May 26, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

A scenic route from Laredo back to our South Texas location is to follow US Hwy 83 which follows the Rio Grande River and the US border with Mexico.

The route takes you through several small, typical South Texas towns.  It was Sunday, but it appears that many of these buildings are boarded up.

When driving through South Texas, it is difficult to keep your windshield clean because of the huge populations of butterflies.  These butterflies are drawn only to plants that are native to this subtropic area.  Unfortunately, 95% of these local plant species have been forced into extinction.  Many residents and park authorities have been promoting the planting of more of the remaining native plants. (Click on picture for larger view.)

We had been wanting to visit the Falcon Lake area.  The reservoir extends along the Rio Grande River from the Falcon Dam on the southeast to the town of Zapata, Texas on the northwest.  The Falcon State Park occupies a large section on the US side of the lake.

The Falcon Dam was constructed in the early 1950’s and is dedicated to Mexican President Cortines and US President Eisenhower.  The roadway on top of the dam provides a border crossing between the two countries. (Click on Photo to Enlarge)

As with all sections of the Rio Grande River, including most of its reservoirs or lakes, residents on both sides of the border have equal access for fishing and other recreation.  With the recent focus on border security, this must give the border patrol headaches.

Looking at the real estate prices in the area, Falcon Lake seems to be a real bargain when it comes to lakefront property.

Posted in TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Mexico | Print | 2 Comments »

January 24, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

My cardiologist said to me, “Do you remember what you did to build up the plaque in your system?”  Following my affirmative response, he added, “Well, stop it.”

So, the week following my procedure and with out of town guests here wanting to dine out, we visited many of the wonderful contributors to my heart issues.

In Mission, Texas, we stopped at Pepe’s on the River to watch our friend Ruthi perform.

Pepe’s has some outstanding nachos.  It takes at least two people to tackle a piling order of this dish. We enjoyed an afternoon of dancing.

My favorite restaurant south of the border is Angel’s in Progreso.  They have the best salsa I’ve ever had.  The place was teaming with senior citizens. Imagine that.

Then it was off to South Padre Island and lunch at our favorite restaurant on the island, Daddy’s.   The dish called the Cowboy Joe’s is absolutely wonderful. It is a ribeye with a shrimp, spinach and 3-cheese sauce.

We also visited two fine Mexican restaurants, Costa Messa Restaurant in McAllen.  I’m not crazy about chipolte anything, but their chipolte salsa is great.  The second restaurant is Casa Del Tacos in Weslaco.  It isn’t just a house of tacos.  You’ll find a wide menu that includes homemade soups and good steaks.

Finally, we went to Donna, TX to visit Gonzales Burgers.  This place doesn’t even have a sign except the one that says “OPEN”.  You need to get there early.  People start lining up at about 10:30 AM.  Even if you are first in line, you may wait about 30 minutes for your order.  The burgers are enormous.

You can see the huge patties.  The burgers fill the over sized buns.

If that won’t clog your arteries, nothing will.

Ok, my Nutrisystems food just arrived.  Now I can work toward better health.

Posted in Mexico - Nuevo Progreso, TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas Coast, Texas, Mexico | Print | 4 Comments »

December 21, 2009 by Rick and Tinka.

Apparently, the growing love for motorcycles is an international phenomenon.  On a recent visit to Progreso, Mx, the city had the main street roped off to allow for a large group of Mexican bikers, led by the governor of the state of Tamaulipas.  The group was on a journey from Renosa (near McAllen, TX) to Matamoros (near Brownsville, TX.)

This photo was taken by Tinka’s cell phone from the balcony of her favorite Progreso restaurant, The Red Snapper.

Posted in Mexico - Nuevo Progreso, Mexico | Print | No Comments »

December 6, 2009 by Rick and Tinka.

About twenty people from our RV park planned a crossing to Mexico by bicycle and we decided to go along.  For two reasons; 1) It was the coldest day of the year, and 2) Rick’s knee was bothering him, we opted to follow along in the jeep.  Here are a few of the bikers  making preparations.

By now, you’re probably thinking that we spend all of our time in Mexico.  Well, we do make quite a few crossings.  This entry into Mexico was made by way of the only human powered ferry along any US border.

The Rio Grande ferry crossing is located at Sullivan City, Texas.  The ferry is known as the Los Ebanos Ferry because it has been tethered to a couple of Texas Ebony trees for years. This crossing has been in use since the 1740’s.

Spanish explorers and colonists, under Jose de Escandon, made use of this Rio Grande crossing in the 1740’s.  A salt trail led from here to El Sal del Rey (40 mi. NE).  The ford was used by Mexican War troops circa 1846, by  Texas Rangers chasing cattle rustlers from 1874, and by smugglers in many eras, especially during the American prohibition years, 1920’s and 30’s.  The ferry and inspection station were established in 1950.  Named for the ebony trees here, this is known as the only government licensed, hand-pulled ferry on any boundary of the United States.

We tried to make this crossing last year, but it was closed due to high water.

The ferry can carry two cars and some pedestrians.  A round trip for the ferry is about 10 minutes.  Here, some of the bikers and a couple of cars made it across and the rest are waiting to follow.

The town on the Mexican side of the river is Ciudad Gustav Díaz Ordaz in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.  By the way, the Mexican name for the Rio Grande is El Rio Bravo del Norte, or more simply, El Rio Bravo, like the John Wayne movie.

We were impressed with the conditions on the Mexican side of the river.  This is the approach from the ferry to the Mexican customs and immigration station.

The town of Gustav Díaz Ordaz is quite old, but a lot more prosperous than its US counterpart of Sullivan City. Here is one of the many nice houses that we spotted on the way through town.

The entire group gathered for a wonderful lunch at the Restaurante Vallarta.

The wait for the ferry was extremely short as we entered Mexico, but we had about an hour wait on our return.  We would have headed to another crossing, but we weren’t in any hurry.  The bikers made it back with no wait.

While we waited, we spotted some very nice rest rooms and there were vendor stations selling food and souvenirs.

Finally, we were next to go on the ferry.  This picture shows some interesting things.  Uncharacteristically, the Mexican side of the crossing was far better maintained.  You can see the Mexican cement ramps and walls to prevent erosion. On the US side you’ll notice the unimproved dirt road heading to the Homeland Security station.  The road was full of ruts and holes.  Luckily, it wasn’t raining or the mud would have been incredible.

As the ferry came back to get us, we got a good shot of the boat’s “engine”.  They didn’t work all that hard.

With  the jeep loaded, we were ready for our crossing.

The southbound crossing cost $2.75 and the northbound $2.00.  Pedestrians paid $1.00 each way.  We had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Posted in TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Mexico | Print | 1 Comment »

December 5, 2009 by Rick and Tinka.

We had a nice visit, last weekend, from some of our Dallas/Fort Worth friends, Linda, Bill, Carla and David.

Across the border we headed for a nice lunch at Rick’s favorite restaurant, Angels.

Carla was having a little fun with the tortilla chips.  We wanted to thank David for treating us to a nice meal.

Posted in Mexico - Nuevo Progreso, Mexico | Print | No Comments »