January 24

On Sunday, we left for Las Cruces, NM. We took Rik and Val’s suggestion and stopped at the Karchner Caverns in Benson, Arizona.

Two amateur cavers discovered the living cave on private property in the Whetstone Mountains in 1974. They worked with the Kartchners and the State of Arizona for 14 years to protect it and keep it a secret until the state purchased it.

We decided to tour of the Big Room since it is only open to the public in the winter. It closes in the Spring when over 1,000 female common bats return to given birth to their pups. It is a wet cave and the temperature was 72 degrees with 99% humidity. The Big Room, the size of a football field, is a stunning limestone system. We could see the water percolating from above causing the carbonite features to grow over long periods of time.

The stalagmites and stalactites were amazing, including the longest known, “soda straw”. The Ranger was so excited to see the pools of water throughout the room and commented that it is likely that we would not see that for another 10 years. We definitely plan to come back and see the Rotunda and Throne Rooms the next time that we are in Arizona.

After the tour, we continued on to New Mexico, arriving tired and hungry in the late evening. We ate and crashed early. We had reservations at a campsite for the next two nights. However, we woke to 22 degrees and frost on the window. It was an easy decision to continue on to San Antonio, TX. We made reservations at Hidden Valley Campground in Van Ormby, TX, just a few miles from the city. It was a small, quiet park out in the country surrounded with live oaks and a creek. It was a sunny day and we decided to go for a hike and relax.

 On Monday, we drove into San Antonio to explore a chain of Catholic Missions established in the 18th century by Spain, along the San Antonio River.

The Franciscans’ goal was to spread the Catholic faith among the frontier Indians, but as an agent of Spain the Missions also, helped push the empire north. Many of the Coahuiltecan Indians took refuge in the missions from their enemies and were taught all of the skills of the Spanish colonial society. Much of the Spanish colonial architecture is intact and unique at each Mission. A highlight was seeing the famed Alamo, the oldest of the Missions.

 If you recall your history, the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In 1836, over 100 men, including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, died defending the Alamo against General Santa Anna’s army over a 13 day period. Many followed into subsequent battles with the ever famous slogan, “Remember the Alamo”.


From the Alamo, we headed over a few blocks to the San Antonio River Walk with its many restaurants, cafes, and shops, along both sides of River.

After a mile or two of walking, we found Mi Casa, one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in San Antonio and had a delicious lunch as the mallard ducks waited for handouts and the river boats cruised by.

 We end the day with a cozy campfire, anticipating our next adventure in the Rio Grand Valley.

January 29, 2010

We got on the road after the rush hour traffic dies down. It seems like our travel days are usually gorgeous and sunny; today is no exception. We listened to one of our audio books and before we knew it we were in San Benito, TX at the Fun N Sun RV Park. It was in one of the largest RV parks that we have ever seen, complete with a huge dance hall, recreation building, wood shop, pool, Jacuzzi, exercise room, billiards, 30 shuffle board lanes, dance lessons, card and game rooms, plus an arts and crafts room. If a person gets bored here, something is wrong. We settle in and meet several friendly neighbors before going exploring. We met one colorful resident named Doc who lives here full time with his wife Beau and he invites us to the Country Dance to be held in the evening. Picture over 400 senior citizens dancing everything from the two step to the waltz. Another interesting couple at our table paints murals depicting local Texas history in many of the towns. They are excited to hear all about Alaska since they are planning a trip to celebrate their 50 wedding anniversary. Of course, we invited them to Sterling.

On Saturday, we drove over to South Padre Island, known as a Spring Break Mecca. As we drove down the island, we had the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Laguna Madre Bay on the other. After stopping at the visitor center, we head to the annual Kite Fest.

It was an amazing display of individual kites, as well as, team competitions and exhibitions, all choreographed to music. At times, there were 10 kites dancing in the skies at once.

 It was relaxing to watch, but there was a cold wind that required many layers to stay warm. When we returned the second day, we were smart enough to bring sleeping bags to curl up in. Needless to say, we did not mention that we were from Alaska, fearing that we would be labeled wimps! On our way back, we stopped in Port Isabel to get some fresh shrimp, see the Lighthouse and visit a few unique shops.

This was one of our many trips to South Padre, including attending the Winter Outdoor Wildlife Expo that featured an excellent exhibit on raptors, up close and personal. The Aplomado Falcon, Crested Caracara, and Broad Winged Hawk were particularly impressive,

Other interesting exhibits were the sea turtles, birding and shelling.


During our week in the Rio Grande Valley, we also visited the Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen at the Marine Military Academy.

It is the original working model that the artist, Dr. de Weldon prepared for the casting of the bronze sculpture that is in DC. We also went on a hike at Ramsey Park, part of the World Birding Center. I was wishing that it was Spring to see more birds and butterflies but it was wonderful to be outside.

Another day trip took us south of San Benito to the historic town of Brownsville on the Rio Grande River and border of Matamoras, Mexico. It is also home to the famous Palo Alto Battlefield, the site of the first major battle of the US-Mexican War in 1846. It is a well preserved battle field with flags showing the mile long position of General Arista’s Mexican troops and General Taylor’s US soldiers.

 Although, outnumbered, the US had superior cannons with greater range. As a result, Mexico eventually renounced claims to Texas and accepted the Rio Grande River as the boundary between the two countries.

From there we head to the World Birding Center at Resaca de la Palma State Park. It is 1,200 acres of wetlands, woodlands, and savannahs, with a Resaca (oxbow lake) cutting through it. After a picnic, we ride a park tram to some hiking trails and enjoy an hour hike, spotting many species of birds along the way, including a Chachalaca, Kiskadee, a Harris Hawk, and several Great Egrets.


Two days later, we returned to Brownsville and crossed the border into Matamoros, Mexico. We had heard that Garcia’s restaurant was hosting a party for “Winter Texans”.

They supplied all the margaritas that people wanted, appetizers, music and Mexican dancers.

 There were over 300 tourists having a good time. Before going back over the bridge, we browsed the huge gift shop and had a delicious dinner at Garcia’s for $10 each. Of course on our return, we had to call all our family members to let them know that we were safe. So much of stories about violence occur at other places, much of it fed by rumors. We felt safer than in many of our large cities in the US.

Friday, we woke up to sunshine and it was definitely a day to sit and relax. In the late afternoon, we drove over to Pharr and had dinner before going to an Oldies Dance at the Tip O’ Texas RV Park. A band called the Cruisers played for 3 hours and we had a ball dancing the night away.