Since we last chatted, every day has been over 100. Yesterday, the drive from Del Rio down to very southern Texas, to a town called Mission, found the thermometer topping out at 106! We enjoy seeing the temperature drop into double digits.
I've also been pulled over once more since I last posted. Actually only a few minutes after my last post, we were driving back to our campsite outside of Del Rio, and although I was going the speed limit when I passed the border patrol car parked in the dark along the roadside, he pulled out after me, and flicked on his lights. I noticed his slow approach to the car, obviously being cautious of the possibility of me being a drug carrier. I was asked to step out of the vehicle and go behind it with him. Still unsure of what I had done wrong, he pointed to my tail light, which was NOT lit like it should have been at night. Having no idea of the recent problem, I was lucky and got off with a warning. But as part of his stops along the border, he had to check my entire car for drugs, weapons, bodies, etc. He told me as long was I wasnt carrying any AK47's, we wouldnt have a problem. He did find an empty bottle of beer that I was saving for my friends back at college to add to our collection. Fortunately, this wasnt the type of thing he was searching for. We laughed the whole thing off. Quite a nice officer actually. I'm sure he welcomes pulling over friendly people who arent trying to run from him.
Yesterday was mostly spent driving from Del Rio to Mission, a 6 hour drive that took place during the hottest part of the day. The first three hours of the drive were again through desolate land of scrub and thornbrush, and very flat. I passed out sleeping for an hour before taking the wheel for the second part of the trip from Laredo to Mission, Tx. This drive was still flat, but with some more agricultural land, and near the end, driving down parkways with lots of youre typical shops and fast food restaurants along the way. Lots of Sonics, Whataburgers, Denny's, places that have a bit of southern flavor I suppose. We also passed a highway sign: "Hitchhikers may be escaped inmates". Good to know. My car's too full to fit a hitchhiker anyway. We made it to Mission, Tx by 7 or so, and drove to Bentsen-Rio Grande SP, a 500 acre park located along the border of Mexico, comprised of habitats that are now rare in the area due to agriculture and development. We wanted to camp there, but the border patrol guy told us it probably wasnt a safe idea. He said lots of illegals come through the area in the night. South Texas is a bit scary, and we're not trying to mess with anyone. We decided to camp at a nearby RV park. Some brat kid yelled at us telling us we couldnt put up a tent at an RV park. We told him to buzz off and went about our way, trying to sleep despite the heat. We bought personal fans to keep cool this time, a very smart purchase.
Today, we started early and awoke just as the sun rose around 7. Somehow an army of ants made it inside the tent, so we had to deal with removing them from our things before heading out to the State Park. We paid the $10 for our site (originally advertised as $25) and headed out with all our stuff packed up. Once inside the park, the birding was amazing! Bentsen-Rio Grande SP is a place that I have wanted to visit and have heard about for years as an unparalleled birding locale, famous for it's southern specialty birds and Mexican rarities. All in all, in a 4 hour stroll through park, I saw 11 birds that I've never seen before, most of which are birds that cannot be found anywhere else in the United States. Needless to say, I was having a blast. Justine was having a good time to, I think. We both got to see most of the birds. Sometimes birds arent very cooperative, but most of what we were seeing showed very well. Painted Bunting....ever seen one....look it up, probably one of the most colorful birds in the states.
A great morning for sure, with views of Mexico just a stone's throw from where we were. Pretty neat. And pretty hot. Temps just topped 100 again today while we drove to this McDonalds. The plan from here is to drive to Port Isabel along the gulf coast, but still in extreme south texas and stay in a campground for the night before heading back north. Our goal is to get to Chicago by the night of the 12th. A day in Chicago will be followed by each of us going our separate ways and making the long-ass drive back to our respective destinations in the east. The trip is coming to a close. Still lots of good birds and a few interesting sights to see along the way. It hasnt hit me even yet the magnitude of this trip that I've taken head on all summer. I don't think it will settle in until I get home and look at a map of all the places I've been. Until next time...
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