The Trip Back Home Winter 2023

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Our trip was a success, we had a good time escaping everyday things.  We enjoyed the cold at night with Buddy heater glowing and the electric blanket running with or without connection.  The solar worked extremely well as did all things rv related.  However, I was concerned over the two and a half weeks about the SUV.  With 500,000 km on the odometer, it still runs great but you can tell it's getting tired.  

On our way home we backtracked a bit.  We left Davis Mountains State Park and drove to Seminole Canyon State Park.  We have stayed there several times over the years but have never taken the tour to see the Pictographs.  That was a bust although we did it and what we saw we enjoyed.  We put it off for years because they charge to take the tour and you can't see them any other way.  Now with a senior discount, it wasn't so bad but the tour guide didn't have much to share other than his personal opinion and hearsay.  It was fun though to reminisce about our past stays there.  It's like your first date, car, or special experience, buying and using your RV is something special.  

We've always wanted to take this picture.  It's at the Pecos River Outlook where we stayed last year.  We drove up, took river pics and I dropped Juan off.   I drove down, went across the bridge, turned around and went back for him.  Lucky guy!

The walk down from the visitor's center to the caves where the pictographs are located.  

Each day we moved closer to home.  We left Seminole Canyon and headed for the Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass.  It's located on the Kickapoo reservation and that spreads to both sides of the border.  There are plenty of border patrol but the Kickapoo move back and forth at will maintaining dual citizenship granted by both the U.S. and Mexico.  They own the largest casino in Texas.   Before the agreement that allows them to move back and forth, many lived under the international bridge between Piedras Negras and Eagle Pass.  A pretty interesting story.  

The casino is pretty large and has a nice hotel, RV park, and several good restaurants although expensive.  Being members, we both received a benefit when we arrived.  I got $5 to play with and Juan received a voucher worth 25% off all food and drinks.  We turned the $5 into $32 and that paid for our RV stay along with the 25% discount it also included dinner that we split after we played.  I'm not a gambler and we don't play cards but it was an hour's worth of fun.  The RV park is a small green park with pads and services.  It's a short walk from the casino entrance but far enough there is no noise at night.  In the past, we have parked in the south parking area and boondocked for free.  Too cold this time.

Coming back from the park office I started to open the door to the trailer and I about fell off the step.  Across the road was a cat watching me.  It was an almost identical match to Little Bit.  I followed him for a few minutes and he would stop and look back at me.  Little booger will haunt me for the rest of my life!

We left there with a good memory and headed to Falcon Lake again.  We used our Passport America and had a nice spot at a good price.  It was a short two-and-a-half-hour drive from the casino so we chatted with some of the winter group, actually two women in separate rvs that travel together from Minnesota each year.  The sunset was pretty amazing and we watched a movie before bedtime.

Our last stop was McAllen and again we used the Passport America at the RV park in Mission.  We used to stay there over 20 years ago.   It was winter Texans until about three years ago and now it is labeled a family community park.  Although the rigs are new, the place is filled with families with small kids.  They have a pool, playground, and all the amenities but at $350 a month, it's not going to stay in great shape for long.  There is a need for housing in the RVG and this fits the bill for many young families.  However, the rules are few and it is getting trashed.  For $20 a night with wifi, cable, pool, and jacuzzi (adults only) it was worth the money.  

So the final day takes us across the border via the Anzalduas Bridge.  I was holding my breath as we crossed to the Mexican side.  There have been many reports of the new Guardia Nacional asking rvers for $300 U.S. and up.  The paisanos have been taken to the cleaners so often that this year, with a sharp rise in cartel activity in Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa, they formed a 400-car-long caravan escorted by state police and seven different mayors from municipalities from the state of San Luis Potosi.  What a mess.   

I was sure we were going to get a shakedown.  As we crossed the bridge we passed through the semaforo and we got a green light.  We still need to pull over and have the trailer inspected and show proof of importation and plates.  As you pass the semaforo, there are bays to pull into for inspection.  There were eight Guardia Nacionales stationed and ready for the attack.  As I headed their way,  low and behold, they waved us to keep moving.  I thought that there must be another checkpoint but we drove right out of the Aduana, onto Hwy 2 and five minutes later we were on Hwy 85 to Monterrey.  Not a hitch all the way home.  After not using the RV for so long, I had problems backing it into the driveway.  Flailing arms, an angry driver but after 15 minutes it was parked and we were home.  A good trip with nary an issue.  It was fun and I hope soon we have something to travel in for another adventure.