3/31/08 Mission Texas
We are leaving Mission today heading eventually to New Mexico where we will spend a month or so depending on the weather further north. We don’t want to get to Colorado until it warms up some there.
We have enjoyed our winter here in Mission. This area is called The Rio Grande Valley or just The Valley. It is a much bigger area than most people realize. Along Highway 83 from Mission on the west to Harlingen on the east is over 40 miles. There is very little open land between the 10 cities and continuous building is closing the gaps very quickly. The total population of these 10 cities in close to 400,000, maybe more and that does not include the Winter Texans who come here from November thru March each year. Of course this does not include Brownsville and the areas along the gulf coast. We are only a few miles from the Mexican border where one can walk across and do lots of shopping or see the many well-qualified doctors or buy prescription drugs at greatly reduced prices. There are great shopping centers here and strip malls on nearly every corner. Anything you can buy in your home town is available here. Medical care and hospitals are in abundance with very little waiting to get an appointment. There are over 500 RV Parks in the area with reasonable rates compared to other winter resort areas. So if you ever want to spend the winter in more temperate climates, consider The Rio Grande Valley. You can have lunch and a nap in The Valley and dinner and dancing across the border or on the Gulf. You can enjoy year-round fishing and swimming, golf , biking and it is a great birding area. So for now we will say good bye to you and good bye to Mission, Texas.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Viva Mexico City Bus Tour
March 6, 2008
Day 1 On the road to San Luis Potosi
We crossed the border at Reynosa, Mexico at 8:15 am. Reynosa is a ways from the border so one cannot just walk across the border into a town as you can at many border crossings. This area of Mexico is much like southern Texas and Arizona, dry desert conditions with cactus and scrub brush. As we get a ways into the country it is very windy…even dangerously so. We see a semi alongside the road that is turned on its side. Our tour guide, Enrique, told us wind caused the accident and that it is a common occurrence in this area. This is pretty desolate country. We see small villages every once in a while. Most of the homes appear to not have any electricity. Usually there are some store fronts next to the highway and most probably have living quarters attached to the back of the business. The business, whatever it is, is their only source of income. As we travel through the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains into the high plains we see cattle and sheep ranches and many fields of prickly pear cactus (napal) which is a staple in the Mexican diet. We also see fields of chili peppers, agave for alcoholic beverage, and huge green houses where they start the plants. They have large areas of apartments for those who work in the fields. These small apartments seem to be much nicer than the average worker in Mexico has.
March 6, 2008
Day 1 On the road to San Luis Potosi
We crossed the border at Reynosa, Mexico at 8:15 am. Reynosa is a ways from the border so one cannot just walk across the border into a town as you can at many border crossings. This area of Mexico is much like southern Texas and Arizona, dry desert conditions with cactus and scrub brush. As we get a ways into the country it is very windy…even dangerously so. We see a semi alongside the road that is turned on its side. Our tour guide, Enrique, told us wind caused the accident and that it is a common occurrence in this area. This is pretty desolate country. We see small villages every once in a while. Most of the homes appear to not have any electricity. Usually there are some store fronts next to the highway and most probably have living quarters attached to the back of the business. The business, whatever it is, is their only source of income. As we travel through the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains into the high plains we see cattle and sheep ranches and many fields of prickly pear cactus (napal) which is a staple in the Mexican diet. We also see fields of chili peppers, agave for alcoholic beverage, and huge green houses where they start the plants. They have large areas of apartments for those who work in the fields. These small apartments seem to be much nicer than the average worker in Mexico has.
We arrived in San Luis Potosi where we will spend the night at the Hotel Real Plaza. It is in the mountains and 984 feet higher than Denver, CO. We took a city walking tour to the Plaza or city square. In most Mexican cities there is a city square with the church, the government building and the judicial building surrounding this square. Our tour guide, Enrique, is an archeologist and historian. He pointed out the many beautifully styled buildings around the square and spoke in great detail of the style of these building. Do to the time of day we were unable to get good pictures of the outside of the beautiful Cathedral Potocinia but we were able to get a nice picture of the inside. We ate dinner in the hotel and had quesadillas with beans and guacamole.
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