Friday we decided to get our windows tinted inside the RV - to help with keeping the heat out and also, to keep the warmth in on cold days. Found a tinting company that comes to you and by 6pm we had all the windows done as well as a tint band across the truck's front window for glare. Was interesting to talk with the installer who was also the owner (David was his name) of the tinting company. We plied him with so many questions about Mexico, illegals, how the police force on US side deals with the problem, etc. He is a Tejano and used this term a couple of times. I didn't question him about the term - but found out yesterday when we went to the Museum of South Texas in Edinburg - just what this means. Tejanos (j is silent - pronounced tee-haun-ohs) is a term for a person who is a Texan of Mexican descent which he was. He is third generation born in the US, looks like a Mexican, speaks fluent Spanish as well as English, and I think Spanish was his first language although he was born here in the valley. The population in the valley is 60% Tejanos! David is so against what is going on with the illegals trying to bring in the bad influence but he did say that he gives the police force and border patrol great credit for doing a super job of keeping things under control. He said that Arizona should take note of what Texas is doing - seems to be working so much better here.
Now that we have the windows tinted, we are having a tough time adjusting to the darker interior. During the day you can't see in at all from the outside (that wasn't our intent - but it's a benefit too - don't have to hide in the bathroom when changing clothes) but you can still see in at night. The test for the heat and cold will come today and then later in the week. Today it is supposed to be 85 and then by Tuesday night they have a freeze warning out through Thursday morning - the same Canadian cold front you all are going to get, we will get.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Harlingen
Yesterday we drove east and went to a town called Harlingen. 
There was a quilt shop there - which is the only one in this entire valley! and I needed some things that I forgot to bring. Afterward I told him there was another 'world birding center' right down the road, so of course after a 45 minute we had to get out and stretch our legs. We didn't see many birds but the cactus (cacti?) was something to see. If you want to see birds you need to see them in the morning and then late in the afternoon. We were there at 1pm so only saw the fauna. We are about 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico here and I was surprised at the cactus. You don't see them in McAllen so I was a bit surprised. Dave told me to step by one to show people just how big these cactus patches get - and I told him "no, I am scared of the rattlesnakes." We stamped our feet (that's what they tell you to do) to scare them away. Also - something we asked at the beginning - if we get bit by a rattlesnake - what do we do? Should we have anti-venon available? Everyone says to put a turnicat loosely around the area and get to a hospital. I wondered why not tightly to really not allow the poison to move up into the main part of the body and they said that no, you will kill the skin and body area if you do that - you need some blood flow to all the area. Yikes! Anyhow - I don't like snakes - no, I HATE snakes so I really stamped my feet big time - yeah I am sure I over did it - but I didn't care! Anyhow - you can see just how large these bushes get. Was a nice park - people walking dogs so whatever birds were in the area were frightened away.
There was a quilt shop there - which is the only one in this entire valley! and I needed some things that I forgot to bring. Afterward I told him there was another 'world birding center' right down the road, so of course after a 45 minute we had to get out and stretch our legs. We didn't see many birds but the cactus (cacti?) was something to see. If you want to see birds you need to see them in the morning and then late in the afternoon. We were there at 1pm so only saw the fauna. We are about 20 miles from the Gulf of Mexico here and I was surprised at the cactus. You don't see them in McAllen so I was a bit surprised. Dave told me to step by one to show people just how big these cactus patches get - and I told him "no, I am scared of the rattlesnakes." We stamped our feet (that's what they tell you to do) to scare them away. Also - something we asked at the beginning - if we get bit by a rattlesnake - what do we do? Should we have anti-venon available? Everyone says to put a turnicat loosely around the area and get to a hospital. I wondered why not tightly to really not allow the poison to move up into the main part of the body and they said that no, you will kill the skin and body area if you do that - you need some blood flow to all the area. Yikes! Anyhow - I don't like snakes - no, I HATE snakes so I really stamped my feet big time - yeah I am sure I over did it - but I didn't care! Anyhow - you can see just how large these bushes get. Was a nice park - people walking dogs so whatever birds were in the area were frightened away.One other thing. We got an ice cream craving and went to a local Dairy Queen for a fix. Couldn't find a parking spot - how come? Well, seems this DQ caters big time to the Winter Texans and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays the DQ manager hosts BINGO of all things! The place was packed because of this. I think they have to buy something before they are allowed to sit and play bingo. Ah, no thanks - not into BINGO.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Watching you!
Since we have been in McAllen we have noticed these Police thingies- not sure what you call 
them and we see them at least 3 to 4 different places every day in Mission and in McAllen. So - nosy me - I asked a clerk at the Target store if he knew what this was. His reply was - "oh, they are watching the parking lot since it is so big. For theft." Dave and I don't buy this. This police thing was in a parking lot with so few cars, no banks anywhere, and it was near the expressway - and not far from the border of Mexico. We have never seen any car or truck parked by it, and we hardly have seen any police cars patrolling in the towns during the day. Hear them at night with sirens going, but not during the day. Do see alot of Border Patrol and Homeland Security vehicles driving around - especially near the border. Not sure if this thing is manned or not. Definitely can't see in it. As we thought about this, where we have seen them is on the main drags of roads leading in and out of Mexico. This particular one was in Mission, the next community west of us, and had great access to the roadway. Not far from here is an international bridge (customs/checkpoint) where you pass in and out of Mexico. I also wonder if they record cars or trucks with Mexican plates and use that as a reference for the Mexicans that come over to shop. I may have to call the police just to get the low down. Chris - wonder if your department might like one of these? Pretty cool - flashing red and blue lights both on top and bottom. You definitely know it's there - it sticks out! I have to say the I was nervous when Dave pulled the truck this close - looking for someone to intercept us as we road away.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Quinta Mazatlan
From the Hidalgo Pumphouse we stopped at Quinta Mazatlan which is one of the largest remaining adobe homes built in Texas. Very lovely, tile, wood, ironwork, beautiful gardens, and of course - a birding center open to the public. The home was built by Jason Matthews and his wife 
Marcia and raised a son and daughter here during the 1930s and 1940s. By the late 1950's McAllen built the international airport right near the home. Weird piece of info about the home - Matthews painted Aluminum sulfate paint on the inside and outside to prevent radar waves from penetrating the building. After the Matthews passed on the building went empty and with a hurricane in 1967 - pretty much in major disrepair. A church took over the buildings and eventually another family bought the home and then in 1991 McAllen purchased the eight acres and over 10,000 square feet of buildings and restored back to it's original beauty. We walked the paths, saw some pretty neat birds - of course the Chachalacas (love that word - we renamed Chip - Chipalaca) Great Kiskadees, woodpeckers, and numerous birds that I need to help Dave identify once he edits the photos. The wind was pretty high so many of the birds were in hiding. We will definitely go back to this and sit and watch the birds another day.
Marcia and raised a son and daughter here during the 1930s and 1940s. By the late 1950's McAllen built the international airport right near the home. Weird piece of info about the home - Matthews painted Aluminum sulfate paint on the inside and outside to prevent radar waves from penetrating the building. After the Matthews passed on the building went empty and with a hurricane in 1967 - pretty much in major disrepair. A church took over the buildings and eventually another family bought the home and then in 1991 McAllen purchased the eight acres and over 10,000 square feet of buildings and restored back to it's original beauty. We walked the paths, saw some pretty neat birds - of course the Chachalacas (love that word - we renamed Chip - Chipalaca) Great Kiskadees, woodpeckers, and numerous birds that I need to help Dave identify once he edits the photos. The wind was pretty high so many of the birds were in hiding. We will definitely go back to this and sit and watch the birds another day. Old Hidalgo Pumphouse
Yesterday we went to the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse and Birding Center. This site is the original water pump station built in 1904 that brought the Rio Grande River water up into it's plant, 
generated power from the water, and pushed the water up north about 20 miles north of the River to irrigate farmlands. Was a pretty big feat to do back then. Two men rescued the abandonded pumphouse (went high tech in the late 1950's and then shut down due to other plant on-board about a mile down river) and made it into a teaching/historical museum. Very educational - they get many classes from schools coming through to teach the kids how the "Magic Valley" started and was populated. Seems just about anything that is planted here grows, hence the 'magic'. In the lower level of the museum a model train club has set up an accurate display of trains, tracks, the towns along the river - churches, schools, jails, post offices, houses, industries and agriculture minitures. The 'conductor' that described the railroad system to us - of all places he was originally from - Elyria!, was so proud of the display since he carved many of the models, telling us how the valley started and how the trains made movement of agriculture products to the north possible which in turn made the valley very prosperous, turning from agriculture to industry to retail. As a matter of fact, the city of McAllen (population 110,000) today serves 1.5 
million people in the retail industry. There are 4 Super WalMarts, 4 Lowes, 4 Home Depots, 6 indoor malls, bazillion restaurants and hotels, you name it - it's here. The Pumphouse also is one of the nine main birding sites along the Rio Grande and we had planned to walk the trails afterward. However. If you look closely at the picture here you will see a Border Patrol Car parked right at the museum - not surprising since we were right at the border and you see these cars all the time. We got to the starting point of the trail and 2 couples stopped us, they were just coming back from the path and we were at the starting point - they were wide eyed and stammering. They were stopped by the FBI, police and Border Patrol with guns drawn at them! Yikes. They instructed them to get back to the Pumphouse and not venture on the path. Needless to say - we didn't go hiking. And as we drove away - we made sure that we were heading north (towards McAllen) and not south!
generated power from the water, and pushed the water up north about 20 miles north of the River to irrigate farmlands. Was a pretty big feat to do back then. Two men rescued the abandonded pumphouse (went high tech in the late 1950's and then shut down due to other plant on-board about a mile down river) and made it into a teaching/historical museum. Very educational - they get many classes from schools coming through to teach the kids how the "Magic Valley" started and was populated. Seems just about anything that is planted here grows, hence the 'magic'. In the lower level of the museum a model train club has set up an accurate display of trains, tracks, the towns along the river - churches, schools, jails, post offices, houses, industries and agriculture minitures. The 'conductor' that described the railroad system to us - of all places he was originally from - Elyria!, was so proud of the display since he carved many of the models, telling us how the valley started and how the trains made movement of agriculture products to the north possible which in turn made the valley very prosperous, turning from agriculture to industry to retail. As a matter of fact, the city of McAllen (population 110,000) today serves 1.5 
million people in the retail industry. There are 4 Super WalMarts, 4 Lowes, 4 Home Depots, 6 indoor malls, bazillion restaurants and hotels, you name it - it's here. The Pumphouse also is one of the nine main birding sites along the Rio Grande and we had planned to walk the trails afterward. However. If you look closely at the picture here you will see a Border Patrol Car parked right at the museum - not surprising since we were right at the border and you see these cars all the time. We got to the starting point of the trail and 2 couples stopped us, they were just coming back from the path and we were at the starting point - they were wide eyed and stammering. They were stopped by the FBI, police and Border Patrol with guns drawn at them! Yikes. They instructed them to get back to the Pumphouse and not venture on the path. Needless to say - we didn't go hiking. And as we drove away - we made sure that we were heading north (towards McAllen) and not south! Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Just wait a few minutes
That's the saying here for the weather. And they are right. We got up this morning at it was 50, just a crystal clear morning. Then, fog came in. Then fog lifted and now very windy and sunny. But - temp has only climbed a few degrees. Supposed to be 72 today. Just wait a few mintues.....
Winter Texans are what us folks are called. We aren't snowbirds as we would be called if in Florida, just Winter Texans. Two kinds of Texans here - the Winter Texans and the full-time Texans. Either way - you are a Texan! And this whole area of south Texas caters to us. Everywhere you go you see 'Welcome back Winter Texans!' Amazing thing to see the license plates of people from Alberta Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho just to name a few. That's a fur piece to travel to get here. Would we come back here? Probably not because we want to see so much more of the US. Takes forever to get down here to the bottom - we are the furthest south we have ever camped and just above the lattitude as the Florida Keys and right on the border of Mexico. Did I mention that we were excited to see the Rio Grande River the other day? As long as we don't cross the border we will be fine. People have said to also be off the roads and 'home' by 10pm - and we do hear sirens alot late at night. We are about 5 miles from the border but feel safe never the less. And - we don't need to go to Mexico - you just go to Main Street of Mission or McAllen - and you are in Mexico. All store signs are in Spanish, alot of junky stores, alot of good stores, and predominently Mexicans shopping there. We think - don't know - they get a day pass to come to the US to shop and then return home that evening. Even grocery shopping - see lots of Mexican license plates. Glad we did come down - the birds and flowers are truely amazing. Cool sounding birds like the Great Kiskadees and the Chachalacas - not only fun to pronounce but exciting to see since they are no where else in the United States. Great memories! We are going to look for sweatshirts that say, "Winter Texan 2011" for a momento before we head to San Antonio.
Winter Texans are what us folks are called. We aren't snowbirds as we would be called if in Florida, just Winter Texans. Two kinds of Texans here - the Winter Texans and the full-time Texans. Either way - you are a Texan! And this whole area of south Texas caters to us. Everywhere you go you see 'Welcome back Winter Texans!' Amazing thing to see the license plates of people from Alberta Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho just to name a few. That's a fur piece to travel to get here. Would we come back here? Probably not because we want to see so much more of the US. Takes forever to get down here to the bottom - we are the furthest south we have ever camped and just above the lattitude as the Florida Keys and right on the border of Mexico. Did I mention that we were excited to see the Rio Grande River the other day? As long as we don't cross the border we will be fine. People have said to also be off the roads and 'home' by 10pm - and we do hear sirens alot late at night. We are about 5 miles from the border but feel safe never the less. And - we don't need to go to Mexico - you just go to Main Street of Mission or McAllen - and you are in Mexico. All store signs are in Spanish, alot of junky stores, alot of good stores, and predominently Mexicans shopping there. We think - don't know - they get a day pass to come to the US to shop and then return home that evening. Even grocery shopping - see lots of Mexican license plates. Glad we did come down - the birds and flowers are truely amazing. Cool sounding birds like the Great Kiskadees and the Chachalacas - not only fun to pronounce but exciting to see since they are no where else in the United States. Great memories! We are going to look for sweatshirts that say, "Winter Texan 2011" for a momento before we head to San Antonio.
Friday, January 21, 2011
McAllen and birding
Was a quick 3 hour trip down, driving most of the way past the King Ranch - no towns, nothing during a 60 mile stretch owned by the King family. But, once into Hidalgo about 10 miles north of McAllen, the population quickly expands. Traffic! Ugh. But, got in by 1pm into Sunlight and registered and set up by 2pm. Nice little trip. This area is the World Birding Center and wow - do they have places to go if you are into birding. We met up with the folks who steered us to this campground and to the area, and got settled in. This place we are at is a '55 and older' community and it's okay. For the price, it's terrific. $8.33 a night. We are packed in like sardines. It has a pool and hot tub (too cold right now to use it), we are so close to many birding areas, to flea markets, biking areas, historical spots. We are about 45 miles from South Padre Island and Brownsville and plan to go there sometime. We plan to say for at least a month.
Yesterday we went to Bentsen State Park which is known for it's bird watching opportunities. Keep in mind birds here are so different from home, the sounds of them, the looks. While at this park we noticed great bike trails and will come back and do this a couple of times. We also are right on the border of Mexico, we looked across the Rio Grande River into Mexico. This area was flooded out by Hurricane Alex in July 2010, that only half the park is open. Waters were up over 30 feet in some areas (Rio Grande flooded). Overcast skies so couldn't get good pictures of the birds but will next sunny day we go there.
Yesterday we went to Bentsen State Park which is known for it's bird watching opportunities. Keep in mind birds here are so different from home, the sounds of them, the looks. While at this park we noticed great bike trails and will come back and do this a couple of times. We also are right on the border of Mexico, we looked across the Rio Grande River into Mexico. This area was flooded out by Hurricane Alex in July 2010, that only half the park is open. Waters were up over 30 feet in some areas (Rio Grande flooded). Overcast skies so couldn't get good pictures of the birds but will next sunny day we go there.
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