Kingsville, TX

Harlingen, TX

South Padre Island, TX

Pharr, TX

As you may recall, I dashed off to the Balkans in September, in the midst of my No Fixed Address North American Tour. That trip was a group tour, and one of the Canadian couples who call Sarnia home, are also “winter Texans”. They have a place in Pharr, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, where they can forget about Canadian winters for three months of the year. When we discovered while touring in September that I would be travelling near them on my travels back in North America, they very kindly invited me to visit with them in Pharr. So today, that’s exactly what I did.

I headed off South Padres Island, on to State highway 48 over to Brownsville and onto Interstate 69 north and then Interstate 2 west and then over to Pharr. I had no problem finding them and we a lovely afternoon and evening.

After a quick catch up, they took me on a tour around the area to give me a sense of this place. The Rio Grande is the border between the U.S., and Mexico on the west side of Texas and our first stop was the one of the many border crossings over the Rio Grande. The unique thing about this crossing is that it is the only hand-pulled ferry on any of the border crossing along the US/Mexican border. We didn’t actually cross into Mexico but rather stood on the edge of no-mans land at the customs plaza to watch the traffic come and go by ferry. (Don’t worry, the US Border patrol told us exactly where we could stand without leaving the US of A). It was too far away to be able to make out the mechanism for the towing process, but it appeared that they used the momentum of the current and a pulley system and pushed and pulled the rope running from bank to bank, instead of hand over hand pull the ferry across. Quite odd, but it worked and we saw several loads of cars and pedestrians safely crossing. This crossing is used primarily by people visiting with family back and forth and not much commercial activity.

It appeared from the surrounding dilapidated buildings (some that still had duty-free signs), that this used to be more of a well-used route, perhaps before one of the nearby bridges was built. Now it’s pretty sleepy place, but with quite a large, new-looking school and a cute little church with beautiful cobalt blue stained glass windows.

Next it was off to another small town further to the east, near the Rio Grande, Hidalgo, where there was a former pumping station originally for flood irrigation of the cotton fields and eventually for irrigation of citrus trees and other crops using a system of irrigation canals and water from the Rio Grande. Problem was the Rio Grande flooded back in 1933 and the course of the Rio Grande changed so much that the pumping station was left high and dry. So a channel was dug to bring water to the pumping station until 1983 when it was closed down. Other pumping stations have taken over the task, using the same system of irrigation canals.

In recent times the old pump house was made into a museum and park. It was interesting to see the huge pumps, input pipes, and boilers, and other equipment in the plant and to read about the huge amount of water that was used to flood the fields. (I recall 1 million gallons to grow one bushel of cotton but don’t quote me on that)

There is a World Birding Centre on the grounds around the pump house, where they have landscaped to attract birds and butterflies. There Is also a display of the town on a brick walkway that shows the street set up of the town as it was before the flood in 1933 including a creek representing the Rio Grande. And a lovely little amphitheatre.

We saw a photographer there and a young family with a young girl in a huge big beautiful dress and tiara and Carolyn explained to me that there is a Latin American custom of celebrating the young girl’s 15th birthday and coming into womanhood with a huge party and festivities. This celebration is called a Quinceaneras.

Then it was back to Carolyn and Wayne’s for a delicious dinner and more chatter. A thoroughly enjoyable day. Who knows maybe we’ll next meet in Sarnia when my trailer goes on its Ontario tour.

South Padre Island, TX

South Padre Island is a small barrier island off the southern coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s 55 kilometers long, although you can only drive a small portion of that before running out of road, and is less than a kilometer wide at it’s widest point. Think giant sand bar with hotels and resorts running along both sides of the main road which runs north south. Padre Jose Nicholas Balli, was an early Spanish missionary on the Island and his family had accumulated significant land holdings throughout the south Rio Grande Valley, and it’s after him that the island is named.

The island is joined to the mainland by the 2 mile long Queen Isabella Causeway, named for the Queen of Spain who financed the Spanish exploration of this region. Although thankfully I wasn’t the cause for any of them, (and yes, my episode with the Confederation Bridge did come to mind as I travelled over the causeway) the Causeway has had a couple of calamities according to Wikipedia and the locals.

In 1996 someone under the influence of alcohol and drugs flew a plane under the bridge and made it under successfully one direction however it crashed into a concrete pylon after turning to make the pass in the other direction. Then in 2001, just 4 days after 9/11, in the dark of night, 4 barges crashed into one of the support columns taking out 2 sections of the bridge on the upward slope leaving a hidden, gaping hole into which several cars drove. Eight people died in the episode, and the power and water to the island were knocked out. It took 2 months to repair and so a ferry had to be put in place while construction was going on. They intentionally keep this episode pretty low key because it happened so soon after 9/11 and there was concern it would unnecessarily strike fear it might be another attack.

I arrived from San Antonio just after 2 pm on Thursday and after starting the day with grey skies and drizzle, by the time I got here, the sun was out and it was 28 degrees and humid. The KOA is near the causeway, on the bay side, and once again, KOA has not let me down. The buildings are interesting and house great facilities, which are sparkling clean and well used. One unique feature is the “Sunset Deck” which is a deck with piles of adirondack chairs where campers converge to share nibblies, bevies and watch the sun go down. I joined the group tonight and learned quite a lot about RV Tours as one of the couples are wagon masters for one of the big companies that does tours.

But I’ve leaped ahead. After doing a basic set up on Thursday afternoon, I changed from my jeans and hiking boots to capris and sandals and headed out exploring. I went north as far as the road would allow and walked on the beach there, and at an access point back further south. The beaches weren’t quite deserted but I saw only a few other people walking along the beach. The surf was way too rough for swimming.

I stopped at a place called Clayton’s Beach Bar for lunch. The food wasn’t great, but the venue was outstanding. It claims to be the largest beach deck in Texas and I can believe it. The deck area was huge with hundreds of tables and chairs in the open, but also under cover from the sun.

I did some errands and finished getting set up, just before the wind kicked up. That night and all Friday, it was clear, but the wind was pretty intense. So Friday I did some work on my future travel plans and cleaned up the trailer. The KOA had a hoedown in the common room Friday evening, with a country western singer that was really fun and he liked the old country music that I appreciate as well. I had a chance to chat with a bunch of folks there, including a couple from Winnipeg and a woman from Saskatchewan down here on her own as well.

After the hoedown, I stopped in at Pier 19, which is a restaurant/bar adjacent to the KOA, for dinner. I had the most lovely conversation with some folks from Wisconsin or Minnesota (sorry, too many conversations to remember), and they kindly shared with me some ideas about RV Parks in New Orleans area. Once again, it’s the people you meet along the way that makes travel fun. My chicken sandwich was fabulous and the service was efficient and really friendly. Many of the “Winter Texans” (as they call “Snowbirds” here) are just arriving and the staff were amazing at remembering many of them from last season.

This morning, the wind dropped off to barely a light breeze and it got to about 22 degrees. So after the $3 juice, coffee, pancake, french toast and sausage breakfast the KOA puts on every Saturday morning, and some chores, I headed out to enjoy the beautiful weather. I discovered a market at the convention centre to which hundreds of people were migrating so I joined in and spent just a short while checking things out there. Then I headed up the island and went for a long walk on the beach and ended up once again at Clayton’s. Today they had a band and with the weather so perfect, I grabbed a tall table by the railing overlooking the beach and spent a good couple of hours enjoying the sun, some lunch and a margarita or maybe two.

I then headed over to Port Isabel, which is the small community just before you enter on to the causeway to do some errands and take some pictures. Port Isabel has history dating back to the Mexican War of Independence, and the port, town and lighthouse changed hands during the Civil War. As it’s name would imply, it is a port city and there is currently an oil rig in the port and it looks like it might be being revamped. I visited the lighthouse there, built in1853 after the war of Mexico. It’s light shone 15 miles out to sea to direct ships into the harbour here, and it was a prize fought over in the Civil War. It has been a State Park since 1952.

Port Isabel, TX

Harlingen, TX

Kingsville, TX

San Antonio, TX

If you’re not a big fan of Missions and historical architecture then you should skip this blog. I poked around in the Historic King William District in the afternoon, but the day was spent primarily visiting the 4 Missions founded in the San Antonio area that I hadn’t yet seen.

Each of the missions have similar history but they all have unique qualities as well. They were all originally founded in the mid-1700s, by the Franciscans who were spreading Christian teachings as well as teaching the Spanish culture and way of life. They brought the previous hunters and gatherers into a community culture and taught them skills necessary to that way of life (farming, ranching, building aqueducts for irrigation, use of firearms, etc). The Presidio and Spanich soldiers provided security and the Franciscans directed their work at putting massive stone walls around each of the Missions for protection from other first nations (Apache and Comanche).

By 1824 all of the missions had been turned over to the people (“secularized”) and the churches were turned over to the parish clergy. These missions eventually provided the foundation for the city of San Antonio.

I had seen the Mission San Antonio de Valero (later named the Alamo) so I started out this morning to see the other 4, starting with Mission San Jose, where the Visitor Centre for the National Park is also located. From there a parkway runs between the other three which I visited from north to south.

Mission San Jose was the most organized and had the largest church and has the most restoring done. The church was adorned with a beautiful, intricate Rose Window, and had a domed roof, which showed the high level of skill of the artisans.

Mission Conception is the mission that is the best preserved and has the most original parts of all the missions. It also has the best examples of the original frescos.

Mission San Juan and Espada both had much smaller churches and were in more rural settings and they were important sources of food for the region.

After visiting the Missions, I did poke around in the Historic King William District to find lunch. I went to the Blue Star Artisan Complex and found a micro-brewery called Blue Star Brewing Company. I had a great brisket sandwich and no beer. Then I took a bit of a walk around the area looking at and taking some discreet pictures of some of the beautiful historic houses.

I love the Missions so I took a whole pile more pictures of them, but really I’m sure it’s hard to appreciate if you haven’t been there.

San Antonio, TX

Today was a great day touring San Antonio, the 7th largest city in the U.S. as well as one of the fastest growing, and the U.S. city that is second only to Vegas in the number of conventions hosted annually. Their convention facilities are currently booked up fully until 2032.

I started the day at the Alamo, while the crowds were smaller and I still had the patience to listen to the audio self-tour. It was particularly interesting for me to tour the Alamo, because I just found out that one of the key historical figures, William B. Travis, is the great, great, great uncle of my Vancouver friend, Dane.

Travis, at only 26, was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army and he was the key commander of the defences at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. The other two leaders were Bowie (the knife is named after him) and Davy Crockett. The story of the 13 day siege and the bravery and commitment of the soldiers there against unbeatable odds is well known, as is the call to “Remember the Alamo” which helped rally the Texans win their independence.

Originally a Mission, you can tour the church at the Alamo, which is now called a Shrine, the gardens, a gift shop, and the Long Barrack, which now houses a museum as well as a small theatre where a 20 minute film by the History Channel does a great job of putting the whole Battle of the Alamo into context.

After touring the Alamo, I jumped on the Hop On, Hop off bus and took the whole route from start to finish before hopping off. It gave me a good orientation of the downtown core and a couple of areas in the outskirts for the rest of my time here. It went north of downtown to the Pearl Brewery area (condos, stores and restaurants), and south to the King William Historic District, both of which need further exploration, perhaps on a subsequent trip.

Then it was on to the famous Riverwalk, an unbelievably visionary design by Robert H. H. Hugman. When plans for flood protection were being drafted for the San Antonio River flowing through downtown San Antonio there was debate on what to do with the river portion going through the downtown. Some wanted to just pave over it, but Hugman has this creative plan to make it into a really special place, and he was hugely successful.

Most of the River Walk is the original San Antonio River’s natural pathway, but in more recent years there was an extension to the Walk built on to the east of the original where the convention centre, large hotels and shopping mall are located.

Ravenous after walking much of the downtown loop of the River Walk, I stopped at “Republic of Texas”, a Tex-Mex restaurant on the river level and had a great Taco Salad and iced tea to charge me up for an afternoon of touring.

I headed first to Market Square where the beautiful gothic San Fernando Cathedral and the Courthouse are on two sides of the huge square. I felt very much like I was in Europe. The inside of the church was as beautiful as it’s outside and they have done a great job of incorporating the church into the square.

Next it was back down to River Walk level and I grabbed the Rio Cruise Riverboat ride to get a tour of the River Walk from the water. The guide was very entertaining and he knew his stuff. It took about 30 minutes and he pointed out the buildings along the way as well as explained some of the design features of River Walk.

Along the way I spotted a nice little spot for an afternoon margarita, so after the cruise, I meandered over to Rita’s on the River to enjoy one and take a look through my photos. I wandered back to the Alamo Plaza to get some pics of the Commemorative Statue that I had seen this morning when the light wasn’t good.

And then, it was nap time! So off to home it was.