My Texan friend, Karen, told me that this central region (the Edwards Plateau) is lovely, and right she is; it’s unlike any part of Texas we’ve seen. Not to imply Texas is generally unlovely, but this area is special. We’re in Garner State Park, along the Rio Frio, west of San Antonio. Right now it’s […]
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I’ll Meet You at the Gator, But First I Gotta Get Around This Turkey
I texted that to Tracy yesterday afternoon while we were both hiking here at Choke Canyon State Park in south Texas. He was up ahead, and he’d found an alligator in a shallow part of the lake, so he texted me a heads-up in case I wanted to see. I did! In my rush, I […]
On the Road Again 🎶
And man does it feel good. Yesterday, we finally pulled out of Brownsville, Texas, and drove north for a couple of hours, including through a customs checkpoint where the dude with the gun glanced in Tracy’s window then said to him, “Just you and the two dogs then, huh.” I usually keep quiet in these […]
Banjo Doesn’t Care Where We Go (We’ve Planned Anyway)
Banjo is always excited to hop into the truck and go, but she’s pretty blasé about the route. There’s no hanging her head out the window with ears blowing in the wind or tongue spattering spit down the truck sides; Banjo sleeps the whole trip. Same deal with our destination: she’ll sniff around the new […]
The Warm and Lively Colors of Charro Days
I looked up the traditional colors you see in Mexican culture so that I’d know what to call them, and I found “warm and lively.” Perfect! Although, the day we stood in the sun to watch the Charro Days parade was more like hot and lively. It’s still February though, so for folks who are […]
Culture Smash in the RGV
In the last couple of days we’ve attended Charros Days (a celebration of international goodwill between Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico): plus a competitive rodeo distinctly celebrating the US of A, with much machoism. I’ve gotten quite the vision of people here in the Rio Grande Valley. Charro Days has just begun, but the first […]
Tracy the Cable Guy (aka: How He Installed Starlink)
Tracy’s been hard at work since we got here figuring out how our Starlink satellite system can be fitted for us. The whole thing is complicated, and, like with our solar and lithium battery set-up, I am not the person to explain it. I’m the one you’re stuck with, though, so here goes with a […]
I Got More than Cheap Dental Work in Mexico
Last year we parked at the border with Mexico and walked into Los Algodones for dental work, and it was a bit of an eye-opener for me, not as much in how Mexicans live but in the discrepancy in cost of living for any humans. This winter we’re way southeast, maybe closer to an authentic […]
Rocket Ranch
A big attraction near Brownsville is SpaceX, a half-hour from us near Boca Chica Beach. This huge facility—with the Starbase production site on one side of the road and the launch pad on the other—draws in gawkers of all types, some who want to be up close during launches. Rocket Ranch is a campground that […]
How to Juggle Mattresses
We’ve been sleeping on the mattress Airstream provides for almost three years now, which, in RV-mattress years, has to be waaaay too long. (The average person with an RV spends 35 days per year in theirs, and Finn tells me that means we’ve spent 30 years in ours in a direct comparison.) My point is: […]
