January 2019.   Our RV Park has an unusual design. It has 4 wheels, or circles, of pull-throughs and then back-ins around the perimeter. In the center of each circle is a palapa with picnic tables. The wheel design made it a perfect format for the Progressive Dinner activity that we had yesterday. We started with appetizers and wine in the first circle. When the horn blew we moved to the next circle for salads and wine.  Next was the entree, lasagna, provided by the park.  We finished with dessert and liqueurs at the last circle.  It was a great socializing activity. The weather was perfect, too, which made it even better. Fun times!

January 2019.  There are numerous tours available to us in this park and we have taken two of them,so far. First we took the 3 hour pontoon boat trip down the Rio Grande River.  We were promised spectacular bird sightings and interesting historical facts. Unfortunately it was cloudy and a little misty that day, so photos are not great. We did see numerous birds. And we had an experienced “birder” along so we could learn about the different species ( from a distance they all looked the same to me😎). The boat captain filled us in on the historical facts of things we saw, both on the Mexican side and the American side. He pointed out “spotters” on the Mexican side who monitor boat traffic for the smugglers. Two Boarder Patrol gunboats passed us while we were out there 😮. It was an interesting trip.

On Thursday we sent Jax to doggy jail and took the South Padre Island Tour. I never thought I would be one of those old gray-haired people,with name tags, being herded from place to place, but there we were!  They even blew a whistle to get us all rounded up 😂. We boarded the bus at 6:45 am and were given a breakfast sandwich to eat on the way. After crossing the 2 mile long Queen Isabelle Causeway, our first stop was the 3 hour dolphin-watch trip (no Gilligan in sight). We did see dolphins several times, but they are hard to catch on a picture.  The tour goes all the way down to the Port of Brownsville, which is the only deep water port on the US/Mexican border. Interestingly, we were told not to take pictures there. They dismantle some military ships there and they don’t want them photographed. There were oil rigs in varying states of repair there, as well. The boat captain shared a lot of interesting stories and facts. Then we headed back. After we docked, we had lunch at the Sea Ranch. Next we boarded the bus again and went to Sea Turtle Inc.  This organization rescues, rehabilitates, and releases sea turtles. There was one turtle there that had lost three of her flippers and so this place gave her a prosthetic device to help her swim. She has to be a permanent resident there, but it was incredible how they helped her.  After the turtles we went back to the dock for our sunset cruise and shrimp boil. It was a beautiful evening to be on the water. Again we saw dolphins. We sipped wine, ate shrimp, and cruised along the jetties, watching the sun set.  This is the life!  We got back to the RV Park around 9:00pm. tired but happy.

January 9, 2019.  The park is full now and things are in full swing.  Besides the Wednesday Social Hour, there is also Friday night entertainment. We really enjoyed Mario. He spent several years in Branson and now performs in Las Vegas. Every winter he does a few shows here in the Valley. There are other entertainers and activities going on that we enjoy. It is a good place to be.

We are still hiking.  Last week we heard about a wildlife refuge around a salt lake, La Sal Del Ray. It had great reviews for photography, birding, and hiking. The lake sits atop 4 million tons of salt! It is a favorite stopover for migratory birds, including the wintering Sandhills cranes. The lake has been an important source of salt for centuries. The Spanish conquistadors named the lake, Salt of the Kings, because all mineral rights were the property of the King of Spain. So we found the entrance and hiked about a mile (fighting off bugs all the way) until we found the lake. Unfortunately, because of the drought, the lake had mostly dried up. All we could photograph were the salt flats and dried up plants.  No wildlife in sight, except the bugs driving us nuts.  But the weather was nice and sunny and we got our hike for the day. I also enjoyed reading about the history of the lake.

After Christmas we decided to get a couple of bikes because this area has many bike trails and nice, flat places to ride.  Combined with the nice weather it’s a perfect exercise.  Michelle gave me one of her old bikes and Pops bought one.  We have begun riding around the park and getting used to these bikes.  Some friends we have met are avid bike riders and we plan to ride with them once we get a little more comfortable with the gears.

December 16, 2018.   Pops managed to find a gun club near here that was having a Sporting Clays tournament today. He got signed up and we spent the afternoon out there. It was sunny and hot again and we got a little sunburned under the hot Texas sun.  Pops shot pretty well and really had a good time with a nice group of guys. It was a fun afternoon. In the evening we sat on the patio again, sipping wine and enjoying the gentle breeze and conversations with neighbors. Life is good.

December 15, 2018. Here in Mission, Tx, the nights are cool but the days are warm and sunny. Today it was 80 degrees again. We went back to to the State Park and hiked to the Hawk Tower. Last time we tried that we got lost. We slogged through the mud for a couple of miles, finally making our way back to the main trail, but no Hawk Tower. This time we had a map and found the tower. Unfortunately, there were no hawks or any other birds there. It was a beautiful day for hiking though and Pops took photos of some birds at the feeding stations. We also saw the place where the Wall will be built, starting in February. The park rangers told us that it will cut through the park but visitors will still be able to access the trails. We are thinking about getting a couple of bikes. There are lots of biking trails around here and it sounds like fun. We’ll see.

December 11, 2018. Last night we joined a group of 20 people from the RV Park to attend the Hidalgo Festival of Lights Tour.  We carpooled and caravanned down to the border town of Hidalgo. This tour included a roast beef dinner, a trolley tour of the lights and a concert by a children’s mariachi band. This festival is said to be the largest lighting display in Texas. There are over 5million lights in the the display and the the trolley tour covers 3 miles of the display. The theme this year was Toyland. Deservingly, it has been called one of the Valley’s greatest holiday treasures. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

After the tour there was a concert by the children’s mariachi band. These are incredibly talented kids!  Most of them play multiple instruments and have beautiful singing voices.  This group was proud to tell us that they have been invited to perform in San Antonio this year. Their motto is, ”Music makes me happy and brings joy to others”. All in all it was a very enjoyable experience.

December 6, 2018. Last night we attended the Wednesday Margarita Time.  They serve margaritas and everyone brings snacks.  This is also the weekly announcement meeting. We met some new people and enjoyed the evening.
Today it was 80 degrees again with a slight breeze. We decided to walk across the road to the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. This is the headquarters of the World Birding Center. There are between 300-500 species of birds in this area. It is a popular destination for bird watchers from all over the world.  Some travel to Bentsen to see species that they can’t see anywhere else in the country. One example is the Green Jay. Pops got some good pictures of the jays.

Others are the Great Kishadee and the Plain Chachalaca.

You cannot drive through this park. They have a tram or you can bike or walk. We took Jax and walked. We only did one loop today of about 2 miles. There are several loops covering about 7 miles of trails.  We went to the Hackberry Trail that leads to the Kingfisher Outlook. Pops got some  pictures of a Javelina that wandered past.  The Outlook overlooks the La Parida Resaca. Resacas are abandoned river channels. They provide important wetland habitats for birds and other animals. We plan to hike another day to the Hawk Tower.  We have been told that you can see the canopy full of birds.  You can also see across the Rio Grande River into Mexico. It was a nice day.