Rio Grande Valley to the Badlands

04-06=2014

As planned we went across the border on Friday to Mexico. Neuvo Progreso is a small border town that caters to American and Canadian visitors. The easiest way to go is to park on the American side ($2.00 all day) and walk across the bridge. It costs a toll of 35 cents to walk across. Mexican Customs doesn’t pay any attention to pedestrians. On your return you walk across the other side of the bridge, again paying a 35 cent toll. American Customs checks your credentials and asks if you have anything to declare.

Millie at the Tex/Mex border

You start to get an idea of what Progreso is going to be like as you walk the bridge. When you get to the Mexican side beggars call from the river bank below asking for thrown coins. They are also on the streets of the town but not to many, they must control them somehow. The town itself has a third world feel, it definitely makes you appreciate the good old USA.

Neuvo Progreso

The Mexican people of Progreso are not threatening but they are constantly trying to sell you something. As you walk the tourist area you will be offered all manner of goods and services. Fortunately a polite “no thank you” is all that is needed for them to stop, they’re not at all aggressive. Dentistry, optical, and pharmacies are everywhere, followed by pedicures, barber shops, shoe shine stands and of course souvenir stores. I had nothing to declare at the border, Millie purchased a small leather bag.

The Elks lodge had a dance on Friday evening with a country band called “Dixon”. They played good traditional country music and the audience, dressed in western wear was dancing to every number. We got to practice our waltz as they seemed to mostly alternate between waltz’s and Texas two steps.

Saturday morning we took the girls to Petsmart for a day at the spa. They both got shampoo’s, haircuts, the whole spa package. They’re both pretty and they know it!

The drive to South Padre Island from Harlingen starts out as suburban housing and shopping and then changes to vast expanses of the agriculture the Rio Grande Valley is noted for. On Saturday afternoon we visited the resort oasis and even though it is small it seems to have all the expected activities of a beach town. It has a harbor which offers fishing trips, scuba diving, Jet Ski rentals, etc. There are many condo’s, restaurants, beach souvenir shops and of course the beach.

04/06/2014 Sunday:

After thoroughly enjoying our 3 day stay at the Elks lodge we departed the Rio Grande Valley. You don’t have to venture far down the highway and you can see a back to nature progression. As soon as mans cultivation and irrigation stops, the land reverts to mesquite dominated desert vegetation. As you drive west you pass through mile after mile of nothing but mesquite and cactus. The long stretches between towns seem desolate but there is a lot of activity in this scrub wasteland. Shale oil wells are being drilled all over out here. Hastily built trailer parks are everywhere as housing for the oil field workers. There are a lot of 35 foot FEMA trailers being used as housing along with fifth wheel campers and some motorhomes. These are the same RV’s that some of the New Orleans evacuee’s complained about, resulting in FEMA’s selling all the trailers. Interesting, Orlinians thought they were too good for a “free” temporary home and these hard working folks out here are paying around $300 a month to rent them.

Our route from the Rio Grande Valley to the badlands.

  

We passed thru Lerado only stopping briefly for fuel. I-35 starts downtown and goes north bisecting San Antonio, Austin and Dallas on its way to Oklahoma. Our road, SR 83 shares concrete with I-35 for about 15 miles before 83 goes off to the west again. Almost as soon as we left the interstate we were in desolate hard scrabble territory. The land is inhospitable; the few villages look tired and poor. The few RV parks we saw are all full of oil field workers. I had a tentative destination in mind but no reservations so we were winging it today.

The office at Quail Springs RV Resort was closed when we got there but they have self check in policy so we made ourselves at home. ($26 a night) It’s a wonderful little campground nettled under a canopy of live Oaks in the town of Uvalde. The town is the first nice place we’ve seen in a while, home to 15 thousand it is large enough to have all the amenities, out here it is truly an Oasis.

"The bus" at Quail Springs Rv Park

We are staying two nights, we spent the day doing necessary chores, resting and getting ready for the next adventure.

The one negative is, we have no Verizon broadband service here; our phones work for voice but must be roaming on another phone tower. This is the first time since using our phones as broadband hotspots that we have not had any service. We have connected to the Campground Wi-Fi and it seems ok most of the time.

Tomorrow we head to the Big Bend National Park, it is along the Mexican border in a forgotten corner of Texas and I’m assuming we will be without internet access again, so it will be a few days before we post again.