Riding around Del Rio

I was curious to see how many people were camping at the Amistad Recreational Area on this long 4th of July weekend, so off we went. The motels we passed on the way appeared full.

The first thing I noticed even before we got to the city limits, was the increased law enforcement presence and it was that way all the way to and from the lake. My first stop was at Diablo East Marina, was disappointed at seeing the low water levels but that did not keep people away, the parking lot was full. It must be fun to have a boat and take it for a spin. Would you believe I have never been on a boat at Lake Amistad?

Headed to my favorite campground Governors Landing and it was almost full, there were only two or three campsites available.  Most tents I saw were the regular nylon ones and with the gusty winds, I bet some will not make it through the weekend.

Governors Landing has a separate area for day use and it was packed to capacity.  I could not even find an available parking space so I could stop and take a couple of pictures.

Decided to head to San Pedro campground to photograph the Billy Bob tree and perhaps get him to leave a comment or at the very least get him to make a blog post...are you listening, Billy Bob? I am sure I am not the only one that misses you :-(

What would be my surprise but to find that the campground was closed!  Don't ask me why...I don't buy the local paper...so I have no idea.

We went to several area parks along San Felipe Creek and people were out in droves.  They were bar-b-qing, swimming, tubing, listening to music and generally having a good time.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Test driving Mom's Mini-Van

It is not often that I go to bed at 10:45 p.m. on a Saturday evening but I did last night.  It is no surprise I woke up equally early.  Decided I would treat myself to the breakfast buffet at Sirloin Stockade and at the same time test drive mother's mini-van farther than one mile.

I am worried... it smells to gasoline when usually the vehicle that smells like that is dad's old car...not this one.   Swung by the P.O. Box and came on home.  As I passed by the area where they broke the water main, I saw several City of Del Rio Water Dept. personnel at work. Yeap, you guessed it...when I got home the water had been turned off yet again!  Hopefully for the last time.

This afternoon I told mom I wanted to run her mini van on the highway to see how it performed versus city driving.  We don't really have much choice it is either Highway 90-E toward Brackettville or Highway 90-W toward Lake Amistad or what is left of Lake Amistad with all the water the International Water Commission releases, it resembles a creek now :-(

Many of you are familiar with Barney, of OFM Adventures fame http://ofmadventures.blogspot.com/  he just left Del Rio after having spent a couple of weeks here.  On his blog he had pictures of his adventures on Lake Amistad and some were really sad, as they showed the very low lake levels.  I must say that seeing it in person is even sadder.

I had not been to the lake since November when I took my uncle to see the old now visible 277 bridge that used to be underwater.  It is much worst now.  I also noticed that the store/gasoline station/camping ground at the Y had closed.  Guess I am going to have to break down and buy our town's newspaper, misspelled words and all, so at least I know what is going on around here.

 I saw this vehicle at my favorite campground at the lake...Governors Landing.  I apologize for the poor quality.  For those new to the blog I am a member of a vandweller's forum.  I love to see all the creative ways people come up with to outfit their vans and other vehicles.  Some only use them to travel in but many make them their full time home.  I would have loved to have asked them where they were from, what cities they had visited and where they were headed but alas they were not outside.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.