Canadian-Traveler

July 18

Turning north...
Memories from 2006
 
March 29
Leaving Brownsville behind, we are heading north through the Rio Grande Valley. This route is called the "Tropical Trail". 

And indeed the heat is intense. We are driving through an agricultural area, where the Rio Grande water is crucial for getting a harvest. About 130miles north of Brownsville we come to the 36miles long Falcon Reservoir where the Rio Grande is dammed up to a huge lake, half of it belonging to Mexico. The travel is slow as we have to pass through many small towns and villages. At Zapata we decide to stay on a campground.


The campground lies west of town on a terrace partially overlooking the lake. However it proves to be impossible to access the lake on public land. The campground offers no shade and as I am connecting the trailer to the supply lines I am getting really dizzy and feel weak. Shortly afterwards I realize I must have gotten a stomach bug. I lie down for the rest of the day. With the help of some Immodium I get through the night and the next morning I am feeling a lot better. But we stay on for the day and a second night.

March 31
Leaving Zapata we reach the City of Laredo.

Across the border and the river lies the Mexican counterpart Nuevo Laredo. It is a center of crime and drug gangs.
Crossing the border as a tourist, might become the last thing you ever do. The number of abductions and murders in Nuevo Laredo is horrifying. As of today more than 60 persons have been shot in the Mexican town. Nuevo Laredo still lives in the days of the lawless Wild West.
We are heading for San Antonio. We reach the city in the afternoon and establish ourselves on the Stone Creek Campground at Schertz, east of the City.

April 02
After we did some sightseeing we are leaving San Antonio toward Dallas. We follow the Interstate 35 and are passing Austin, the Texas Capitol with it's high rises and the State Capitol building visible from the Highway. At mid-afternoon we reach the small center of Trinidad. At "Tools", another little village we find a nice campground at the Cedar Creek Reservoir.

April 05We have been visiting with relatives but have to say  thanks and farewells today. We are heading out of town following the main stream to Dallas.  The I-35 leads in a westerly kurve around the City Center. This is the city of the famous TV-Series "DALLAS" but we haven't even seen "J.R. 

Dallas Traffic

For a while we get into a "Stop and Go" but the traffic knot is loosening up as we get farther away from the center.Now we are driving straight north and at about  2pm we are passing into the State of Oklahoma.

The wide open plains of Oklahoma

Rolling north into Oklahoma, means that the landscape changes. Rolling hills are accompanying us and we are getting a very hot and dry wind. From the highway we see the area where the bush fires raged throughout last fall. For miles after miles we see fresh green gras where the fire torched the old gras. 

We drive through an area with ancient mountains - now eroded away to be some gentle hills only. 285Mill years ago these hills were "high-rises" in a desolate landscape.When we stop for lunch we again notice the hot wind driving up from the south. It sucks the last humidity out of the red soil of Oklahoma.
At 4pm we reach Oklahoma City, the State Capitol. We drive on for another hour until we set up at the Pioneer RV Park, near Guthrie. 

April 06
At about 9am we hit the road again. The sky is dark and thunder rumbles as we drive out on I-35. 170 miles to drive to the border line of Kansas. 

Kansas - The Sun Flower State

After an hour of driving the sun breaks through. The yellow rolling prairie grasslands are lightening up and stand out in a sharp contrast against the dark sky. 

Cattle on open range

Black and dark brown cattle is grazing in groups along the highway.
We are making it to Kansas City where more relatives are expecting us.