It took us three days to drive from Pueblo El Mirage to the Bentsen Palms Village RV Resort in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Our friends, Jim and Darleen Jackson, arrived the next day. We attended the Parks New Year's Eve Party and Jim and Darleen gave everyone a dance lesson with their smooth moves on the dance floor.
We have immersed ourselves in the local cuisine and have developed a love for tamales. Neither Josie nor I had ever eaten a tamale before, so when we discovered that the number one restaurant in Mission was Delia's Tamale Shop we gave it a try and now we can't stop eating them. We even attended the McAllen Tamale Festival with the Jacksons.
We have immersed ourselves in the local cuisine and have developed a love for tamales. Neither Josie nor I had ever eaten a tamale before, so when we discovered that the number one restaurant in Mission was Delia's Tamale Shop we gave it a try and now we can't stop eating them. We even attended the McAllen Tamale Festival with the Jacksons.
I flew to Tulsa, Oklahoma on the 9th of January and met up with my brother and all of our race fan friends for the 36th Annual Chili Bowl. The five day dirt track racing event is held under one roof in one of the largest free standing buildings in the country and draws over 350 cars with all of the top names in dirt track racing. Many NASCAR and USAC drivers compete in the event. Tony Stewart does all the track preparations , getting back to his dirt track racing roots. It does get very loud and dusty but we came prepared for this. We had a great time watching over 100 races and checking out the cars and other attractions in the pit area.
There is so much to do here in the park that it seems like we are always on the run. Every Wednesday there is a Margarita Happy Hour followed by a pot luck dinner. We also attended the annual pig roast and the BBQ was so good we decided the next evening togo eat at the restaurant that catered the event. We play card bingo every Saturday night and on the third night we played I won the big jackpot of 63 dollars. Josie is playing Mah Jongg twice a week and is even teaching beginners on one of those days. Every Friday there is either a dance or a show. Josie attended the Lady's Luncheon in which our friend Darleen was one of the models. We had good views of the full, blue, blood, moon, total eclipse and I was able to get a couple of fairly good pictures.
Of course, living here on the border we see the Border Patrol all the time. I cannot go birding anywhere without seeing them on the road or on the river. We feel very safe crossing over the border to Nuevo Progreso for shopping and lunch. We even met the owner of the private bridge that crosses the Rio Grande and he let us go over for free without paying the toll. On our first trip over, I purchased new glasses at one of the optometrists and Josie bought a guacamole bowl. We then had a great lunch and margaritas at Pancho's Bar, our waiter Juan was a real blast. One evening we attended a Beer Dinner at BJ's Restaurant and Bar. We enjoyed a five course meal while tasting 8 ounces of 9 different beers. A few of them we just tasted and did not drink, just not that good. The food however was fantastic and we did drink a good share of the beer.
I am having a grand time birding the area. I did the Christmas Bird Count for the Bentsen State Park Area. Being the new guy they gave me the worst area, but the joke was on them as I was paired with another new person to the valley, Graham. He is the new Interpretative ranger at the McAllen Nature Center. He is a Cornell University graduate and is one of the best birders I have ever had the pleasure to bird with. We managed to log over 90 species, more than any other group. Below are a few pictures from my trips.
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