Christmas in the Valley

What is it like for a New Englander to spend Christmas in the Rio Grande Valley? Wonderful! Does it still seem like Christmas without the snow and ice that usually accompanies Christmas?  Sure does! There's nothing like going Christmas shopping wearing shorts and sandals. 

There are plenty of signs of Christmas here. In fact, the town of Hidalgo has a huge display of lights that is well-known throughout the Valley.  Here are some photos from last year's display. We took a horse-drawn carriage ride through town to see the lights.

While most people gather with their families for Christmas, the last two years we've spent Christmas with our Mission West family.

As you can see, we were not alone. The park was pretty full by Christmas, with many more people arriving just after the New Year.

Decorating the motorhome was a lot easier than decorating the house back in New Hampshire. No snow to dig through, no icy roof to hang decorations from... nice!!

Back in the Rio Grande Valley

We left San Antonio in a rainstorm and 50 degree temperatures. The rain was welcome to Texas but not what we wanted for a travel day.  After about an hour, the rain started to let up and the clouds started to break up.  It wasn't long before the sun was out and we had dry roads again.  When we arrived in Mission, the temperature was a very welcome 87 and the sun was hot.  It sure felt good to be back in the Valley.  

Every winter, thousands of Winter Texans come to the Rio Grande Valley to escape the cold, snowy winters in the north.  There are probably a couple hundred RV parks in the RGV.  We stay at Mission West RV Park in Mission. This is our second year here and we enjoy all of the activities the park offers.  We were looking forward to seeing friends from last year and meeting up with some friends from home who also spend the winters down here.

A couple weeks at Canyon Lake, Texas

After leaving Arkansas, we traveled through the northeastern corner of Texas, near Texarkana. This is familiar territory for us, having gone this route 3 or 4 times.  We took Routes 59, 79, and 77 to TX 21 which took us through Bastrop, TX, one of the communities that was hard hit by last summer's wild fires. The evidence was very clear, the fire had destroyed houses and forests on both sides of the highway. The smell of pine was in the air and you could see rebuilding where homes had been burned.

We stopped overnight at a small park in Franklin, TX, which caught our eye since Dennis was born and raised in Franklin, NH.  The park was under new ownership and had just become a Passport America park, so our stay only cost $12.50.  The new owners were very nice and are trying hard to attract overnighters. 

It was less than 200 miles or so to our destination, Canyon Lake, Texas.  We arrived at Joint Base San Antonio at Canyon Lake around noon. That's the new name of the military FamCamp that we stay at when we're in the San Antonio area. It's in a rural setting and about 35 miles NW of Cibolo, where our son and daughter-in-law live.  It's quiet and a bit out of the way, but there is good shopping in New Braunfels, which is only 20 miles away.

As usual, the deer were plentiful. They wander around, day and night, with no fear of humans or pets.  After a few days, Paddington gets used to them....  until they run!  Then she can't help herself and has to bark at them.  But it takes a lot of barking to keep them away from their 'feeding stations.' They've gotten accustomed to campers feeding them.

Sun setting over Canyon Lake.

We may not do a lot of Christmas decorating now since we are away from home at Christmas, but that doesn't mean we don't escape the fun/chore of 'putting up the lights.'  We've given Ryan and Crystal a hand with their decorations the last couple of years. It sure is more fun to do this in Texas weather than in NH weather!

During our stay, Ryan and Crystal took us to the Riverwalk in San Antonio to see the lights, which were all new this year. They changed to all LED lights and it was a fantastic display.  After a wonderful dinner, we walked along the Riverwalk and enjoyed the sights and sounds.

The town of Gruene, Texas (pronounced Green) is probably most famous for the Gruene Music Hall, the oldest still active dance hall in Texas.  I couldn't think of a better place to visit on my birthday!

My favorite singer, the King of Country Music, George Strait, got his start at the Gruene Music Hall in 1975 as a singer with the Ace in the Hole Band.

The floors were uneven and creaky, but this place sure has seen a lot of great singers, as the walls were full of posters and photos.

Bellah Mine Corps of Engineers Park, DeQueen, AR

After our broken windshield earlier today, we were anxious to get parked for the night. There are several Corps of Engineer parks in this part of Arkansas so that was going to be our choice for tonight.  The map showed several in the vicinity of where we wanted to stop, so we chose Bellah Mine Park in DeQueen, Arkansas.

Going into COE parks is always a little iffy - we're never sure if they'll have sites big enough for us but we had read that this one could accommodate us so off we headed down the long, narrow country road, hardly wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass.  About 5 miles down, we came to a sign for Bellah Mine Park and entered with a sharp left-hand turn down a hill.  On the top of a hill in front of us is an unmanned ranger booth. Usually there will be a map of the sites so you can see how the park is layed out, but nothing here. So Dennis got out and started walking around, surveying the sites.  I was a bit freaked out since the motorhome is now on a fairly steep hill, with our 5,000 lb. car still attached. I sat in the motorhome ready to jam my foot on the brake in case we started rolling backwards!

We discovered they had some wonderful new big-rig friendly sites along the lake. The road going down to them was not so friendly, but it was doable if you unhitched your towed car.  Unhitching the car on the hill was another reason for an anxiety attack, but in the end, it all worked out.

The sites here are terraced, we took a lower site with a few steps down to an area with a picnic table, BBQ grill, and a firepit.

Dennis scavanged for wood so we could have a fire, then a friendly camper nearby pulled up in his pickup truck and gave us more wood. He lived in Texas and had brought his own firewood - Mesquite - ummm, love that smell!  We got our fire going very well, so well that pretty soon the smoke alarm in the motorhome went off.  We had left the windows and door open and the place was filling up with our campfire smoke!

We woke up to a very nice sunrise over the lake the next morning. All this for $5 a night!!  Can't beat it!

Rowdhog's got a Boo-Boo

We left Carthage, Missouri on Thursday morning and took back roads south through Missouri and Arkansas.  Around noon, we found ourselves in Mansfield, Arkansas, traveling along on a 2-lane road.  A large truck past us going the opposite direction and 'WHAM' something hit our windshield.  Just by the sound of it, you knew it wasn't going to be pretty.  Sure enough, we had a 3" round bullseye in the upper left of the windshield.  It must have been a good size rock to do that kind of damage.  Guess that's what insurance is for.  Now, what is our glass deductible?????..... hmmmmm

Joplin, Missouri - Six months after a devastating tornado

Carthage is only 10 miles from Joplin, MO, which was devastated by an EF-5 tornado on May 22nd. It was the deadliest tornado in US history, killing over 160 people. We expected to see some evidence of the storm, but we didn't expect to see the flattened area that went on for miles. The homes, the schools, the churches, the businesses - gone. The hospital was in ruins, with every window blown out and parts of the building gone.

Street lights and street signs have been installed, giving the area a sign of life.

The Hospital ....

Temporary Hospital

There are still hundreds of FEMA trailers housing the families who lost their homes.

Signs that the residents haven't lost hope...

Carthage, MO and Route 66

Last February, at a Newmar Kountry Klub luncheon in the Rio Grande Valley, we were the lucky winners of a door prize donated by the owner of CoachLight RV Park. We won a free week's stay at the RV Park, plus 2 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for 2 at local restaurants. So we were looking forward to enjoying several meals and a free week in Carthage while we explored the area.

We visited the Carthage Chamber of Commerce to get some tourist maps. Among them was a guide to following Route 66 through the Carthage/Joplin area.