The Rio Grande Valley--A Last Impression

This is our last day in Harlingen and the Rio Grande Valley.  We have been here for three weeks and have developed an opinion about the area.  I want to share with you what we found, but of course, our opinions will be biased based on our personalities, needs and style of travel.  So I think I want to do this in three parts—pros and cons based on our observations and conversations with others, our opinion of the area based on our travel style, and a comparison to what we have seen in Summerdale, AL, Livingston, TX, and Corpus Christi.

One of our goals for this winter has been to survey some of the areas which attract “snowbirds”—Northerners trying to escape the harsh winter weather.  South Texas is a popular “snowbird roost” for very good reasons.  You can get far enough south in Texas to be pretty much guaranteed no freezing temperatures.  That is not to say it won’t get cold from time to time, but still the coldest nights are almost never below 30. Our nights have been generally in the 50s and 60s for the month of February.  Last night was the lowest at 43.  The daytime temperatures are very pleasant 70s and 80s.  A couple days last week was in the 90s.  For birders, the Rio Grande Valley is world class.  There are about 6 large birding areas (refuges, sanctuaries, etc) for the enjoyment of the birding enthusiasts.  Deep sea fishing is also handy in the Gulf as well as along the inter-coastal waterway between Padre Island and the mainland.  For shopping, there is a small outlet mall about 10 miles west of Harlingen on Highway 83 and we certainly wouldn’t want to omit the bargains available at both Don-Wes flea market and Nuevo Progreso, Mexico.  Speaking of Mexico, many go there for discounted dental work and prescription drugs.  Besides the warm weather, perhaps the biggest advantage of South Texas is the low prices for goods and services.  Of those we have talked to, they all agree, this is the cheapest place (of Florida, Arizona, California) to spend the winter.  The RGV is a very economically depressed area and the winter Texans (snowbirds) pump a tremendous amount of money into the local economy.  The permanent residents and business owners recognize this and are delighted to have us here.  It seems to be a very friendly place to be.  The primary disadvantage is the constant wind.  A “no wind” day seems to be about 10 mph.  We have had several days with winds of 20-25 with gusts up to 35.  It’s brutal.  Many owners of rigs with slide-out covers have taken precautions to keep those awnings stable.  There are a few large awnings out, but they are well secured to the ground and have additional cross supports installed.  Having said that about the wind, let me hasten to add that this same wind keeps the bugs away.  It’s blown them all over to Florida, I guess.

As far as we are concerned, we have not been too enthusiastic about the RGV.  Our biggest complaint is the wind, as you might imagine.  Some days it really gets on my nerves.  That wind is also blowing the top soil around and other trash (like plastic grocery bags) which eventually ends up in the trees, fences, and just about everywhere.  Generally, we find the area somewhat dirty.  Because it is an economically depressed area, many buildings look run down and in various states of disrepair.  We are not birders, fishermen, nor shoppers.  We like to hike, visit museums and historic buildings, and tour National Parks none of which are in the Rio Grande Valley with the exception of Palo Alto Battlefield.

Tropic Winds RV Resort compares favorably with Ransom Rd just north of Corpus Christi.  Ransom Rd was much smaller with only about 50 sites compared to the over 500 here, but much the same in size and degree of maintenance.  These sites are not as large as those in Summerdale, AL (Gulf Shores) but here (and at Ransom Rd) there is a concrete patio area.  Summerdale and Livingston, TX will get cold in winter, but they enjoy more warm than cold.  I liked the beach at Gulf Shores better than the beaches here or at Corpus Christi.  So far, my choice for a winter roost (if I really wanted one) would be Corpus Christi.

Although, we wanted to scout out south Texas with an eye on a place to spend winters, we are not yet ready to park for the season.  We are still in “travel mode” and what to see what we can in an area then move on.  Most of the winter Texans are here for 3 or 4 months and they come here every year.  They have made friends with others over the years and are perfectly content to stay within the campground for that length of time.  This campground, as does many in the RVG, provides many activities for the residents from ice cream social, live entertainment, craft classes, to weekly meals.  If your primary goal is to spend the winter where it is warm, this is a very good place if you don’t mind the wind.

Seeing The Rio Grande Valley

One of the things on our list to do while we are in this area was to drive along the southern-most road, the one that parallels the Rio Grande River.  Today we got that done.

Our Lady of Visitation Church

We traveled east to west along Military Highway (Route 281) from Los Indios to Pharr where we turned back east along Business Route 83 to Donna, then Route 83 home to Harlingen.  It was definitely an overview of the Valley which is what we wanted.  Not surprisingly, this is farmland.  The fields have been tilled and planted.  Many had crops above ground from tiny fresh shoots to what seemed to me to be ready for harvest.  The primary crops in this area are sugar cane and cabbage.  We passed only one orange grove along today’s route.

Sugar Cane

Border fence

The Military Highway originated as an Indian trail which ran along the Rio Grande.  These trails were later used by Spanish explorers during the 18th century.  Later, ranchers built a real road from the trails to connect their ranches.  Eventually the road was used to link frontier forts, stagecoach and mail lines running from Brownsville to Lerado, and as a military telegraph route between Forts Brown and McIntosh.  The road is paved and in good condition.  There are historic markers all along to inform the traveler of various historical events along this route.

Along the trail at Santa Ana

Our first stop was at Our Lady of Visitation Catholic Church which was built in the early 1880s.  It was boarded up no longer in use, but there was some evidence that restoration may be forthcoming.

Our second stop was at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge a few miles south of Alamo. The interior roads were closed to private vehicles and we were not much up for the hour and a half tram ride.  Instead, we browsed through the gift shop and then walked along one of several trails.  We saw several ducks on one of the ponds.  I would have made a picture but when I looked down and saw 4 mosquitoes lunching on my leg we decided to move along.  By the way, we discovered quite by accident the other day when we went to Laguna National Wildlife Refuge that our National Park pass would get us in the gate at a National Wildlife Refuge for free.  Free is always good.

Don-Wes Flea Market

Our last stop was at the corner of Business 83 and Victoria Road in Donna, TX.  Several folks had mentioned the flea market there on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  We don’t normally shop flea markets, but there had been so much talk of this one we just had to take a look.  We found pretty much everything there, from new to very, very old.   We only found 2 items we felt we couldn’t live without.  Gene got some short bungee cords to secure his water hoses and the funnel cake.  It was difficult to choose between the funnel cake and ice cream.  The booths were next to each other and we stood in the thruway swiveling our heads from one to the other.  Then we noticed the sign that offered funnel cake with ice cream.  Now that’s more like it.

Having used up most of our energy, we headed for home confident we had a real feel for the Rio Grande Valley.

Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park

Today was quite a learning experience.  We went to the 8:30 coffee and donut thing at the clubhouse this morning. This is Tropic Winds version of the 4 o’clock social hour at the Escapee parks we have been in.  It is just a time to meet new people and learn what is going on in the park.  After that we grabbed the camera and our picnic lunch and we were off to the other end of the Valley.

Along the trail

Texas Olive tree in bloom

I’m not exactly sure what I thought the Rio Grande Valley was, but what I saw was definitely not what I expected.  Our destination was Camping World in Mission; all the way on the west end of the Valley.  It is about 40 miles from Harlingen.  We took US 83 which is a 4-lane, limited access, divided highway.  There are several small towns between Harlingen and Mission.  I thought we would see wide open spaces between these towns as we progressed from one to the next.  That certainly was not the case.  It was like one gigantic city 40 miles in length.  There was no distinction from one town to the next except for the town name which appeared on the water towers.  Incredible!! And we haven’t seen so much traffic since we got off I-10; maybe not since Montgomery.

Largest prickly pear cactus I've ever seen

We found our way to Camping World and managed to find a sack full of treasures to bring home.  Gene finally got one of his Christmas presents—2009 Trailer Life Campground Directory.  He has been asking for it at every Camping World we’ve been near since Nashville.

Javelina

From there we drove south a few miles to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.  South Texas is famous for its birds and this park is a favorite among birders.  Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley is the headquarters for the World Birding Center.  Private cars are not allowed inside the park.  We rode the tram to the far side of the 2-mile loop road and got off at a trail which took us down to the Rio Grande River.  We had just missed the next tram by the time we got back to the trailhead, so we decided to walk along the road. Since there are very few cars (just park service, border patrol, and tram) it is a great place to walk or bicycle and today there were several folks out getting a bit of exercise.  We saw two things we had never seen before—green jays and javelinas.  Texas olive trees are in bloom.  We’d never seen one of those either.

Looking across the Rio Grande to Mexico

By the time we got back to the car, it was after 4—rush hour on the highway.  Boy, I don’t miss that.