Relaxing in the Rio Grande Valley

February, 28 to March 12, 2010 

We travelled a couple of hours up the Rio Grande Valley from Brownsville to Mission, Texas.  We had tried to make reservations at a couple of places as we found out that February was the  busiest time for the campgrounds and RV resorts.  By the beginning of March a lot of the people from the middle states (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri are heading home  The people from Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin are still hanging around here till the end of March.  And of course all the Canadians – Lots of people from Ontario, a fair number from Quebec, a few from Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  (You see the odd vehicle with licence plates from the other provinces.) – We’ll likely be here till the end of March too. 

We found a campsite in the Canyon Lake RV Resort.  This is a little newer than the Rio campground that we were last at.  This campground has a “lake” in the middle of it. The lake is probably a former quarry, that has perhaps 10 feet of water at it’s deepest point. There is at least one large turtle in the lake and numerous nesting birds. We are able to walk around the lake and the grounds which takes about 15 minutes.  Seems like a lot of “old” people here – population appears to be approx. 70 years.   And it seems that everyone  waves at anyone driving or says hello to anyone walking.  Every campground or RV resort has “Planned Activities” for their guests. The activities range from cards and knitting to billiard and horse shoe tournaments. There seem to be a large number of people wearing name tags which would indicate that they are involved with these activities.  Janet and Jerry still don’t feel that they are  “old enough” to get a name tag.

On Tuesday we visited the Bentsen Rio Grande Valley – World Birding Center, State Park.  This is a fairly small park, only 760 acres, that borders the Rio Grande River, just across from Mexico.   It was late in the afternoon when we arrived there so we just took the tram ride around the site.  While we were riding in the tram a couple of people asked us if we had seen a “Chuck-a-loo”? They must have known from the blank looks on our faces that we didn’t have a clue what a Chuck-a-loo was.  Then Janet opened her mouth, “I wouldn’t know a Chuck-a-loo, if it landed on me.”  Well they didn’t say anything else to us.  They knew we didn’t belong there and that we weren’t birders they could talk to.  We found out later that it wasn’t in fact a Chuck-a-loo but a Chachalaca.  The park is also noted for the rare green jay and other rare and exotic species.  We did see a couple of “javelina” (a small wild pig) and a bobcat.  Before we leave the valley we intend to return to the park earlier in the day: hopefully we will see a Chuck-a-loo or a Chachalaca, whatever it is.

A few days later we returned to the park early in the day to avoid the crowds and the mid-day heat.  We were setup in one of the bird blinds with a front row seat and the green jays and orioles were very active.  We got off quite a few shots when the low battery indicator started to flash.  I reached into my pocket where I keep the spare batteries.  Well that’s where they should have been if I had my other pants…our picture taking was finished for the day so we decided to walk around the park until the next tram came along.  We landed up walking almost two miles in the heat of the day when the next tram finally came.  We were less than 1/2 mile to the visitor centre so we decided to tramp the rest of the way.  We returned the following day and were able to get the shots that we wanted.  There was a short trail that leads down toward the Rio Grande River.  We stopped at the observation deck that looks across the river to Mexico.  (That was likely as close as we would get to Mexico on this trip.)  On the tram ride back we were talking to another couple who told us about another state park located near Weslaco, (Estero Llano Grande State Park).  We continued talking to them about RV parks and touring Texas, when Janet asked them where they were from. They said that they were from Canada; a place called Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Small world.  They live in Charleswood and she grew up and she also taught in St. James.  They have been coming to Texas for a number of years and have purchased a mobile home in the Pine to Palms Resort.  They told us that the park was full of Canadians, mostly from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. 

We have been watching the local news here and there is still significant unrest just across the border in Mexico.  There are continuing reports of running gun battles between Mexican police and soldiers and the drug cartels.  We hear daily of huge drug seizures on this side of the border.  The USA has closed it’s consular offices in Reynosa, Mexico, because of the uncertainty.  We have therefore, decided, that we won’t go across the border, at least until things quiet down and the situation is under control.  It certainly is an interesting area.

When we were driving in on Sunday we noticed that there was a large flea market just off the expressway around Pharr, Texas.  We have since heard from an number of people that there are flea markets all over the valley.  We decided that we would try one so, we drove the 30 miles to Donna on Sunday. Just try to imagine hundreds of garage sales, gathered together in one place, some on a temporary basis and others set up in permanent stalls: then you’ll have an idea of a flea market.  Judging by the amount of dust on some of the items I would say that they have been displayed here for some time.  We noticed a couple of things with thick layers of rust.

Estero Llano Grande State Park – This is another bird sanctuary although we didn’t actually come for the birds.  We had heard about the alligator lake from the Winnipeg couple, earlier this week.  As we were walking in there was a group of people on the brick walkway looking into the bushes beside the walk.  On a tree branch there was a large hawk having lunch.  The hawk was holding the bird or small animal against the branch with his talons, as he pulled strips off with his beak.  We watched him for some time before we checked into the visitor centre.  As we were getting ready to leave a park volunteer came in and asked if we wanted to hold a tarantula spider.  As we turned around there he was with a large tarantula in his open palm.  Of course Janet and I are both arachnaphobes so we didn’t want to touch it.  He insisted that the tarantula’s sting and venom are usually no worse than a bee sting, unless you have a rare reaction to tarantula bites.  They usually protect themselves by releasing the hair from their bodies which can get into the victim’s eyes or lungs and this can cause serious problems.  Apparently, the tarantula is very common in southern Texas and can be found under boards or in garden sheds.  They are very active at this time of the year as the males are seeking mates.  Soooo, we’ll be watching carefully as we lift the levelling boards under the trailer and hopefully we won’t bring home any hitch hikers.  (We finally touched the spider and we didn’t get stung.  We only had nightmares for a few days afterwards!!)

It was fairly hot and we didn’t actually expect to see any gators but we continued along the pathway towards Alligator Lake.  As we approached the lake we saw warning signs like “No Swimming or Fishing”, “Keep Pets on Short Leash”, “Do Not Feed Alligators” and my personal favourite “Do Not Throw Objects in Water for Dogs to Retrieve”.   Common sense is indeed Not All that Common!  We saw lots of birds around the lake and numerous turtles sunning themselves on rocks near the shore.  After a 20 minute walk, we finally arrived at to the observation deck where we immediately saw a gator floating about 30 feet offshore.  The gator appeared to be about 15 feet long and it moved effortlessly through the water by gently moving it’s tail side to side.  It didn’t make any sound and it didn’t create any wake as it swam.  As it approached the far side of the lake a heron that had been sitting near the edge flew off with a loud wail.  The gator crawled onto the far bank of the lake and just laid there.  The park attendant had told us that there were five gators in the lake but the other four were nowhere to be seen.  The temperature was around 86 degrees Fahrenheit so it may have been too warm for the gators as well.

 

Some Observations

• School zones – driving around Texas you are made very aware of where the school zones are; they are marked with a flashing yellow light with a line right across the road. The sign states, “School Zone” “20 Miles Per Hour, when Flashing” it also says that “Cell Phone Use is Prohibited”   And people obey those signs!!!  20 mph and that is the top speed.  There is another line at the end of the school zone and people are immediately back to the speed limit.
• Almost every school is surrounded by a fence and has operational gates and/or at least one visible security guard.
• Every Texas registered vehicle, even brand new vehicles in the show room must have a current safety inspection sticker in the lower left corner of the windshield.  There are numerous inspection stations where people take their vehicles at their own expense.    
• McAllen, Texas uses a special item to enforce speeding laws.  As you approach it, it appears as an emergency vehicle with the normal red and blue flashing lights.  Then you notice that there is a tower raised on a scissor lift to about 20 feet above the traffic.  The “booth” at the top of this tower has dark, blacked-out glass, so you don’t know if it is manned with officers and radar or it is just like a red-light camera.
• Oranges – Since about March 6, we have noticed the fragrant smell of the orange blossoms.  It doesn’t smell anything like an orange, just very sweet and fragrant.  Wherever there is a tree you notice the smell.  What is so unusual is that on many of the trees there are still oranges, amidst the new blossoms.
• Warm and Windy – The temperatures have been in the high 80’s for the last few days and actually hit 94 degrees one day.  We haven’t had to use the air conditioner as the humidity has been low and the wind is always blowing.  Always.