Big Bend RV Resort

Posted by hankster |1 comments

I made it to Big Bend National Park today. It was only a 5 hour drive from Ft. Stockton. I could have made it quicker but just took my time and enjoyed the drive. The scenery is fantastic, completely different then anything I have seen. No sure how to describe it since I have never been to an area like this before. You have desert land butting up against mountains. Guess I will get a better idea once I have a chance to get into the park.

Big Bend RV Resort in Study Butte Texas is not a place I would normally like. Everything is dirt or gravel with a few small trees around and a patch of brown dried out grassy spots. Looking around you find you are surrounded by mountains. First thing I did when I got here was get the trailer setup. I then checked and found out I have cell phone service (Verizon). There is WiFi at the cafe but when I started up my computer and connected the external antenna I was able to get a strong signal and the Internet connection is fairly fast. While hooking up the electric I noticed a cable connection. I ran a cable, searched for stations and they have 11 TV channels available. Full hookups, cell service, WiFi and cable TV... I think this is the first campground I have stayed at that had all four at the campsite and this is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It may be the best place I've stayed during this trip.

I then popped the top on a beer, set out some water for Spud, tied him out to the trailer and had a seat on the picnic table. The temperature was in the upper 50's but it felt hot. I still had on my sweatshirt from this morning so I took it off to enjoy the sunshine. It was still hot so I headed inside and put on some shorts. I'm cold blooded and I just found it strange that here I was sitting in shorts and a t-shirt in 50 degree weather.

We just sat there for a couple of hours. On each side of us where these great mountain scenes and almost cloudless skies. I'd get up to go in to get another cold one and Spud wanted nothing to do with going inside. He'd just hunker down, laying as flat as he could on the ground, hoping I wouldn't see him and call him inside.  The above picture is the view out the back window of the trailer. You can see some other views from my campsite.

I've signed up for three nights stay at the RV park. I may just have to extend that a bit if Big Bend is all it is hyped to be. Temps are suppose to get into the mid 60's the next couple of days so that should be great to exploring. So far I am really enjoying the area.

Fort Stockton Texas

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I left Guadalupe River State Park this morning for Big Bend National Park and stopped at Fort Stockton RV Park for the night. It was a bit frosty this morning with temps in the upper 20s. As I retracted the slider before leaving there was a bunch of racket outside. Decided I better go investigate. Their must have still been some water on the slide topper and it had frozen during the night. It all slid off as the topper rolled up and crashed to the ground.

The drive to Ft. Stockton was a nice change of pace. While it was a bit hilly, the scenery was very nice. It is what I would consider typical western plains scenery. Right out of a Marlboro commercial. There are also a lot of wind generator farms on top of the flat hills.

Here are a few more pictures.

The Fort Stockton RV Park is pretty nice considering it is in the middle of nowhere. OK, Fort Stockton may be one of the larger cities in the region, but there is still no much else around. Might be one reason the park is over half full, there really isn't any other place to stop within 100 miles. By the time I got here the temps had gotten up to 55 degrees, felt really good.

Not a lot trees and stuff on the lots but there isn't much of that in the area. The park is clean with a bit of construction going on behind the main building. The bathrooms/showers are surprising nice. All full hookup sites are pull through and there are sites for any size rig. I was able to pull in my 30' 5th wheel and leave my truck hooked up. The sites are wide enough to extend any slides you may have. They even have a tent area and a few cabins for rent. I was able to pull in 6 television channels, 4 or them are Spanish. They have WiFi but I found it close to worthless. The signal is strong, but so slow pages would time out loading. Verizon cell signal is strong so I'm tethering with no problems.

There is a small restaurant in the park that is open a couple hours in the morning and evening. I didn't feel like cooking something up so tried some of their Mesquite pork ribs. It was a pretty good meal for 8 bucks. I think I'll give their bisects and gravy a go in the morning.

I plan to be in Terlingua Texas tomorrow staying at the Big Bend Resort & Adventures RV Park. It is located only a few miles outside the west entrance to Big Bend NP and is suppose to be the best place to stay when visiting the park. I heard there is no cell service in the area but the park has WiFi. Not sure how many days I am going to stay there, it will just depend on how interesting Big Bend is.

Then The Rains Came

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I extended my stay at Guadalupe River State Park because of the storm that was going to roll through last night. And roll through it did!

It rained all day yesterday and last night about midnight the storm front moved through. There were even tornado watch issued for the area. Most of the storm went a few miles north but we still got over 3" rain. At times the rain was coming down so hard I had to turn up the TV volume over half just to hear it over the deluge pounding on the roof of the trailer.

This morning I got up to sunshine but much cooler temperatures. At 2pm it is 45 degrees with 20 mph winds. With all the rain I wanted to see what effects it had on the river. Me and Spud drove down to have a look. The river was running about 4' higher then the day before. Talking with the park ranger he said the flow rate was 1000 cfs compared to 100 cfs that is normal this time of year. He had pictures from the late 90's when the river was 42' above normal and most of the picnic and parking area around the river was covered with water.

The above picture is of the same tree before and after the rains. Click on it to get a larger view. 
See some other pictures of the river flooding.

I plan on leaving the area tomorrow and head further west. With all the time on my hands yesterday I did some research and decided I want to visit Big Bend National Park which is north west border of Texas and Mexico. It will add an extra day of driving to my trip but then I have no agenda or timetable to keep. Looks like I won't get there for two days and I'll make another report once I get there.

Guadalupe, Pedernales and LBJ

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Had a chance to get out and explore the area today. Nothing here is very close to each other so that means a bit of driving.

First stop was where I am staying, Guadalupe River State Park located close to Spring Branch, Texas. The park is about 25 miles north of San Antonio just off State Highway 46. The main feature of the park is the Guadalupe River.... go figure. When I first saw it I was really surprised at the deep cut walls that line parts of the river. There are large areas set aside for picnicking with many easy paths that you can walk to take in the river scenery. There are even areas where you can fish, swim and even tube down the river. While the park is pretty deserted now, I could see that this would be a hopping place in summer.

All of the facilities look to be in very good shape with nice bathroom in each major area. I also found out they have WiFi in areas of the park. I pulled out my super duty WiFi antenna and can get a usable signal for internet access. This is great a place to stop if in the area.

See more pictures of Guadalupe River State Park.

I then headed north another 35 miles or so to Johnson City. Johnson City is the birthplace of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Before visiting the LBJ Ranch I took a side trip to Pedernales Falls State Park which is 9 miles east of Johnson City. This takes you into the heart of Texas Hill Country. The road to the park is hilly. At the bottom of some of the hills there are "flood level" markers so you can see how much water is flowing over the road... they went up to 5 foot!

Once you get on the park road is winding and hilly. Reminded me a lot of the road from Gardner to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. They have a large camping area in the park so I drove through to see what it was like. It's much like the camping area where I am at now. From there I headed to the spot on the park map marked as a swimming and tubing area.

This is not like any swimming spot I've ever seen before. You have about 100 yard walk down a path with numerous steps to get to the river. Once there you have patches of sand in between large rocks and trees. The river in this area is littered with boulders but these also create areas of calm water that would be perfect for a soak. Interesting indeed.

It was then on to Pedernales Falls. This was completely unexpected in the middle of Texas. The river is down so there was not a lot of water flow, but the whole area is awesome. You can get right down to the rivers edge and walk on the rocks that would make up the falls when the river is running faster. Sheer cliffs are on the other side of the river with a sandy beach for swimming below the falls. This is easily the best place I have visited since being in Texas and I could have stayed here all day. But time was running short and I had one more place I wanted to visit.

See more pictures of Pedernales Falls State Park.

14 miles west of Johnson City is the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site. This park was created from the Johnson Ranch and it is still a working ranch. The visitors center has a lot of information on LBJ's life and memorabilia. They have a self guided tour on a CD that you play in your car while you drive around the ranch.

One of the most interesting parts was the main driveway to the ranch that goes through the Pedernales River and your car is actually in the water as you cross the river (it is no longer in use). You may remember pictures of LBJ and Lady Bird riding in their Continental convertible as water splashed under it's wheels. Also located here is LBJ's Western White House, his parents home, the one room school house he attended and an exhibit of his white Continentals, other cars and other memorabilia at the ranch airplane hanger.

The LBJ State Park is more of an historical site then what many would consider a state park. If you have any interest of this time in history, you want to stop here,

More pictures of the LBJ Ranch.

That wrapped up my day. Well, almost. On the way back to the camp site I spotted a DQ, me and Spud shared a carmel sundae! Pretty exciting day and I saw things I never expected. I'm glad I took the time to stop in this area. I'm going to extend my stay for a couple more days.

Next Stop Guadalupe River State Park

Posted by hankster |0 comments

I packed up and headed out of the Rio Grande Valley about 8:30am this morning. My destination is the Guadalupe River State Park which is about 20 miles north of San Antonio. This is in the middle of Texas Hill Country and the area has gotten rave reviews from everyone I have talked to.

One the way I stopped at Blue Beacon Truck Wash to give the 5th wheel and truck a bath. The cost was $58 and in my opinion is not worth it. Oh well, live and learn.

I took I-410 around San Antonio. The north side of town was the worse drive I have had my whole trip. There was construction all over the place and the drivers made the I-94 drive through Detroit look like a cake walk. Next time I'll drive 100 miles out of my way if I have to to avoid San Antonio.

I got into Guadaluple River State Park around 3:30pm. The campground is really nice. The RV sites are water and electric only with a paved pad to park on. A picnic table, fire ring and tent pad are on each. I really didn't have any time to explore the area once I got set up, just drove down by the river to walk Spud. The river is really cool! I didn't take my camera with me so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to have a look.

Right now I have the site for 2 nights. Not sure how long I am going to stay, just depends on how much there is to see. There are very few people staying in the park so additional days will be no problem. I'll post more once I have a chance to get out and about.

Time To Move

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I've been in the RGV for 3 weeks now and it's time to move on to new adventures. I'm packed up and plan to leave Tuesday morning to Texas Hill Country. It is located north of San Antonio and is a days drive from where I'm now located.

I plan to stay at the Guadalupe River State Park for a few days as long as they are not full. There are a lot of RV parks in the area if I can't get in. It should to be an interesting area with a lot of different landscape to explore. The Texas Hill Country Drive looks to be a good place to start to get an idea of the area and then wing it from there.

I'll keep you updated once I get there.

AmeriCana RV Resort - Mission Texas

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Overview: ‪I stayed in AmeriCana RV Park for 3 weeks in January 2010. It is a mature park.... I hesitate to call it an older park as it wears it's age well. With the maturity of the park comes many of the things that attracted me to it. It is a smaller park with about 125 spaces, lots of mature trees for ample shading for most of the spaces and just enough facilities to make it enjoyable.‬

‪Location: AmeriCana is in a good location close to I-83. It is only 3 miles from Bentsen State Park which is the birding capital to the world. There are many other RV parks in the vacinity so you will see many other Winter Texans biking and walking in the area.‬ ‪This also puts it close to just about any big box store you could ever want, many eateries, movie theaters, malls and gas stations. A few blocks to the west is an area that is a bit run down but I never felt uncomfortable driving through the area. ‬

Lots: This is one of the most attractive features of AmeriCana. The premium lots are large compared to most parks in the area at the same price point. Each primium lot has a cement patio and is well shaded. Most RV parks would have split them in two and stuffed another RV in the same spot. Each lot has at least a couple of trees with ground cover instead of dirt or gravel. The RV sits on a gravel pad as does your tow vehicle or towed if you have one. The economy lots can be small and cramped with a gravel surface and no cement patio. I highly recommend paying the few extra dollars for a premium site. If you use satellite TV or internet be sure to let them know so you will get a lot with a clear view to the south.

All sites are back in and there are lots to fit any size RV. Since this is a mature park the roads are a bit narrow. Two vehicles can pass side by side but that is about it. With the lots being as large as they are I did not observe anyone having a problem backing into their sites. I would guess that 25% of the lots taken by permanent seasonal units that were all kept up very nicely.

Site Services: Each site is full hook up with 30 and/or 50 amp service, water and sewer. Sewer hookups are towards the rear of the lot so make sure you have enough hose to reach, I needed 30 foot of hose. My site had 50 amp only but I have an adaptor to hook it up to my 30 amp cable. I never had a problem with electric power or water pressure. The water is hard as it left a lot of water spots when I washed my truck. Cable TV is available through the local cable company, I did not use it as reception was very good for the 4 major networks using my over the air antenna. Free WiFi is available in the park clubhouse only. Aircard reception using Verizon was excellent.

Park Accommodations: The park has a pool and hot tub located next to the clubhouse. While not huge they are adequate considering the size of the park. There is a nice patio around the pool/hot tub and it was always clean and neat. There are mens and ladies bathrooms with showers located close to the pool. The bathrooms were nice and clean but the showers are a bit on the small size. The laundry room has 4 pay washers and dryers. Also available are mail boxes if you plan on receiving mail. The clubhouse has ample seating for activities and has a large kitchen that is used for weekly breakfasts and other activities.

The park is very pet friendly and you will always see someone walking their dog. At the back of the park is a bird sanctuary. It is privately owned by one of the park seasonal residents and it provides a nice stop to have a nice short walk in a wooded area and view a few birds at the feeding station.

Activities: There are a number of activities planned each day. This varies from Spanish lessons to Bible Study, Exercise classes, Poker, Pokeno, Computer help and bike rides. There are also a number of special events each month that are one time events. I did not participate in the activities but I seen the Pokeno, poker, Spanish lessons and the weekly jam session were very popular.

Cost: I paid $130.00 weekly including electric. Daily rates are $30 with monthly rates are $400 not including electric. Good Sam is accepted for a few day on the daily rate.

Summery: I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at AmeriCana. The hosts are super friendly and helpful and all of the parks guests/residents were great. My favorite things was the ample shading and comfortable laid back atmosphere of the park. It was great to have birds in the trees throughout the park instead of a barren plot with little to no landscaping. Almost every evening I would sit on the patio just to relax in the shade and chat with the other guests as they walked by. Almost every day a flock of parakeets would fly in to occupy the local vegetation. My neighbor had a a hummingbird feeder out and it was interesting to see them fly in to have a drink.

I would highly recommend AmeriCana RV Park to anyone visiting the Rio Grande Valley and would suggest that you upgrade to a premium site if at all possible.

AmeriCan RV Park, 721 N. Bentsen Palm Dr., Mission, TX
(956)581-1705 - http://www.americanarvresort.com

Leaking Tires and Sticking Slide, Oh My

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I have been in the same park in Mission TX for 2 1/2 weeks now. At the beginning of the week I had a low pressure alarm on my TST tire pressure monitoring system when I got into the truck to go to the store. When I got back I checked the pressure in that tire and it was at 40 psi. Thought it was a bit strange but aired it back up to 50 psi and didn't think much more about it.

2 days later I got another low pressure alarm. Checked again and the tire pressure was low. Thinking that maybe the TST sensor was leaking I aired the tire back up and put on a regular valve stem cap. Checked the pressure today and the pressure was again low.... time to get it checked out.

I called the Good Sam Emergency Road Service number. Took about 12 minutes to get someone on the phone. Found out that the bad weather has them swamped with calls and that was the reason for the delay. They sent someone out to chenge the tire. Said it would be an hour and it took them an hour to get here. Once the service guy removed the tire he found the metal valve stem leaking. It was installed incorrectly crimping the rubber grommet. He replaced it with a new metal valve stem, put the tire back on and I am all set. Total cost was $15 for the valve stem replacement, Good Sam EMS took care of the rest.

I am planning on moving towards NM on Tuesday. If the TST alarm didn't go off I wouldn't have checked tire pressures until Monday evening which would have meant I wouldn't have been able to get it fixed until Tuesday delaying my departure time/day. So tire pressure systems are useful when you are not on the road.

As a side note, I was going to retract the room slide to help the tire guy remove the tire as it was under the slide. When I tried to retract it, it would only move about an inch then stop. I later found out that the nylon slide plate on the floor inside the 5er had come loose and was jamming on the slide floor instead of allowing the slide to go over it. I tightened the screws holding down the slide plate and it now works fine. This is something I wouldn't have found until Tuesday morning when I was ready to leave so my tire problem also found another unrelated issue.

New RVing According to Hank : Always check your rig a few days before you are leaving. If you wait until the day before you leave and find something wrong, it may delay your departure.

Momma Told Me There Would Be Days Like This

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You things can't go smooth all of the time.

Yesterday I went to the store for a few groceries. When I got back I put a can of pop in the freezer to get it cold quickly. Today I remembered I put it in there when I opened the freezer and found pop splattered all over the inside of the freezer.

A couple of days ago I decided I would check the air pressure in the trailer tires. Since I last checked them when the temps were in the 40's I thought that maybe I would have let a bit of air out to get the pressures back down to where they should be. 3 tires were about 7 psi high so I aired them down. One tire was 10 psi low. I aired that back up to where it should be. Checked the pressures again yesterday and that tire is was 15 psi low. Looks like I have a slow leak in that one tire, I'll know for sure tomorrow when I check it again :(

I Could Get Used To This

Posted by hankster |0 comments

With two days over 80 degrees and three more in the forecast, it's even hot for Texas in January. Average temps are 70 this time of year so this is not usual weather. I'm not arguing.

Yesterday I went back to Bentsen State Park and took the trolley to the far end of the pack. There is a two mile trail that I walked. Really didn't see many birds but the walk was relaxing with a lot of different things to see. I took some pictures that you can see in my photo album.

What I did see while in the park is that it is a great place to bike. There are a number of birds feed stations throughout the park that no only has a lot of bird activity, but also seen some wild pigs. They are too far to walk to (for me at least) but is an easy bike ride to get to. Of course in my rush to leave Michigan, I forgot to put my bike in the trailer. Screw it, I went to Wally World and picked up an $89 bike to use for the rest of my vacation.

Speaking of birds, I had a surprise yesterday when I got up. In the morning I opened my door to walk Spud and there were two parakeets sitting in the tree about 15 feet away. Later this afternoon there was a big flock of birds flying around the park making a hell of a racket. I couldn't figure out what they were until they landed in a couple of trees across the street. I pulled out my camera to get a closer look and they were parrots. You know how noisy a parrot can be.... imagine 100+ of them!

I'm going to head back to Bentsen Park tomorrow with my new Wally World bike to check out some of the feeding stations. Hopefully I can get some decent pictures.

Mr. Rogers Was Right

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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. OK, maybe that is a bit over the top but it sure was a nice day today. Since it was Sunday I decided to stay in the park and get some things done that I needed to do. The mid 70's temperature only made doing them that much better. I could also avoid the weekend crowds that was sure to be anyplace I wanted to go... might as well wait for a weekday to do them.

The truck was in bad need of a wash after a month on the road. I broke out the bucket and brush then gave it a good scrub down. Of course the water is hard as hell and that left water spots all over.... not just water spots, but big ass white water spots that made it look like a teenager reaching puberty! I had a few microfiber rags so I got one damp then wiped and dried, wiped and dried, then wiped and dried some more until it was done. Maybe that $14 hand wash just down the street isn't such a bad deal after all.

By then the sun was hitting the side of the trailer so I lowered the awning, popped a Miller Lite and slapped a couple of cheese and jalapeno sausages on the grill. The one thing about the grill is that it doesn't get real hot and that made it was about perfect for cooking sausages. Took me 3 Millers to finish cooking them. During that time a neighbor stopped by to chat and Spud just laid out on the patio enjoying the fresh air.

Once I stuffed down a couple of sausages and another brew just sat back to enjoy the day. I needed a few tunes and turned on the radio. Low and behold I found a classic rock station packed in between the country and Spanish stations.... I really wondered if they knew what rock music was down here.

By now it had gotten pretty warm so I figured I'd give the hot tub a whirl. Put on my suit and headed to the front to have a nice soak. 10 minutes in the spa, then 5 minutes in the pool to cool off, then back in the spa again. The pool water really isn't cool, it just feels that way after getting out of the spa. I feel like a new man and am ready to head out to Bensten Park tomorrow for a hike.

Nothing A Burger Can't Solve

Posted by hankster |1 comments

Over the past day or so I have been trying to figure out if I wanted to stay in the Rio Grande Valley for a bit more or head out towards New Mexico.  The weather really has not been all that great in the RGV which means it wouldn't be much fun visiting a couple of places I wanted to go to. It really had me down.

The only thing to look forward to was that they are saying we are going to have some really nice weather later this week. After researching places to stop at on the way to NM I opened the fridge to make something to eat and there wasn't much there. OK, cool, I can head out to H.E.B. to get some groceries for the next couple of days. H.E.B. is a large grocery store chain in the area that I would compare to Wal-Mart's grocery section. But they have some really good Mexican pasteries that I have gotten a bit hooked on.

On my way there the sun was out, temps around 70 with a slight breeze. Great t-shirt weather. When in the meat section to pick out some ham I heard something. "Feed me" I heard while having flashbacks of The Little Shop of Horrors. Slowly I looked around and spotted it, four freshly made patties of beef were calling out to me! I couldn't resist, in the cart they went.

As I started to push my cart to the checkout I noticed the patties looked lonely. The cheese and jelapeno sausages in the next case were the perfect companion! I checked out and headed to the truck humming the Feed Me tune now stuck in my head.

It was time to break out the grill that was included with the trailer. It's pretty cool as it hangs on a bracket on the side of the trailer and attaches to a hose that runs from the propane tanks. Once fired up I grabbed those patties, sprinkled on a bit of mesquite seasoning and slapped in on the grill. That'll teach you to call out to me!

Topped it off with pepper jack cheese then slipped it a toasted bun and set back with a Miller Lite to enjoy the afternoon. I'm refreshed. I feel much better and look forward to an even warmer day tomorrow. Mid to upper 70's the rest of the week, bring it on!

Still in the Rio Grande Valley

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Not a lot of updates lately. I went to a local RV show yesterday. I was hoping to see a lot of parts and accessory booths but there really were none. There were about 50 new RVs on display and I walked through quite a few of them but since I'm not in the market for one it was more to pass the time then anything else.

We were suppose to get a lot of rain today but it really never happened. They even had flash flood warning but we only got a few sprinkles. Most of the rain was off shore. Good thing, didn't want to see if my trailer can float :)

Went to Wal-Mart today to get s few things. Figured I'd try a new one just to see if it was any different then the one I've already been to. So I did a search for Wal-Marts in my GPS and found one 8 miles away so grabbed Spud and off we went. Traffic was bad and it took about 20 minutes to get there. Started looking around for it once I got to the area and I see a blue and white building off to the side. What's this? A closed Wally World? Sure 'nuff, first time I've ever seen a closed WM.

The weather is suppose to be nice this next week, sunny with highs in the upper 70's. Plan on heading back to Bentsen Park and maybe go back to South Padre Island to walk the beach again. But at this point I am thinking of heading out up towards New Mexico. Problem is that it is 10 to 15 degrees colder up there so I'm not sure if I want to stay put with the warm weather or head out to see new sights.

The weather is pretty nice here in the Rio Grande Valley but there is really not a lot of the things I want to do around here. I compare the area to 28th St. in Grand Rapids.... for 25 miles in each direction. Sure there are 1000's of restaurants, shopping malls and movie theaters within 30 minutes drive but I could get that at home. I came out here to see something different. We'll see what I can dig up over the next few days with the nice weather coming up.

Two Days, Not Much Action

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Here it is going on 2 days and I've not done a whole lot. Yesterday was cloudy with a chance of showers and it is the same today. Highs in the lower 60's. I was going to go back to Bentsen Park yesterday but decided to say put, do a bit of grocery shopping and relax. With the rain today I think I'll do some laundry and catch up on some internet stuff.

Not really much different then I would do at my S&B (sticks and bricks) home. Maybe I'm just settling in a bit as I feel no real need to have to do something. While doing laundry maybe I'll see see if I can get some suggestions for a restaurant that has some authentic Mexican food.

A couple of things I notice I do more then normal is clean. Since the 5er is smaller then my S&B it gets cluttered a lot sooner. I find myself wiping things down, sweeping and washing dishes almost daily. Normally I wouldn't even have dishes to wash but I find myself cooking more then I did when home.

South Padre Island

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It looked like the weather was going to be nice today so figured it was time to have a peek at the Gulf. Headed out to South Padre Island around 10am and got a few miles down I-83 and traffic was backed up. There was an accident ahead and I got tied up in the traffic jam for about 1/2 hour. It didn't look bad but it was down to one lane. Once I cleared that it was smooth sailing.

Once I turned on highway 100 I stopped for gas thinking gas would be more expensive on the island. Once I got on the island is was a nickel cheaper..... go figure. Same thing happened on my summer trip to the Upper Peninsula. Gas was cheaper in the U.P. then 50 miles south of the bridge.

I stopped by a couple of campgrounds while there. The KOA is just north of the bridge and appears to be pretty nice. Some of the sites are pretty close together but a few are maybe 30' wide. I'd suggest looking at the sites if you can before making a reservation. The county park towards the north is bare minimum. The are hookups but it is basically a parking lot with about 15 parking spaces turned into RV parking. The entry is really tight and I can't see how an RV of any length would be able to get in there without scraping curbs with your tires.

The southern part of South Padre Island is really built up with lots of hotel, condos and shops. Head a few miles north on highway 100 and the buildings end then all you have is beach on both sides of you. All of it is public access, you just pull your car off the side of the road and walk maybe 50 years to the beach. There are a couple of parks that have bathrooms and/or picnic areas but why pay the $5.00 entry fee when you can get to the beach for free?

There are a number of public access areas with small parking lots and they have vehicle access to the beach. It's cool that you can get your vehicle on the beach and drive for miles right along the ocean front. Most of the access points would require a 4x4 to get to the beach but once on the beach it is packed hard enough that a 4x2 would have no problem.

There was very few people on the beach but with 30 miles of desolate white sand beach there could be many more then it seemed. I would look one way and only see someone flying a kite or walking a dog then look the other way and see a couple of trucks with a few folks fishing. All you heard was the waves crashing and the call of the gulls. I wonderful place to visit that no one should miss if they are anywhere in the area.

See more pictures in my photo album.

Bentsen State Park

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It was 9am once I got around this morning and I found my water outlet was frozen. The thermometer was showing 34 degrees so it must have gotten colder during the night. I unhooked my water hose last night so nothing was broken and it thawed by 11am.

It was sunny 45 degrees by 1pm so I decided to take a drive to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park to see what's up with that. They bill themselves as the birding capital of the world. It's just a 3 miles drive down the road. You have to park outside the park as there wasn't any driving within the park. It's a pretty big place so you really wouldn't want to try and walk it. They do have a trolly that will take you to different areas of the park or you can ride your bike if you want. They also have bikes to rent. Admission is $5.00 per person

I just decided to go in and hike to the first trail that was less then a mile down the road. The Resaca Vieja Trail is about 1.4 miles round trip and half of it is handcap accessible. At the end of the trail is a dry lake bed. At one time it had water in it but with the damning of the Rio Grande, it is now dry. I didn't see much wildlife on the trail but it was interesting seeing some of the native vegetation.  One thing I did notice is that the majority of plants have some type of thorn of pricklely on them.

I only spent about 2 hours at the park and I'll go back again to take the trolley further back into the park. You can see some of the pictures I took on my photo album. Not a lot of birds in this area so maybe once I get further back into the park I'll see more.

On the way back I stopped and got a bacon cheese Whataburger with jalapenos. The burger was great but their fries suck. Took Spud for a walk once I got back and he got a thorn or burr in his foot (remember everything has thorns in them). Must not have gone in too far since once I carried him home it had fallen out. He seems none worse for the wear.

The TV commercials are a bit interesting. I seen one for Stryker hip replacements and the blond lady that does the Zeigler commercials also does auto commercials here. Still trying to get used to the hour time difference. Went to the campground music jam tonight.... not my kind of music so headed back to the trailer to rest my weary bones.

Brrrrrrr

Posted by hankster |1 comments

The cold front that is covering about 2/3 of the nation has hit the Rio Grande Valley. Temps this morning was in the mid 50's, it's now 42 and dropping. Winds have picked up to 20+ MPH. They claim it is going the get down to about 30 the next 3 nights with a high of only the upper 30's tomorrow. Needless to say, that is cold for this area.

Didn't do a lot today. Went to the store to stock up on some goodies since I won't be doing much over the next couple of days. Double checked to make sure my electric heaters are working. Since electric is included with the lot rent, I'll use the electric heaters as much as possible to save on propane.

So just another uninteresting day today. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Just another day in Mission

Posted by hankster |0 comments

Not a whole bunch to report today. Freezing weather is coming in a couple of days so I did a few things to get ready for that. Check the propane to make sure I wouldn't run out. Reorganized the water hose so I could easily drain it if it looked like it was going to get that cold. Then took Spud for a couple of long walks since the temps were in the low 70's. He sure enjoys going for walks. He wants to smell just about everything and a 2 block walk takes about 45 minutes. He did pick up a grass burr in his foot today that I had to remove... felt like the mouse and elephant :)

Went to Camping World and got a sewer hose support so it will drain properly when I dump. Also picked up a water filter since the one I had was just about plugged. Stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up a some groceries and a few odds and ends. Then passed by a quick oil change place and turned around to get that done since I was about 1000 miles overdue.

All in all just a laid back day. Still kind of recovering from a week of driving and moving around. The cold weather is suppose to move out on Sunday so I should be ready to go out and investigate the area by then.

Winfield Landing Gear Cross Brace Stabilizer

Posted by hankster |1 comments

One of the first things I noticed when I got my 5th wheel trailer was that there was a bit of side to side shaking. The cause of this is that the landing gear that hold up the front of the 5th wheel have no side support which makes them wobbly. Think of a table with no braces on the legs.

I did a bit of research to find a solution and found there are a number of landing gear stabilizing systems on the market. I wanted something that not only took out the shake but was easy to install, easy to use and didn't cost an arm and a leg. I finally settled on the Winfield Landing Gear Cross Brace Stabilizer system.

Winfield appears to be a small one man company. When I called them his wife answered the phone and then put Scott on to make sure the stabilizer would work on my trailer. Less then a week later it was at my door. There is not a lot to it, you get 2 cross braces, 2 lower brakets, 2 upper brackets with spacers for smaller landing gears, assortment of nuts and bolts plus a flag to put over your landing gear switch so you don't try to raise the landing gear without disengaging the stabilizers.

Installation was breeze. No holes need to be drilled. Just remove the landing gear foot pin and attach the lower mount through the same hole using the supplied bolts. The upper mount clamps around the upper landing gear tube with a square u-bolt. A spacer is included if you have a smaller landing gear. Then just attach the crossbraces with the supplied bolts and it's ready to use. Total time to install was less then 30 minutes.

Using the stabilizer are just as easy. Once you have your unit in place and level just twist the outer stabilizer tube until the holes line up with the inner tube. Insert the clinch pin through the hole and screw the whole stabilizer until you feel some resistance, then give it an additional 1/2 to 3/4 turn. Do the same on the other stabilizer and you are all done. Takes only a couple of minutes to do.

One nice thing that was included is a flag that you attach over your landing gear switch (using velcro). This isso you know your stabilizers are still engaged and you don't try to lift your landing gear without first loosing them and removing the clinch pins. This flag can be removed from the velcro tab once the pins are removed and will store the the cinch pins for your next use. When you raise the landing gear the stabilizers telescope in so you never have to remove them.

Once in place and tight I could not detect any side to side movement eliminating the landing gear sway. Easy to install, easy to use, fairly inexpensive and it works. I would recommend them to anyone that wants to minimize side to side landing gear sway.

AmeriCana RV Resort

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Another day, another change in RV park. I got information on another RV park from rv.net and decided to check it out this morning. The AmeriCana RV Resort in Mission Texas is a smaller older park compared to many of the mega parks. The mega parks have rows and rows of RVs packed together with the gratuitous palm tree on each lot where the AmeriCana has more space between units and has mature trees throughout each of the spaces. The activity buildings are a bit older and while the meeting hall and bathrooms may not have the stark sterileness of the mega park, they are very clean and useable. Walk down the streets and there are orange and grapefruit trees to pick from and birds are in the trees right outside my door. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's just more comfortable and friendly then the mega parks. I signed up to stay 2 weeks and can extend from there.

Found out there was a fish boil tonight at the park and they said they had a couple of cancelations so I could get a plate. Didn't really know what to expect since I just arrived a few hours earlier. As I walked up to the club house I heard what I thought was a jet engine. What I found sitting outside was 3 huge pots of boiling water with big propane burners firing underneath.

I looked around and a group of guys were standing around the pots, beers in hand, deciding when the best time it was to start cooking. Maybe it was just the passing around of the cup of brandy but I see this is my kind of place! I headed back to the trailer, stuffed my jacket pockets full of beers and joined the group. We had boiled fish, potatoes, carrots, onions, cole slaw and bread. Sure was a nice finish to the day.

Texas Trails It Is

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I took a few hours today to go visit some of the other RV parks in the area that had openings. None of them have any real advantage over where I am at so I believe I will be staying here for a couple of weeks. The only real disadvantage here is no wireless but my Verizion tethering has been working pretty well. I figure if I get close to the 5 Gig bandwidth limit I can always go down and get an aircard for an additional 5 Gig. This will at least give me enough time to settle in, learn where things are and then figure out what to do from there. All I can say is the 61 degrees is sweet!

Day 5: RGV

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Today I reached the Rio Grande Valley. 62 degrees and a bit of drizzle greeted me. Since it is Sunday most parks have limited office hours. I ended up at Texas Trails RV Resort in Pharr, TX for the night. I doubt I'll stay here but I can take a few days to find a place that has more of what I'm looking for. There is no Internet or cable TV here. I can get about 10 channels with the antenna so that's not a big thing, but no Internet is a deal breaker. I understand that you can get wireless for an extra charge, we'll see what's up with that tomorrow.

What little I have seen the rest of the park doesn't seem bad. Space between lots is adequate and there is a fairly decent space behind the RV that makes it feel roomier. Lots of spaces available here and I just have this feeling it might because of the features for the price. I'll have a better grip on it tomorrow.

The remainder of my trip was uneventful. Traffic was light and the roads were good. Hit some drizzle the last 50 miles but that's about it. I'm just going to sit back and chill for the rest of the night.

Day 4: Schulenburg RV Park

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Today's stop is in Schulenburg, TX which is half way between San Antonio and Houston. I should have made it a bit further but I took an unintended scenic route. The morning started a bit frosty at 28 degrees. I didn't feel so bad after I took a look at the temps from my weather station back home. Packed stuff up while the coffee brewed and was on the road by 8:30am.

Things went a bit haywire when I pulled off the highway for gas. In my search for gas little did I notice that the exit I I needed to take was the one I got off of for gas. Once I filled up I headed back on the highway and it wasn't until 15 miles later I finally figured I was past my exit. OK, no big deal, we'll just take a couple of state highways to get back on I-35 and be good. I did eventually get back on track, but lost an hour of drive time. Not a big deal, I'm not on a schedule.

Had a caravan of 5 RVs for a while on US77. I'm sure that there were a few unhappy motorists as we were going 60 on a 2 lane road with a speed limit of 70. They do have a few passing areas and we slowed down on those to let them pass.

So I just drove until I decided it was time to stop. Punched up campgrounds on my GPS and this park was 4 miles away right on my route. It's a small park, only 49 spaces. The roads are a bit tight but I got in with no problems and have seen a couple of, I would guess, 35' 5th wheels pull in after I did. They have a pond with ducks that Spud found real interesting and a Dairy Queen right next door that gives you 10% off campground discount.... so me a Spud are gonna have Strawberry Sunday tonight. Now the bad part, their cable only has about 6 stations and no FOX network. That means I won't get to see the games tonight unless I can get the RV antenna to dial in a signal.

Did you look close at the picture? Notice that the door is open? Yep, that's right, it's in the upper 50's and warm as hell compared to that 15 degree I see back home. Sorry, just had to rub it in!

Day 3: Dallas KOA

Posted by hankster |0 comments

Another long day of driving. Original plan was to stop in Mt. Pleasant TX just west of Texarkana but it was early and I still felt pretty good. Figured the extra 1 1/2 hours drive to get to Dallas wouldn't be bad. The drive wasn't bad, I just was glad to get here. The whole day was great, blue skies with no clouds and it got up to 52. Roads were decent and traffic was light so I was able to make good time.

You'll notice the picture of the campground shows it is getting dark. I got here about 4:30 and decided to de-winterize the 5er. That involves hooking up the fresh water and flushing out all of the water lines. Since I've never done it before it took a bit to figure out the bypass valve to the water heater wasn't letting it fill up. Once I found it I let the water run until all the "pink stuff" (antifreeze) was flushed out of the lines. Then open the water heater relief valve to flush the water heater, fill the water tank to flush the water pump, then run each facet again just to make sure everything is clear.

Of course once this is all done the holding tank is 3/4 full so might as well dump that before it gets dark. It really wasn't that bad, only took about 45 minutes and I'm now ready for some real camping. The rest of the night will consist for a few brews while I watch the football game.

RVing According To Hank

• No matter where you want to go it will always be uphill and into the wind
• The curb you see in your mirror is closer then it appears.