The "Valley"

We are now in the Rio Grande Valley of Southeast Texas and only 40 or 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. We will stay until next March. There seems to be no features that would help one to see that this is a valley, as the land is flat as far as one can see (and then some more). Maybe I'll do a little research about the valley and get back to you later.

As for The "Valley", well that is what the section of the Rio Grande Valley from Rio Grande City, Texas to Brownsville, Texas is called. It is a favorite area for snowbirds, whom the locals refer to as Winter Texans. We haven't been here long enough to make any fair judgments, but here are some observations. RV park prices average considerably less that what we experienced in Arizona or Florida (and so is golf). The humidity is high, but we are seeing only occasional showers. This is a Hispanic area. I am guessing the permanent population in this area is 80% Hispanic. Based on what I have noticed, they hold most of the public offices, are the anchors on the TV news, and I hear Spanish as often as English. More than half of the TV stations on antennae broadcast in Spanish. The scenery here is not dramatic and I expect my future blogs will have more architecture than landscape.

During the trip from Big Bend National Park we made several stops, including staying several days in Del Rio, Texas. While there we walked across the border to Cuidad Acuna. As like most border towns, it was attuned to the tourist trade. Here, however, it seemed to be more the nighttime tourists looking for bars and nightclubs. We saw few Americans walking the streets that afternoon. The three pictures are of the Rio Grande River taken from the international bridge, a statue (I think it is significant of Mexico), and looking down one of the main streets.







This next picture is a blooper. You probably think that I searched all over to find this, but in fact I've seen many similar bloopers just since we arrived. The "C" in combo blew off in the wind, but the "u" in double??? I expect that when English is you second language, spelling might just be a challenge.