Tuesday
was Inauguration day
We stayed around home a good part of the day and watched the events on T.V.
Wednesday
Carol went to a community outreach program, and then we went for a drive and checked out the area North and West of us. Mostly all towns, we didn't get into the rural area much. The towns range from very old to brand new. From Spanish to shopping malls
Wednesdays night there was entertainment at the rec center that we went to, a bluegrass family band from Missouri



Thursday
Started with Spanish class. We're a weekly class here at the park to learn a little Spanish. Us and about 15 other residents. We can start to read a little, and we tried watching the Mexican T.V. news last night. that's interesting. we may need to record it and play it back at a much slower speed. But the class only takes and hour or two a week, and its a good thing.
After that Ann and Phil, friends from Cedar Rapids that are down here, and us decided to go to Mexico. WE drove to Progesso, a place about 25 miles downstream on the Rio Grande from the crossing here in Pharr. The locals here call it the safe crossing. It sounded wise to take their advice. As we get there we see the much talked about wall. and ugly concrete curtain that tops a levee north of the river. It's still under construction. We parked at a lot on the U.S. side of the bridge, and pay a twenty-five cent per-person toll to cross on foot to Nuevo Progesso.
The Mexican side is bristling with arms. Sandbagged checkpoints with armed guards and armoured personnel carriers with manned machine guns. That was thrilling. Of course that's just on the edge of the bridge.. the rest of the town had no guards at all.











Most of the first four or five blocks that we walked looked like old buildings that have had several lives in the past 60 years, signs on top of signs in loud colors.




Plenty of tourist shops, bars, restaurants, prescription free drugstores dentists street vendors and unlikely combinations of these (like a drug store/bar/dentist)
some bargains to be had, but mostly colorful.
we had a donut at a bakery and wandered the main street.




















In the early evening we ate supper at a nicer place with uniformed waiters. Mexican food of course.
By then it was late in the day and the tourists were leaving and the vendors shutting down. we paid our thirty cent toll from the Mexican side and walked through customs and back to the car and home
Friday we got another bike finally. Thus one is for Frank. Picked out a new, cheap one. That was in the afternoon, and spent a few more hours getting the bile rack on the car and then getting the tires.
Saturday a few more hours truing the new bike up and a few mile ride around home with Phil, and we're ready to ho some exploring. In the afternoon, Phil, Ann and us went to the Santa Anna National Wildlife Refuge down at the Rio Grande. It's several hundred acres in a loop of the river that's marsh land and woods. Lots of ox-bow lakes and more than a few trails.. a seven miles section is for bikes and a tram ride that the park runs. We rode the bikes, while Phil and Ann rode the tram.
The ride was a good one, with lots to see and almost no one else on the trail. The weather had turned cool just before we left on the bikes. It had dropped from upper 70s to middle 60s with a strong north wind. The wind was less trouble than we would have thought tanks to the dense woods we were in. We did meet and armadillo, and plenty of signs of larger animals, there are bobcat and jagerundi around the area, but we didn't see them. The final mile or so of the ride was along a raised irrigation canal that was open to the wind, and not comfortable at all. We were to get back to the car and the visitor center. The tram with Ann and Phil got back just a few minutes after we did. The tram followed the same path as us, and stooped several times to explore some of the smaller paths. Phil said that they had a good guide

Sunday, after the paper and doughnuts, we went back to the Santa Anna reserve again and this time walked some of the paths that went deep into the woods. Again, it was a nice cool day for a walk. More birds on this walk since we had more time to see them.



A nice long part of the trails was along the bank of the Rio Grande, and along ox-bows with ducks.

We finished the day at the swimming pool.

It's Nice(er) here

Ok, its 75 today.. that's really nice. Even at 60 its a lot nicer than -29 or so.

Its the land on manana sometimes.. things are going slow. real slow some days

We did finally get a bike for Carol on Wednesday. And have taken a few more trips that just to the donut shop (yes, I have donut shop, San Juan programmed into the TomTom). But other than that its been quiet here. Wednesday was spaghetti feed at the Legion, and last night (Friday) was fiesta at the park. We got library cards and are reading books a lot.

yesterday we went to Mission Texas, and back.. one more town along the Rio Grande, interesting, but also a lot the same.

Maybe this week we'll go into Mexico at Progresso. or to Brownsville, or both

Carol has signed up for some volunteer work at a mission and Frank may be getting involved in the garden there.

Saturday

We've been here for 3 or four days now.. we're up at the pool again. not many swimmers here.. we usually have the pool and hot tub to ourselves. this morning was a pancake and sausage feed at the clubhouse, got to meet a few people. This afternoon we'll be doing flea markets with Carols friends Ann and Phil from Cedar Rapids.

Yesterday we got some shopping done, both native stores and old standbys.. walmart has a lot of Mexico plates, and the pages are in Spanish.. very strange. in fact the whole area is very bilingual. store clerks switch back and forth all the time. Interesting. Then a soak in the pool and hot tub in the full moon.


It was warm the past few days, but today s around 70 and damp. Overcast and gray too, with just a breeze.

we'll be looking for bikes.. there don;t seem to be any in the paper, so we'll craiglist it

there's a bird sanctuary nearby that we may go to this afternoon. and then check out a movie

live is slow

but that's good for now

We’re in Pharr

Got here at 4:00 This afternoon. Warm and clear here. Sun is just going down at 6:00. We’ve checked into the park and are in our home for the next three months.


Monday we got the car fixed in Broken Bow, and took off Tuesday morning. Tuesday we traveled through rain and gloom south. Somewhere south of Tyler Texas we started seeing sun. By 4:00 we were in Austin. Checked into a HoJo and went downtown.

Austin has an active nightlife, but only some days. Tuesday is not one of the big days. We parked in the nightlife area and elbowed our way past the panhandlers through a less than sparkling area of town.. In a few blocks things changed. It was a balancing act finding the thin happy line between glittering commerce, and less than elegant entertainment venue. But we found a couple of places, and enjoyed and hour or so listening to music and enjoying happy hour.

We just missed running into Jerry Spaight at a restaurant,, we got there just minutes after him.. but that was enough for the night. Back to HoJos and bed.

Wednesday we moved slowly out of Austin and meandered south. it’s a long way from there to the Rio Grande valley. There’s a couple of hundred miles with almost no town, or many homes.. Just a lot -a lot- of mesquite trees and very thin cell phone coverage. It was interesting.

But we’re here. Loading clothes into closets and settling in. Looks like there’s no internet access, so I’m just keying this in now, I’ll find access and update the blog latter

that’s it for now… call anytime..

And we're off

To a good start...

Left home Friday 1/2/9 after a few errands, and headed south down 218. Outta town by high noon. In less than an hour most of the snow was gone. Looking good! by the St. Francis bridge at the Missouri border we met Matt and family heading north, and did a tom-tom hand off.

From there we headed south and west with the tom tom to Jefferson city for the night. Nice place, but we didn't get out much. Weather was improving. 50s there. That's good.

Saturday we started serious driving. still south and west, past Fort Smith and into the beautiful Bastion Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Big.. jeez , I thought Oklahoma was flat.. you know "...where the winds come sweepin' down the plains..." well they are big, and pine covered and no one there.. great roads, switchbacks up the mountain.. to the little rest area where we noticed a gallon or so of antifreeze coming out of the car.

changes in attitude.. it got quiet for the next couple of hours.. looking for anyplace.. anyplace.. found a mountain store and got water.. drove real e a s y for a while. stopped for the night



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in Broken Bow Oklahoma for the night.
and Sunday
and Sunday night
Maybe... tomorrow we;ll get it fixed

but we had a good day in Broken Bow.

Not much to see,

but then again its Sunday,

and the town is closed up tight..

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A good (enough) motel, and we'll be out by tomorrow.. we hope.