What A Week - McAllen, Falcon Lake, Carrizo Springs, And Now Lake Amistad

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Here's how it went down.  As you know we haven't had an rv trip since April 2022.  Not a huge mistake but I have learned that just like the body, without exercise things start to fall apart.  i had uncovered the rv washed it, watched the solar do its duty and cleaned the inside as well.  There were some strange things going on with one of the rear taillights as well as the rear running lights on top.  I found that the inline fuse had a bad connection.  It is exposed to the elements although it is in a waterproof case.  I replaced it and things seem to work well.

Tuesday morning, we wer ready to roll.  I was concerned about getting outof the driveway now that the neighbor in front had dropped seven dump truck loadsof cement block on hte road.  He had it crushed and spread  We made it out fine and off we went down the road.  Someone, I don't know who reported it to the city and the neighbor was fined.  It's a mess.  Neighbors complained and someone had to do something about it.We made it to Reynosa and decided to take the Anzalduas Bridge.  Yes, we are headed to West Texas again but I refuse to go through Laredo.  Rvers are getting hit on by thugs and asked to pay large bribes and some have been able to out run them.  Many people have sent me messages but I'm not sure why they don't go public.  Maybe out of embarrassment or something.     

Exclusive lane for travel trailers.

Anzalduas was a breeze.  We took the long way around and avoided the problem altogether.  We left Hwy 40 and connected with Hwy 2 before entering Reynosa.  They even have a lane just for travel trailers.  In and out with inspection and Juan's visa permit in less than 15  minutes.  No waiting in line.

We spent the first night in an rv park.   What a trip.  Not only expensive but they only have 50 amp which we weren't told about. There was  no wifi because they could never seem to get it to work.  One good thing is that they only charge $200 a mnonth for six-month stayand you can leave your rv there in storage the rest of the year at no charge.  We were lucky and the manager had a 50/30 amp adapter.  We used to have one, loaned it out and never got it back.  

Cracker Barrel in McAllen

The next night we stayed at a Cracker Barrel in McAllen.  You're probably wondering why we were spending two nights in McAllen, well someone wanted to do some shopping and it wasn't me.  The 

place was okay, noisy at night with highway traffic andd trains but it was free and we slept fairly.

We moved on the next day to Falcon Lake on the southside of Laredo, Tx.   The rv park was close to the water and it is used by fishermen in the summer.  It was okay and inexpensive using Passport America pass.  The manager is worthless and the park is emmpty buty did have good wifi and electric so it served its purpose.  Electrical problems continued but I knew in the back of my head what the issue was.  I called in a shaman and he blew smoke around the batteries and waved feathers and said some things I didn't understand.  I burned incense and we both put on grass skirts and danced around the trailer.  It was to no avail and now I understand why there are so many disbelievers in the world of religion.  

Moving on I found a great spot via iOverlander outside of Carrizo Springs.  I'm not a big fan of iOverlander having never found anything usefull outside of gas stations.  It is a picnic area that is far back from the highway with lots of old mesquite trees and a river, pretty stagnant with the currentNot a car pulled inafter our arrival at 4 p.m.  It was so dark that night I was able to take a video of the starry sky.  Morning fog rolled in and that made for a great wake up and coffee.  We headed to the Autozone and found out that one battery was dead and the other limping.  They were five years old.  The shaman was a bust.  😀

No batteries there so we headed to Del Rio and were fixed up in less than 15 minutes and on our way to Lake Amistad.  It's cold as I write this but the radiant heater is keeping us warm and toasty and tonight the electric blanket will continue the process!  We really enjoy it here and will stay for a few days taking wlks and getting some good reading in.  

We're hoping our final destination is Hueco Tanks State Park.  It is a jewel in the state parks system requiring that campers wanting hike and explore the area take an orientation followed by a short test on how to preserve the area and the petroglyphs.  I had been there in 2004 on a trip to Colorado with our dog Gum.  Juan was teaching a summer course in Arkansas at the time.  It was a trip I'll never forget so I want to share this with him.

We will head west to the Pecos River outlook on Tuesday even though it is right around the corner.  We're not in any hurry to get anywhere.