Sunday, January 1, 2012

On The Rio

 

DSCN0894

We spent New Years Eve afternoon on a pontoon boat tour of the Rio Grande. It was partly cloudy and in the upper 70s, a perfect day out on the water. The park has a very nice pontoon boat, and Doug, one of the work campers, is the captain of the boat and takes people out for tours several days a week at $10 a person. There isn’t much along the river since this is mostly agricultural land.

Sugar cane, which will soon be harvested.

DSCN0942

We saw lots of birds. Herons, kiskadees, ospreys, hawks and others.

DSCN0885

DSCN0899

There was a big flood a few years ago, which damaged most of the structures on the river.

A restaurant on the Mexican side.

DSCN0916

Pepe’s on the US side. Apparently it was a very popular place.

DSCN0932

The Riverside Club, which rebuilt after the flood.

DSCN0925

Mexico has a lot of nice parks on the water.

DSCN0909

And this place which was supposedly built by a drug cartel, but was taken over by the government and renovated after the flood.

DSCN0883

DSCN0891

Back to the US side, local history says President Zachary Taylor spent some time here during the Mexican-American War.

DSCN0904

Chimney Park RV Resort. Some sites are on the river but it didn’t look that great.

DSCN0924

After 3 hours on the river we arrived back at the park. There is a palapa on the water, and some of the people staying in the RV park had a big cookout, which everyone was invited to. We stopped by to watch them play some silly game.

 DSCN0947

Last night we watched a movie, then around 10 poured a glass of our Mexican B&B, and took a walk around the park. There was a dance at the clubhouse (we didn’t go), and it sounded like they were having a great time. Since it was sold out, a group of people had dinner, music and dancing at one of the several palapas. We stopped and talked to some people there, and strolled around looking at Christmas lights. It was so pleasant we brought Quincy out and sat outside for awhile. Somehow we even managed to stay up until midnight, something we haven’t done in years.

2011 wasn’t our best year on the road, with Jim’s gallbladder surgery in January, cataract surgery in March, and Oreo’s illness and death in August. We did have some good times, though, visiting with friends and family back east this fall. We’re hoping for a better 2012 and we wish everyone a happy, healthy New Year!

9 comments:

  1. What wonderful pics! Beautiful clarity! Thanks for sharing. I'm with you on a better 2012 - whew! May it be the best year yet. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PS. How do you get the pretty frame around each of your pics? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a nice tour! Great pics!!

    Happy New Year!! Wishing you a wonderful 2012 with much happiness and good health!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The river trip looks like a nice lazy way to spend some time. The flood damage is regrettable. Hope 2012 holds health and happiness for you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great work camping job that sounds and looks like.

    Wishing you a much better 2012!!

    Sherry
    www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hope you have a great new year. Looks like the RGV weather is getting better. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like a nice day and evening, great way to end the year.

    I hope 2012 will be a MUCH better year for you both.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Enjoy lots of sunshine in 2012, and we'll look forward to sharing it here on your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy new year to you both! May 2012 be all you want and need it to be.

    ReplyDelete