Saturday morning we went into downtown Laredo to visit the Museum of the Republic of the Rio Grande. The museum wasn't open yet, even though it was after its regular hours, so the concierge at the hotel next door opened the Washington's Birthday Celebration Museum for us. It had several displays of debutante gowns based on the Martha Washington era. When we returned, the Republic museum had opened, and we found that the staff had been delayed because roads were blocked in preparation for a parade. Laredo is one of the few places in Texas that has been under 7 flags, instead of the usual 6. In 1840, (before Texas separated from Mexico) a group got together on a ranch near Laredo to declare the Republic of the Rio Grande composing the 3 north eastern Mexican states. Their rebellion only lasted for a bit more than a year, before the insurgents were defeated. After finishing with this museum, we did the historic walking tour of downtown Laredo, and came across the parade being held as part of the month long celebration of George Washington.
After coming back to the park and having lunch we went for a walk and watched the black ducks in the reeds by the edge of the lake.
Sunday morning we got up early to watch the gold medal hockey game. What a treat to see the Canadian Men win the gold medal. After the game we did a 3.1 mile walk on a trail through the park. Joan is still looking for a roadrunner. They seem to be elusive, even though the past couple of parks promised us they are a common bird seen in the park. Later in the afternoon, as we were relaxing after our walk, there was a knock on our door. A young woman asked if we were going to use the table associated with our campsite. We said no, she could use it. The wind blew the campfire smoke away from our trailer so it didn't bother us. We did have to ask them to turn their music down, because getting kicked out of the park due to someone else's music on our site didn't seem like an attractive thought. Around 7:30 the same lady came over with a plate of food as thanks for letting them use our table. About 8:30 fireworks started. It lasted about 1/2 hour. This explained why the park was so full and the people using our table were there after dark. The fireworks display happens every year the last Sunday of February as a windup to the month long celebration of Washington's birthday. In between various activities we watched the Daytona 500, the kick-off to the Nascar season. This year the race started at noon and was rain delayed and finally finished up about 11:00 P.M. We were pleased to see our favourite driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. hang on for the win.
Monday was moving day and because we had a longer distance to go than our usual trip this winter, we left the campground by 8:30. All was going well until we drove over some debris on the road heading north out of town. Sometimes you just can't miss stuff on the road. A while later, a driver flagged us down to point out that one of the tires on the passenger side of the trailer had shredded. We have had a tire on the trailer go low before, but this was the first one that needed to be replaced before getting to a shop, so we had to figure out how to change the tire. Our first step was to figure out how to get the spare off its hanger under the trailer and then we hope the spare had air in it. It has never been used, was new in 2006, when the trailer was new. Lucky for us, the "air gods" were looking after us as it still had good air pressure. A bit further down the road we went through a border patrol stop. Since we arrived at the Corpus Christi area, we have seen numerous border patrol agents around, but this was the first check stop we have seen. While we showed our passports to the agent, another one went around the trailer with a dog. We drove on to the next town, about 40 miles ahead, and didn't see any tire shops, other than small ones who 'repair flats', so we continued to Eagle Pass. The first tire shop we found on the GPS wasn't there anymore, so we returned to the Goodyear shop we had passed. They didn't have the correct size of tire in stock, but phoned another shop, we fortunately did have the right tire. The tire was 120.00 +-. We paid 70.00 for the same tire in Ottawa and 80.00 in Amarillo. By this time any advantage to our early departure had long since gone. We were tired, sore from crawling around under the trailer and lifting heavy tires, so we decided we would stay in a hotel for the night. While they were putting the tire on the rim, mounting it, and putting the spare back on it's hanger, we checked at the hotel next door, but they didn't have room for us to park the trailer. The tire shop recommended the Casino (one of the very few in Texas), but that was heading the wrong way for 8 miles or so. Instead, we carried on up-river to Del Rio where we were recommended to a Ramada by the second hotel which had nothing available. The bonus was that they gave us 2 free drinks in the lounge as part of the room. After getting moved into our room we headed to the lounge for our complimentary drinks, and dinner. We are very adventurous today ;). Joan had salmon and John had steak.
After a good nights sleep, and great omelet breakfast we carried on about 40 miles to Seminole Canyon State Park, where we are staying for a week. Again we had to stop for a Border Patrol check stop. The only thing we can figure is because we are traveling along the Rio Grande River they must be on the lookout for illegal Mexicans or perhaps drugs smugglers. They just ask for I.D. and sent us on our way. By lunch time we were already set up, so we had the other half of our breakfast omelets for lunch. There were several Border Patrol trucks near the campground. The host informed us that there was a report of suspicious activity nearby, and they were searching for illegals. We walked around the campground as well as did a short birding trail in the afternoon, and set up the hammock, to enjoy some more sunny weather. We also had a good Skype chat with our friend Janet.
Wednesday morning was a cloudy, damp day, so we put off our walk until the sun came out in the afternoon. We walked to the Presa overlook, where Presa Canyon joins Seminole Canyon, about a 2 1/2 mile walk along the rim of the canyon.
We also had a rare chance to get a picture of a jack rabbit.
Thursday morning we went on the guided hike into the canyon to look at the native rock paintings that are over 4,000 years old. They are painted on the overhang where water had washed out lower levels. The shelter this formed is one of the largest natural shelters in North America. The 1 1/2 hour tour lasted 2 1/4 hours. It was an interesting hike along the bottom of the canyon to the shelter, lead by a very knowledgeable guide. Because of the fragile nature of the area and the artifacts, only guided tours are allowed to the site. Even though the paintings have been on the walls for 4000 years, they are deteriorating so fast now that they are expected to be gone in about 25 years, so were very happy to be able to see them. The theory is that the increased humidity in the area due to the Armistad Reservoir, just downstream on the Rio, is weakening the limestone structure. In addition to the rock paintings, there are also many fossils.
While surfing, we came across a very interesting blog done by an other couple which has a section on this area. Check it out. http://52wednesdays.com/2012/04/03/seminole-canyonpetroglyphsdesert-drivecanyonsbon-firepecos-riverrio-grandejudge-beanseminole-negro-scouts/
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