Now this is Progres-O!

  We have had a couple foggy days here on the Rio Grande…Very moist walking in the morning, but on the other hand you can get a great facial in a 2 mile walk…

 

If you look waaaay down that road, you will see some taillights…That would be the brave Border Patrol, who has a definite presence here in the Park.  This fog is just what the “sneakers” like. It makes it much easier to cross the border under this dense fog.. I have a  great respect for all that the Border Patrol agents do along the US/Mexican border. Such dangerous jobs they all have. You never know if you will encounter just some “people” seeking a better life, or some “mules” carrying drugs and…guns…

This fog also makes it great if you are amazed by the Arachnids.(.A.K.A. spiders).  Though I do NOT have a great love for the eight legged dudes, I DO have a fascination for their web-weaving abilities…When we took our walk, I know that MacGyver was getting a little peeved at having to stop every few feet because I found a better web to photograph…

That second photo I took with my zoom lens.  That guy HAD to have more than 4 legs, but he was waaaay up in a tree and I wasn’t going to climb up to find out…He looks pretty evil just from the ground!

You see all kinds of different RVs’/campers/motor homes in this camping experience… I love the vintage Rv’s just like I love vintage “muscle cars”…We found this one on our walk . I don’t know how he snuck by us, but this motor home is a BIG one..

This is called a Vogue Prima Vista (or, Prima Vista Vogue??)…Those tires are almost up to my waist…OK, I know I’m vertically challenged, but Dennis even said these are some big-ass tires!! It is a diesel, too, and is in very great shape. I wanted to get a “full frontal” of it, but the owners were watching me like I was nuts…wonder why>//?

On Sunday, we had no early fog, so MacGyver and I drove down into the “valley” and walked across the border at Nuevo Progreso…The last time we were there was in 2009.  Since then, they have made Rt 83 into a 4 lane highway just after Sullivan City. (Sullivan City is where they have the ferry that is hand pulled across the Rio Grande). Not too much has changed in Nuevo Progreso…but the little children with their hands through the fence at the Mexican side of the bridge really got to me this time.  How things change from the US  side of that International Bridge to the Mexican side…

We ducked in and out of many shops. I wanted to get some Mexican Vanilla for my YaYa’s and Aunt Jeanette…Also, I was hoping to score buy some cheap Rum.  In 2009, when you purchased alcohol and brought it back to the US, Texas charged $1.75 tax per bottle…This year it costs you a whopping $3.75 Texas tax per bottle…! Also, as you know, I do NOT need Bacardi Rum..and that was almost all they had..So..I decided on a nice cheap reasonably priced bottle of Tequila and also a bottle of Kahlua!!….

Cooking right in the street ..and this made me hungry..The pic on the right shows the pizza ovens they were using in one pizza restaurant..The words “pizza” and “Mexico” don’t really go together…but..I guess I HAVE heard of Mexican Pizza..

Now we were hungry, and there are a TON of places to eat in Nuevo Progreso!! I had researched and found three places that got high marks for food..Arturo’s, Angel’s and Garcia’s. Since we had been to Garcia’s the last time we were here, we opted for Angels…I guess I didn’t read far enough on the reviews that said you had to go up 4 floors to get to Angel’s..

The decor was a little on the Greek side, what with the arches and ivy hanging from the ceiling..

Here, MacGyver looks slightly confused..He needs a Corona! On the right was our lunch..We had chips and salsa (complimentary), an order of Nachos (fabuloso!), 2 Margaritas (that would be me, and they were wonderful!), and 2 Coronas…all for under $10 USD…Yep, Angels was a big hit with us…Oh, and ..after we climbed the four flights of stairs to get up there, we discovered that there was an elevator…DUH! After a couple of those Margaritas, an elevator was the wise choice for ME…I also noticed something else. They must load those drinks with some kind of “shopping potion”..I had no problem instantly purchasing a few things after those drinks. hehehehe.

So that was our trip into Mexico…Trying to save diesel fuel we stopped at WalMart in Rio Grande City and got our week’s groceries…NOT a good idea…I was glad we thought to pick up some Church’s Chicken carry-outs also..By the time we got back to the Hiker, it was 4:30PM….and there was NO water at the park. We did have water on board, so it was no big deal to us, but some folks here were probably NOT happy. I put on my summer “evening ensemble” and we kept the Happy Hour going from our safe haven of the HitchHiker….

Fresh out of the shower…LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!!