What a Way to Treat Your Pet!

Looks real to me.  Don't touch it!

This tiger looks so real in the back of this golf cart that we doubt the cart will ever be stolen.

🐯

Camping in a Smaller Way

Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort has mainly large motor coaches and big 5th-Wheel units that come, park, and stay down here this time of year.  However, the park does not discriminate by size as long as a RV is not old and /or shabby.

This travel trailer is as small as you might see, but it does the job for its owners to escape Winter.  It might be cozy inside and it has air conditioning.

This "motor home" has been here for a couple of weeks and seems to be doing the job for its occupants as well.  Its owners have nice lawn chairs and we see them outside enjoying the weather quite a lot.

🌄

Another Flea Market - Part #2

When we walked in it seemed strange to us to see horses tied up at the flea market....

...But then we found out that for a few dollars, children could get a ride around the area on horseback.  That amusement was new to us and the kids were loving it.

Karen has a fascination with cowgirl boots, so this flea market has plenty boots and hats to pick from.

Actually, the displays and variety of boots and cowboy paraphernalia were amazing to see.

We didn't spend much money but we had an interesting visit at this unique market place.

🎠

Another Texas Flea Market - Part #1

Sunday was another warm and sunny day, so in the afternoon we decided to get out and explore another outdoor market that we found on Google.

This one called Ochoa's Flea Market was very busy.  It was far from fancy, and to us it seemed like walking through a market you would find somewhere in Central America.

The merchants were all polite, friendly and bilingual.  Karen checked out these "Our Lady of Guadalupe" tee shirts but did not bite.

Karen thought these wild boar heads reminded her of Bill so she made him pose near them.

🐗

There were other animal mounts for sale as you can see above.  We never know what we might find for sale and that keeps us interested.

More to come tomorrow.....

🐴

Smoke In The Air In Texas

One of the crops grown in south Texas is sugar cane.  The cane farmers down here use the age-old practice of burning the cane fields before harvest to remove the unwanted outer leaves.

After the leaves are burned off, the cane is cut and milled to extract the sweet syrup.

It is a dirty practice that is restricted in areas near big cities in Florida.  It puts pollutants into the air that are not good for one's health.   The Sierra Club is trying to get this process stopped, but this is Texas where people frown on restricting another person's behavior!

Cough - Cough

😵

Getting Close to Wildlife ...(Almost too close!)

On another one of his bicycle rides over near the Bentsen State Park, Bill had to hop off his bike to grab his camera when  this creature came out of the bush.

Sure enough, it was a coyote and it did not quickly run away.

It stopped to look back so Bill got this picture of a creature we sometimes hear howling at the Moon at night.

and....

Two nights ago when we were driving back to the RV park after dark we had to slam on our brakes to barely avoid hitting two of these creatures that were in the middle of the road.

Very close call.

(Almost pork chops next day close)

In the road were two Piccary or, Javelinas, which is a medium-sized pig-like hoofed mammal that runs wild down here.  They were apparently a full grown female and her half-grown baby from last year.  Seeing them close to our park shows us another good reason why we are entirely fenced in.  The gate is closed at 5:00 PM to keep out creatures like this that would love to find the trash dumpsters!

🐖

Posted Signs Around Mission

Many residents down in Southern Texas have dogs as pets.

Unfortunately, we often see dogs running loose, and signs like the one you see above are not that uncommon.

This sign just outside of Bentsen Palm Village is posted to help protect a small garden area along the roadway.

🌱🌿🐝

A Trip to a Texas Flea Market - Part 2

The flea markets near Yuma, Arizona were much larger than Don-Wes in Donna, Texas, but all have their own weird merchandise to display.  You just never know what you are going to find and that is what makes them worthwhile to explore.

This antique child's police peddle car has to be rare.  Some items are usually seen in museums.

This craftsman was making beautiful custom signs, as you wait, without a template.  That was an amazing set of skills on display.  (Notice - who needs safety glasses??)

How about this bottle holder for your bar?  Does it send a message?

One of these skulls would make a dandy paper weight - don't you think?

Bill thought this collection of model vehicles was pretty nifty.

Karen liked this lady and Bill thought that his Halloween skeleton at home might just find her interesting - but she was not one of our purchases on Wednesday!

💀

A Trip to a Texas Flea Market - Part 1

This market is Don-Wes and it is in Donna, Texas that is about fifteen miles east of Mission.  It is open on Wednesdays and weekends this time of year.  We went on Wednesday January 22, 2020.

They say that one man's treasure is another man's junk.

These items looked like junk to us.

There were plenty of tables and displays like this above.  Semi junk.

Many items on display were obviously from Mexico, and unique for a Michigander to see.

Closer to treasure.

We almost brought this lawn ornament home because Bill said it was the kind of tractor that his grandfather owned.

Speaking of lawn ornaments - there were plenty to choose from.

More on the flea market tomorrow....

(to be continued)

📷

Books - Books - Books

In the small  neighborhood next to our RV park we noticed this small structure next to the road on one of our recent bicycle rides:

Sure enough, it was a "Mini Library" much like our daughter has in her front yard in Chicago.

It is a Little Free library, and the first one we have noticed down here in Texas.  

It is full of books and passersby are welcome to take a book and/or leave a book.  It is a great way to encourage reading and share your books with others.

If interested in building one of your own go to  --> LittleFreeLibrary.org

📗📘📙

Some Guys Just Can't Leave Home Without Them.

Their big-boy toys that is.

    This "camper" had to bring along not only his Corvette - but his Harley Davidson motorcycle as well.  I guess you cannot have too much fun!

🚦 

The Skies of Texas

It is not unusual to see pretty sunrises down here at the bottom of Texas - if we get up in time.

But usually the skies are like you see in the picture above.

🌞

Who Needs Guardrails When These Line the Trail?

Opuntia, commonly know as Prickly Pear, is kind of cactus frequently seen down here in Texas.

It is actually eatable if you can get past the thorns.  The purple fruit, that you see above, is quite tasty, they say, but has hard seeds.

This is what the cacti looks like along a nearby bicycle path.

It is thick and wild and certainly keeps you on the path.

Luckily, Prickly Pear is not a cactus that sheds its thorns so we have only had one flat tire - so far.

In Arizona riding the bike trails was very hazardous to bicycle tires because of the types of cacti that grew there.

Opuntia are ugly and make us thankful you seldom see them in Michigan.

(We have a neighbor in Michigan who actually has a plant growing on her property)

🌵

A Friday Night Dance - & Bill Gets Lucky!

Our RGV park, (that's Rio Grande Valley) hosted a Friday night dance at the club house.

We attended as did our friends the Smokers who drove over to join us.

The band was the Bottomline.  They may not look like much from the picture above, but they could really kick out the jams in both Country and Rock and Roll.

The music had a beat so Bill and Karen had to cut a rug or two.

We snagged a table by the bar where $2 margaritas were being served.

Karen and Nancy enjoyed the music and the margaritas as you can tell from this picture.

And now for the big news of the evening......

Bill had the winning ticket for the 50/50 drawing and took home $72 dollars.

Can't beat that!!!!

💲💲💲

You See Them Everywhere....

...Border Patrol Agents, that is.

We are very near the Mexican-US border so we see plenty of border patrol vehicles every day:  Pickups, large SUVs, motorcycles, and helicopters.

But Bill did not expect to get passed by three agents on a paved bicycle trail in the middle of nowhere!

But he was.  The agents were riding three abreast as you can see above, and were moving pretty fast when they zoomed by.

At the trail head Bill caught up with them as they were chatting with other bicycle riders (probably in Spanish), as well as talking on their cell phones.

🚴