off-road motorcycle. He did have one brief encounter with a Bull on the same trail that he was riding, but Les was able to give him a wide enough berth to not antagonize the big guy! This is a picture of the stables area behind the rv area.

While Les was out riding, I spent a bit of time going through the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in town. It was a very nice museum with a lot of the local history. Wickenburg is considered the Dude Ranch capital of the world, which started back in the 1920’s. Many still operate today and some have become medical treatment facilities. (Remuda has been converted into the nation's largest eating disorder treatment facility.) I had my first senior moment while visiting the museum; when I went to pay for my ticket, the lovely gray haired lady (old enough to be my grandmother) charged my credit card the senior price! I didn't know whether to be offended or appreciate the $1.50 savings!

Bola ties are reputed to have been invented here. Silversmith Victor Cedarstaff claims to have invented the bola tie in the late 1940s, and later patented his slide design. There were several examples in the museum and they’re quite attractive.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Tucson.

The next great adventure...

We’re hoping our first week back on the road is an indication of the trip to come. We started out on Sunday the 11th, stopping in Nipomo to have a wonderful dinner with friends. On day two, we spent the night in San Bernardino so that Les could go to Chaparral. For the uninitiated, Chaparral is like FAO Schwartz for the grown man whose passion is off-road. (Actually, they have road bikes and stuff, too). You could spend hours in there and still be overwhelmed with all the choices.

This is just the motorcycle area!

Finally, we pulled into Ocotillo Wells State Recreation Area, near the Salton Sea. Les got to ride for a couple of days with our buddy Sterling, and then he and I took a couple of days to test the off-road capabilities of our Tacoma. The weather has been awesome. Upper 70's during the day and mid 40's at night. It doesn't get much better than this in January.



There was some interesting points of interest in the desert, including gas domes and this Artesian Well, left over from some old mining operation. It still bubbles water out of the ground. We suspect the palms were planted, creating the illusion of an "oasis"!


This is our lunch spot...



And our view.

















Home away from home ~ in the middle of the desert.













Les also got to spend some time playing with his Christmas toy.





You should really check out the video, too.

Tonight, we’re in Blythe and plan to spend a couple of days exploring the crazy area called Quartzsite. There are thousands of RV parked all over the desert. They all come here during the month of January for a giant flee market and gem show.

Until next time...