Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 28

Sam And Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 28 01/17/09 - 01/18/09   Pharr  - The Road To Texas - Carrizo Springs:

Welcome Wagon At Texas Trails RV Park 

We spent the night at Carrizo Springs, Carrizo Springs RV Park.  We got our first taste of the Texas ‘grass’ that is much too much like the pucker-brush of Oregon (or whatever you call them).  The ones that can bust bicycle tire tubes.  They grow real well in Texas.  Sam and I pulled them out of everything, and they hurt.  I think they are related somehow to the jumping cholla cactus. We experienced another very cold, below-freezing night.  We did not run out of propane.  We did take a little side trip.

We decided to go back to Eagle’s Pass from Carrizo Springs via EI Indigo.  We unhooked the trailer, turned west again, then made a left.  It was dark and the RV park manager said that this road was safe, if you did not run into anything. We assumed she was talking deer or cattle.  We’re not sure now.  We had traveled on this barely tarred, sometimes graveled, totally dark road for several minutes when we noticed a row of truck lights that almost blocked the road, plus any possible side pull off areas.  We slowed to a crawl.  I was begging Sam to roll up his window – he was absorbed in checking it out.  We both had ‘drug deal’ in our heads.  Luckily (?) it was three side-by-side border patrol trucks with their emergency lights on.  We thought they would stop us.  They generously ignored us and we passed them respectfully and as soon as they were out of sight – sped to get through this dark passage.  We made it.  Had a good laugh.  After successfully negotiating the border route to Eagle Pass, we decided to return to Carrizo Springs the same way.  No problems. 

South we go to Laredo.  Sounds cool huh?  Kind of like North to Alaska – but that comes later.  Laredo is big.  I was expecting ‘Tombstone’ size and reality does not match my expectations.  We had to turn left and go through an older, historic part of the city to remain on the route we were traveling, so we did get a little sight-seeing in.  We made it and on through Zapata, Roma, and to Rio Grande City.  We got back on a freeway and the small town after small town lined it.  We finally figured out (Sam says he always knew) that the river we’d been crossing and re-crossing was the Rio Grande in different disguises.  OK, I am still not convinced.   Mission, Pharr, Edington, Alamo – one after another.  Our Pharr destination is actually between Pharr and Edington.  We arrive and turn into to the Texas Trails RV Park.  The trip was fast, but fun.  One of the areas we would like to go back to and spend time getting to know is the Big Bend National Park.  Another is the canyons and reservoir around Del Rio.