No word from HEB or Frio Light executives...

On one of my prior posts I offered to conduct a taste test among the attendees at the Terlingua CASI Chili Cook-off 2013 in exchange for some complimentary cases of Frio Light beer. To date I have not heard a peep...so decided to buy my own six pack and give a review.  You will have to wait until my return since I only plan to pop one open while at the event (I don't drink in Del Rio).

HEB and Frio Light Executives you still have time to get in touch with me.  Send me an e-mail at terlinguadreams@gmail.com

There is a remote possibility that a friend of a friend of a friend...may bring some of my camping gear that is in my house in Houston...not holding my breath though.

A much worn and faded t-shirt

This year the entrance fee went up by ten dollars to $40.00 and if you only attend on Saturday it now costs $20.00 .  In comparison to what a ticket to Burningman or one of their Texas sanctioned events costs...this is a real bargain!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

October 2013 trip to Ciudad Acuña

If you are new to my blog, I live in Del Rio, Texas across the border from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico.  Every month I go grocery shopping and I also buy my prescription medications here. Lacking medical insurance I am able to purchased them at a highly discounted rate than if I were to buy them in the United States.

My uncle forgot to bring one of his medications so he tagged along.  We shopped at Gutierrez (two different ones) Bodegas Aurrera and Merco.  Every time I see a Coca-Cola display I can not help but think of fellow blogger Dizzy Dick and his wife who often enjoy a Mexican Coca-Cola.

This is Gutierrez where I buy a great deal of the fruits and vegetables I purchase as well as my medication.

This is La Presidencia Municipal the equivalent of our City Hall...today was the first time I saw police vehicles parked up front.  Perhaps they moved the Police Department here?  Will have to find out.

This is Merco another grocery store I frequent. If you look closely to the left of the picture you will see Bodegas Aurrera another grocery store we shop at and that is owned by Wal-Mart. Even with their purchasing power...this is the second month in a row that I come and have been disappointed with their lack of selection in the fruit and vegetables department.

Remember I take my mother to see her Podiatrist in Piedras Negras, Coahuila across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas?  Well her Podiatrist's daughter and her husband practice here on the weekends. May have to come check it out and save myself a 120 miles round trip.

 

Dollar exchange rates down Exchange Rate Alley...

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Nice leisurely visit with Barney and Billy Bob

Decided to drive dad's old car to San Pedro Campground for a visit with fellow bloggers Barney and Billy Bob now that the feds have decided to open it back up.

It has been a long time since I have seen someone camping in the first spot when you first enter San Pedro.  As a matter of fact I was happy to see other campsites being occupied as well.

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I heard Billy Bob's favorite camping spot had weeds two feet high when he arrived yesterday afternoon but the mowing crew took care of that.  Nice bunch of guys and very considerate not to blow grass and dirt our way.

You didn't think Billy Bob was going to give up his tree did you?

 Just in case you did not believe he had a bike...lord and behold I spotted "the Billy bike"...:D

When I arrived Barney and Billy Bob were sitting outside enjoying this beautiful warm and windy day.  I had such a nice visit with the guys,,,that I did not realize I was there two and a half hours until I left! Oooops...sorry guys :-(

 Gasoline prices have gone down some more and I hope they continue to drop.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

The return of Mata Gatos ( Cat Killer)

I was up before sunrise because I had so many errands to run today.  Whenever my mom takes a nap or after my uncle calls every night I put our landline telephone (yes, we still have one of those) on Do Not Disturb so it will not ring and wake her up.

This afternoon I needed to try to find many of the things on my list to take to Terlingua and that I believe are in Terlita (my camping van).  Was busy opening plastic containers as well as boxes when I noticed someone opening the gate and walking towards the garage..WTH...I am nearsighted and can barely make out people's faces from the distance even with my contacts on!

What do you know it was Mata Gatos (Cat Killer) and his wife whom I had never met.  A bit of history on this character for my new readers...this person is my mother's handyman but in reality he is not handy at anything.  He is a jack of all trades and master of none.  He is a school bus driver and during their off time (Christmas, Easter, Summer) he comes around wanting to do odd jobs.  That would be good if he only knew what he was doing but most importantly got around to completing the job.

The reason I named him Mata Gatos (Cat Killer) is because I have a deep suspicion he and/or his son had something to do with the disappearance of my beloved 14-year-old cat.  At the time I was in Houston dealing with my own worthless handy person and my mother did not have the heart to tell me of his disappearance.

For example he will come mow and do the front yard but he wont show up again for another month or sometimes longer to do the backyard.  He is totally worthless and I thought I had gotten rid of him but since his bus route includes this area I guess he saw that Walter (the horse) was missing and he wanted to come cash in.

His excuse was that his wife had made "caldo de res" and since he heard mother was sick...wanted to bring her some.  Said he had called but no one picked up...told him she was asleep but thanked them both for thinking of her.  Then he asked if the horse (Walter) was still coming around because our grass (weeds) were so high.  Told him he had just gotten back after a 66 day absence.

You should of seen his face drop!  Hopefully he wont be back for a while!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Saturday night at the Laundromat

I always wondered who in the world would go to the laundromat on a Saturday night?  To be honest I never thought it would be me!

The last time I went to the laundromat I spent four hours there...tonight only three...guess I am making headway?

I gathered up all the winter stuff I have in Del Rio and that have been patiently waiting their chance to make a return trip to Terlingua.  I washed more than I am going to take this year just to leave my options open.

Next week I have a lot on my plate so this weekend is crucial in more ways than one.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Girls Don't Poop...

I had several errands I needed to run today but got caught up watching videos on YouTube.  Even though I would not call it a complete waste of time...as mother and I found a lot of helpful information we were looking for.

I tend to skip commercials but one of them caught our eye.  I swear this is the funniest infomercial I have ever seen in my life.  Perhaps you have already watched it...but if you haven't it is worth watching just for laughs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKLnhuzh9uY

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Paid up and up-to-date for another year

The first thing on the agenda today was to go down to the County Courthouse and pay our property taxes.  In Val Verde County if you pay them in October you get a tiny little discount but we will take it :D

The license plates division is also housed here so I got the tags for dad's old car and headed to the Auto Parts store to finally purchase a new headlight for it so it could pass the State Inspection.  Remember I have mentioned Mario's Tire Shop before on this blog?  Their dad has an used car lot next door where he also performs oil changes and minor car repairs.

I was originally going to take it to my mechanic but decided they were closer.  He only charged me $5.00 ...I am sure my mechanic would have charged me twice as much.  I then went over to his son's place and got my inspection sticker.  Dad's old car is good for another year!

For those of you that follow Walter's World...there is finally news on that front.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Halloween in Del Rio

Halloween is one of my favorites holidays.  As I kid I always looked forward to going trick or treating even though I have never been much on eating candy...I usually ended up giving them to my mother.

When we lived in Austin, Texas my dad would take some of my friends and I to the Governors Mansion.  I can still see Governor Preston Smith in his polka dot tie with his butler by his side as he personally gave each of us our candy.

We never bothered with our own neighborhood, we went to where the wealthy lived and got lots of treats :)

Over the years I have noticed that more and more people are going out of their way to decorate their homes for this holiday.  Some even more so than at Christmas time.

Some seem to be in competition with their neighbors. I photographed these houses last week down North Main Street.  My night vision is not what it used to be so I can not come check it out in the evening, however I am willing to bet the light show must be a sight to behold.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

What is going on with Google?

Last night after I made my post it did not show up in any of the bloggers list that link to my blog.  I went into Blogger and it still had my old post.

Every time I go into You Tube it wants me to change from my nickname to my real name...why? I do not want my real name showing up...that is why I choose an alias to begin with...grrrr!!!

My new G-mail is the pits, I do not like the new format nor the abbreviated text space.  I have to log out of my MsBelinda nick and change over to terlinguadreams nick in order for access it.  If that was not enough it keeps on prompting me to join Google+ and start conversations there and meet new friends.  If I wanted to join a social network it certainly would not be Google + .  End of Rant.

It has been raining on and off all day but the kind of rain that falls slowly, gets absorbed into the dry ground and then starts up again...which to me is the most beneficial as there is no run off.  About two hours ago it began raining at a more steady pace but even so we have received less than an inch of rain. Don't think I am complaining because I am not but I wish we could get a little more.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

The Brinkley Mansion

If someone put Del Rio, Texas on the map it was Dr. John R. Brinkley and his questionable "goat gland" transplants to cure male impotence.  He also became the owner of the most powerful radio station in the world XER-AM who broadcasted from then Villa Acuña now known as Ciudad Acuña across the border from Del Rio, Texas.

He had quite a checkered past before his arrival here but the locals who are still alive remember his home and the music and light shows fondly.  I do not know how to make a clicky but here is a link to his biography if you care to read it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Brinkley

Located in historic south Del Rio this house always has tourists photographing it, though it is no longer owned by the Brinkley family.

Though he made millions, he died penniless at the rip old age of 56.

I will try a separate picture of each Texas marker.

The Brinkley Mansion

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

A ride down Vega Verde Road

I have mentioned in the past that my mother lives in southern Val Verde County, we are closer to Mexico than we are to Wal-Mart.  When my parents were contemplating building a home, they had a choice of where we currently live or in Vega Verde Estates known to the locals as The Vega.

There have little ranchettes complete with horses and livestock.  The gravel as well as the cement plant are located here.

Most homes face the Rio Grande and have a great view of the river as well as of the hills in Mexico. This is the only sub-division in Del Rio along the banks of the Rio Grande...the rest are private ranches that have been in the same family for years and that have no public access.

An RV pad with beautiful vistas

The hills in Mexico

See how close Mexico is

This is the end of the road and a private ranch.  When my dad bought our lot back in the 70's he bought it from a man that lived here.  Have no idea if this was part of his land or if he was just a real estate agent or both.

Since the end of the road sits on high ground you can get a good view of the Rio Grande.

 This house has a super big rain catchment tank as there is no city water in this sub-division.

On a post I did last year I mentioned that we have no idea where exactly our property is located. Well we do know more or less where it is...what we do not know is the exact boundaries of our land. Our lot is close to three other lots with out-of-state owners (California). We have all let the carrizo take over for years so it is not likely we can step foot on our property.  Need to have it surveyed so I do not make the mistake of clearing another persons lot :-(

We think it is in this area

With my luck it would be this one with the mesquite trees I hate!

Seems like someone made an attempt to mark their lot

The area being on the Mexican border has a high presence of Border Patrol agents as well as other law enforcement agencies.

There are a lot of big as well as small houses, trailers, RV's, mobile homes, vans even school buses used as housing in this area...it all depends on your budget and creativity.  We even have El Alamo!

This time of the year the road is dressed up in what is known in Mexico as "Flores del Dia del Muerto" translation..."Flowers of the Day of the Dead".

I was worried about the railroad bridge having low clearance for an RV ( I had Sally da House in mind) but if cement trucks can get by and all those motor homes in the sub-division made it...no reason why she wouldn't either.

See Billy Bob...I am always looking out for your best interest.  Once I clear the lot, you and Sadie Mae can come park here, fish and launch Bubba boat  Although on second thought,  maybe launching Bubba would not be a good idea as the river current may take you down to Falcon Lake and I would have to call the big guns to come fetch you guys out of the river :D

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.