We left Wisconsin January 6th 2009 and spent about three months on the road. We didn't blog last year, but we did have fun!
This time we left home (Wisconsin) on December 3rd, 2009. We decided that it was CRAZY to wait until January!
We spent a night in Iowa where Icy roads forced us off the road sooner than we would have liked. Fish-tailing with a 40' fifth wheel is not my idea of a good time! Then we spent one night in Oklahoma, and an unforgettable night at a free RV Park (with water and electric) in Andrew,Texas.
Then we made it to the Lajitas Resort in Lajitas, Texas.
This is where a guy from the resort wanted to talk to Dave about doing some work for them. We spent two weeks there free of cost and no work involved for the RV site. Turned out the guy was looking for a Full time permanent person. Worked out great for us!
Lots of activities on the Ranch and area: Rafting, Horseback Riding and Golf to name a few.
Bird Watching is really good.
A ghost town, just down the road.
We got to stay at their beautiful resort, we met the greatest people and enjoyed motorcycle rides along the Rio Grande!
One of our rides was into the Big Bend National Park which is about 20 miles from here. We went with two other couples from the park.
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Then we drove up to the top of the basin, in less than 3 miles you go up about 3000 feet and the temp drops between 10 and 15 degrees. The day we went it went from 70 down to 58 degrees in less than 10 minutes! The curves in the road are so tight the motorcycle is about as big of a vehicle as I would want to be on.
This is the Rio Grande River. The people in Mexico make things you can buy and they cross the River to collect their money and to drop off their goods.
This is not legal, but most people don’t make a big deal over it. Before 9/11 they made their income freely by selling their things to the tourist. Now they do risk their things being confiscated by the border patrol. If you buy their things, it is also illegal. However, you can buy the exact same things at the rangers station for two to three times more. (HMMM… I wonder where they got the stuff to sell?)
This is not legal, but most people don’t make a big deal over it. Before 9/11 they made their income freely by selling their things to the tourist. Now they do risk their things being confiscated by the border patrol. If you buy their things, it is also illegal. However, you can buy the exact same things at the rangers station for two to three times more. (HMMM… I wonder where they got the stuff to sell?) 
They have one guy watching through his binoculars to see if you buy their things. The other guys are busy making more things. They talk to you from across the river telling you about their things and encourage you to buy.
In the picture below you can see the walking sticks, they are carved and painted, they are really nice. They also had things like roadrunner’s, scorpions and etc. made out of beads and wire.
From the Trades area we drove to the Rio Valley and had a picnic. The scenery was beautiful.
Finally Lunch Time!!!
The rides were awesome and we really enjoyed the company.
Back at the Resort:
The people refer to a
dog on a leash
at dusk or dawn as, "McDonald's
on a string"! We had the coyotes right outside our camper, these are their tracks.
They say that the Black bear,
foxes,
Javalinia's
and the ring-tailed cats are quite popular around here to.
A ring tailed cat is a rare sighting and most of the residents who are regular here haven't seen one. Dave and I saw one the first night here! It is a cross between a Raccoon, cat and fox. It walked up the side of a stone building like it was walking on a flat surface. It was incredible!
We have a couple of foxes who try to eat the bird food and some apples right outside our window. One night we had the two foxes, and the coyote showed up. The fox high tailed it right out of there. We had three coyote's howling two feet from our window.
I do not go out at night and we never leave Shadow out alone.
The Javelina's are suppose to be everywhere, but we have never seen one or a bear, which is good!
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I guess they get no rain here now for several months, so the weather stays about 65 for days and the coldest at night has been 38 degrees.
December 13th they had meteor showers at night. Talk about an AWESOME sight! The stars were shooting in the pitch black sky and with the new moon, there was no light from that either. There are no street lights or neon lights for miles and miles Night is black like it use to be.
We opened up the camper windows and watched for hours. It is so quiet around here, if we wouldn't hear the wild animals now and then, we would think we fell off the planet!
We are about a 1/4 of a mile from Mexico from where we are parked, but in other spots at the resort are just a couple hundred feet. I threw a stone from the US to Mexico!
The Lajitas Resort is a hideout for some of the rich and famous, but neither Dave or I would recognize most movie stars if they sat across the table from us! Sandra Bullock was here not to long ago, we didn't see her, or at least we don't thing we seen her!
A slide show of more photos:
You both are far too modest, your reputation procedes you even here in Southern Ontario.Hearing what you did for Belle makes you both Exceptional and truly inspires others to to try to be as good.
ReplyDeletethe hermit
Thank you for your kind words. Wouldn't this world be a changed place if even for one day EVERYONE spent the entire day doing things for someone in need?
ReplyDeleteThe most incedible people I have ever met is Al and Kelly from the Bayfield Bunch. They are my idols and my hero's. What they have done is truly amazing.