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To the (Mexican) dentist
While much of the USA/Mexican border is a dangerous place, the crossing at Nuevo Progresso is still safe and secure. It caters to us old folks with medical issues. Cross the border, you’ll find dentists, doctors, pharmacies, and of course liquor stores. Hawkers on the street try to lure you in for a quick cleaning or whatever.
This is our third year to head down there for our cleaning and checkup. There is a dentist, right on the border, that is US trained and has all the latest equipment. The office help speaks English, and the facilities are clean. Water is purified.
So we had our teeth cleaned and checked. In my case, cleaning, full set of X-Rays, and a dentist checkup cost $90. Hey, it’s one way to make that small SS pension work!
On the bridge into Mexico
There are still many poor people in Mexico, looking for a handout
Looking down the main street of Nuevo Progresso
Our dentist office. Yes, you cn get Margaritas in the courtyard and sit under the gazebo to calm those pains
The view from my dentist chair. We're RIGHT on the border, that is the Mexican border crossing you see
Hawks and Butterflies
Just down the road from us, we have the World Birding Center. We also have the National American Butterfly Association, so there are excellent opportunities for both bird and butterfly pictures.
Yesterday, we went for a walk in the Birding center. We were surprised that there were no birds — none at all — in our favorite viewing spot. It soon became obvious why… a Coopers Hawk was sitting high in a tree, looking for a snack. I got some good pictures of the hawk, before he dove into some brush, and with a lot of squawking and screaming, apparently got himself a meal. Too bad I couldn’t get any pictures of that!
And today we made a visit to the Butterfly Center. We didn’t go inside, just took a look around the outside. Even though this is not the season for butterflies, I got a few pictures.
Sitting pretty and looking for dinner.
Looking pretty fierce!
Flea markets in the RGV
Flea markets are popular in the Rio Grande Valley, and the Don-Wes Flea Market is one of the biggest. I’m pretty sure you can find anything you could possibly want here, as long as it is cheap! There are temporary stalls and permanent ones, indoors and outdoors, hard goods and soft goods. You can get your hair cut, or a massage, or a delicious meal.
Didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without, but it is fun to browse, check out the stalls….. and the people.
Lots of "good" stuff
Lots of people camp and work here
Romola did find some good gold chain at decent prices
More "good stuff"
Nothing but high class stuff!
Johnson Space Center, Houston
The Johnson Space Center was the hub for all flight operations for the US space program, including astronaut training. This is where history was made. The JSC has a comprehensive visitor center, detailing the history of the US space program.
One of the most impressive things we learned is the massive efforts it takes to do space flights. Even with todays technologies, it takes huge manpower and $$$$ to conduct a space program. We enjoyed our visit and recommend it to others. Below are some highlight images.
Some older space vehicles
Many astronauts walked over this platform to enter the module
The mighty engines of the Saturn rocket
A walk in space
A walk on the moon
Moon car
Inside the space station
First handhake between the Russian and American astronauts
A part of the mockup room, where current and future space vehicles are planned and configured
San Jacinto Monument
In 1936, a pivotal battle to separate Texas from Mexico was fought on the San Jacinto river. It was fought on April 21, 1836, and is considered the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen minutes. About 630 of the Mexican soldiers were killed and 730 captured, while only nine Texans died.
In commemoration of this battle, a monument was built, now open to the public. It is in the Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest memorial monument. The monument weighs 70,300,000 pounds. It is 125 feet square at the base, tapering to 30 feet square at the top. It is faced with blocks of cordova shell stone weighing 500 pounds apiece. This shell stone is over 100 million years old and was quarried from Burnet County north of Austin. The shaft walls are 4 feet thick at the base of the monument and 2 feet thick at the top.
The monument contains an inscription, part of which reads:
The Monument is only a few miles from where we are parked, and accessible via a free ferry. We took the free tour, which has some very interesting historical artifacts. We plan to go back to view the rest of the Museum, and ride the elevator to the top.
That's our ferry. Small, but efficient!
Part of the Houston Ship Canal, there is lots of boat traffic here
The Reflecting Pool. The battleship "Texas" can be seen in the background
That is one tall monument!
Grapevine Christmas lights
We’re parked in a very nice campground near Grapevine, TX. The city goes all out for Christmas lights, with the entire downtown decorated. Local stores are open late into the night, and crowds gather every nights. Tanya and Shane joined us for an impromptu tour of the Lights, and I took advantage to try a different camera (Olympus XZ-1). Here are some results.
All shots were handheld, most at ISO800. No captions are included, I figure you can see for yourself. I also included a picture of a motorcycle parked outside of Wilhoite’s, which made its own light show.
Wildlife at the Arboretum
Because of the season, we missed some of the more exotic wildlife at the Arboretum: no rattlesnakes, scorpions, or bobcats. But we did see quite a few, many of which are in this (our last) Arboretum album.
The ringtailed cat is nocturnal and shy, we’re lucky to have seen one. Actually a member of the raccoon family, this is the State Mammal of Arizona. Lots of lizards, but also the more rare collared lizard. Rabbits and squirrels.
Lots of birds. Cardinals, buzzards (that make the arboretum their home), gila woodpeckers, curved bill thrushes, and many more. Many varieties of hummingbirds.
Finally the Tarantula Hawk, a feared wasp whose sting is considered the most painful in the world. And we caught 3 of them eating a large beetle.
Cacti at the Arboretum
The large saguaro cactus, with it’s large uplifted arms, is an icon of the southwest. But the variety of cacti in the desert is astounding. Below is a picture album of just a few of the huge assortment of cacti growing at the Arboretum.
Tonto National Monument
We were very fortunate to be able to join a guided hike to the upper dwellings at Tonto National Monument. Only 900 people get to go up here a year as the site is historically sensitive. We were even more fortunate to have Eddie give the tour; he has been a Ranger at this park for 31 years. Plus,he is an archeologist and an anthropologist. Fabulous source of information, really made the dwelling come alive, historically speaking.
Local populations have lived here for thousands of years, then around 1400 AD they just disappeared. There is lots of speculation why, but no one knows, as the Indians had no written language. Fortunately, the remnants of their civilization gives a good idea how they lived. There are literally thousands of remnants to help us piece together a good image. Fascinating!
Also, I have many more pictures on our Flickr album, a link is provided on the front page.
Part of the way up is through a rich valley
Now we're getting a good view of the dwellings
Looking back into Tonto Basin
Now we're getting closer
Inside one of the rooms
A view from the back of the dwelling
Looking from one room into others
The beams are old, the grafitti isn't
Roosevelt bridge, especially for my riding buddies
Desert flowers at BTA
While the dominant flower season here at Boyce Thompson Arboretum is spring, the huge variety of plants in the arboretum means there are flowers blooming most any time of the year. Here are some of the desert flowers I photographed during the month we have been here. Note that there will be a separate album of cactus flowers, which will follow shortly.
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