Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort + Whippet Mania!

Hi all -- Dianne here.

I'll start out by describing the RV resort that is our home for January and February.

Bentsen Palms Village is a very popular resort. People tend to come back year after year, so that it's hard to get a space here unless you reserve very far in advance, which we did early last March. It's obvious that many of the guests here are long-time friends, having spent winters together for four or five years. They are friendly and welcoming, though. Our first week here there was a spontaneous campfire in the center of the circle where we are parked, and we were invited to join in the fun, so we quickly trotted over there with our wine glasses in hand!

The facilities are great, amenities (many of them free, such as bicycles and kayaks), are very nice. The

photo of the yellow building is the activity center, where most of the activities take place. It's in the center of the circle next to ours, so it is very close and convenient to our site.

There is a very active guest services center where friendly people who know us by name coordinate a variety of mostly free activities (borrowing bicycles, kayak trips, tours in an open vehicle of the entire area, etc.) We have signed up for the area tour. We were supposed to go on a kayaking excursion on the Rio Grande yesterday, but it was raining. Thankfully, the trip was cancelled. We signed up for another date.

The people are very friendly and fun-loving. Seems to be a slightly younger average age; many of them around our age (59-60 ish).

There is free wi-fi and cable. Unfortunately for us, they don't want guests to use their own routers, (they say it goofs up their system), so we are only using our satellite for our Direct TV so we can DVR shows. The park wi-fi is fine, but when lots of folks are using it at the same time it sometimes freezes up and we have to re-start our computer. It's frustrating, because we have a perfect exposure to the southern sky. We did notice though that we only had three blue lights (you Datastorm folks know what that means) and our internet did not come up when we set it up.

The dog

park, as we've already described, is reason enough to stay here if you have a fur-child traveling with you. We mentioned before that there is even another whippet staying here. We finally made it to the dog park when the whippet was there, and the dogs had a wonderful time! The couple who own the whippet (Tyler) are from Canada but originally from Scotland.

(I love their accent). Tyler is the same age as our dogs; right between our two. They hit it off right away. I tried to get a photo of the three of them running and playing,

but that is nearly impossible as fast as they run!

I would get one and a half dogs, two and a half dogs,

or half a dog in a shot. Tyler is the one who has brindle spots. He is just as spoiled as our two!

There are many weekly activities available, for those who like to participate. We have mainly taken advantage of the weekly margarita hour, where you bring a snack to share (deviled eggs are a sure bet; they disappear fast) and for a buck get a margarita to go with the l-o-n-g table of goodies to sample.

They also have jam sessions for musicians who are staying here, and they are getting a talent "show" together. (You WON'T see me participating in that!) There is a very complete wood shop for the guests to use and a craft room as well. I've not been over there, but they are very popular.

I have been going to the aerobics class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Boy, they don't mess around; a guaranteed 45 minutes to an hour of SWEAT. The tapes they use are a woman I had never heard of before, but she must be popular because it's the same one they used at Buckhorn Lake in Kerrville. I actually ordered one for myself, because it could be done in a limited space like the RV, when we leave here. Leslie Sansone is the gal's name, if anyone wants to check her out. (She has an annoying too-perky laugh, but does do a good workout). I ordered mine from Amazon, of course!

She has many tapes available.

The RV sites are very nicely landscaped and many are in circles, like ours, with a nice view out the front windshield of a

central

palapa.

We are in the 500 circle, facing the palapa that has pool tables in it. There are also premium sites available along the sides with storage sheds on them and large back yards. We took the shots of our site on a sunny day (not many of those lately!) when the site next to us was empty, so it looks a little larger than it actually is.

The main draw for me here at Bentsen Palms is the location next door to the state park. We hardly ever get in the car (the roads here are confusing, to say it kindly), but I'm sure we'll venture out in future weeks. There's not a whole lot to do here, for us anyway, other than things we can do right here at the park.

The area is built up with lots of shopping available, for those who need to shop. There is a VERY nice grocery store that we've fallen in love with - an H-E-B Plus superstore. Wow! Nothing in Indiana even comes close! (Think Meijers on steroids).

There is a separate section at Bentsen Palms Village called Retama Village where people purchase sites and can rent them out. These are also very popular and VERY nice; each has a small "coach house" on the site for storage, small kitchen, or however you would want to finish it. Some of the sites have RV homes with ports, or smaller homes. You can Google Retama Village to find out more.

We would not be interested in a permanent site, at least not yet. There are too many places we want to go! We're already thinking about next winter, and our tentative plans are to head west next September to visit our oldest daughter (who just moved to L.A.), possibly be there over the holidays, perhaps visit Yosemite on the way there. Then we might find a place to stay in the California desert, and from there "Do the Q" as people refer to the Quartzite thing next January. From there we might head to our favorite spot on earth, Southern Utah.

Our plans are written in sand, though, so they are definitely subject to change! We are excited to finally be heading west, because that is really where we've wanted to be since December 2008, when we started this adventure.

I can see why some people don't like the Rio Grande Valley. The surrounding area is a little run down, lots of graffiti even on nice buildings and areas.

If we weren't staying in such a nice place, so convenient to what we want to do here, we might not like it so much. The weather has not been great since we've been here; high in the 50s and the last few days cloudy and overcast. They are predicting storms tonight, even might have small hail. People here say it's the worst weather they've experienced in the winter here in the past five years! After tomorrow's storms, though, the extended forecast is supposed to be sunny and in the mid to upper 70s for the foreseeable future. I can sure deal with that!!

A Tale of Two Spouses

Hi all -- Dianne here. Roger mentioned before about the dogs' little case of "Montezuma's Revenge." For that reason, as he said, we spent a couple days taking turns with the dogs and "doing our own thing."

BIRDING ALERT: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT BIRDING, YOU CAN SKIP MY PART OF THIS BLOG!

Trust me, Roger's part will be a more entertaining read!!

For MY day off, I spent some quality time hiking at the bird park and hanging out with the die-hards who had flown in from states like New Jersey and New Mexico to catch a glimpse of the rare Tiger Heron. At one point there were over 50 birders there, just watching and waiting with their scopes and equipment. Most had been there almost all day. At least some had arrived around 8:00 a.m. and were still there when I left after my final visit at 6:00 p.m.!! I felt a little guilty being able to just come and go on foot for free, but I also didn't feel quite as bad as they did when the heron did not appear. The biggest thing that flew over us at the levee that day was the ever-present border patrol helicopter, making its rounds above the nearby Rio Grande River.

(I walked over to the levee three times that day: morning, mid-day, and again around 5:00 to wait for "roosting time.") It was interesting for me, even without the heron, to just eavesdrop on the experts and learn about other birds who DID make an appearance at the levee, including a Green Kingfisher, Vermillion Flycatcher,

White-Tailed Kite, Merlin, Red-Shouldered Hawk, the list goes on and on....

The weather turned cold here, just like the rest of the country, but that morning it was bright and sunny, and I was more than comfortable hiking around the state park even without a coat most of the day. It's amazing the difference the strong sunshine down here makes!

I managed to get closer shots of the beautiful Green Jays.

Another bird common here at the state park but rare elsewhere is the Altamira

Oriole. Some birds I saw but did not get a photo of, include a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker, a Golden-Fronted Woodpecker, a flock of Inca Doves, and an Indigo Bunting wearing its winter plumage. I got a closer shot of a Chachalaca, too, but it still doesn't represent just how BIG these birds are! They are about the size of a slim chicken,

with longer legs.

I did not photograph the numerous flocks of Great-Tailed Grackles, even though I really enjoy these birds. I especially like their whistle, and the fact that they seem to have followed us at every RV stop since Coffeyville, Kansas, where I first saw them. Ironically, the same scenario occurred last year when we first encountered grackles in South Carolina. That time they were

Boat-Tailed Grackles, and they followed us to Georgia and on to every stop we made throughout the state of Florida, all winter long.

Here's a shot of a Great

Kiskadee:

I had a great morning. The javelinas at the park are too busy eating the bird seed under the feeders to care whether people are nearby. This shot of a javelina is not a zoom-in; it was just me, the javelina,

and the birds for quite some time at one of the stations.

Knowing my birding exploits have a "limited audience," I'll now turn the blog over to Roger to give an account of HIS day:

Roger here.... Well, Dianne had a restful and enjoyable morning at the state park. I had decided to spend my half of the day getting some exercise, so I borrowed one of the campground bicycles to retrace the route from my previous bike trip. This time I took the camera, hoping to get some shots of the wildlife refuge and the canal that parallels the path. I intended to ride further this time - all the way to the terminus six miles away. It was not to be.

It was beginning to cloud up and there was a 30% chance of rain, so I stuffed one of those water-proof rain jackets that fold into nothing into the pocket of my sweatshirt. I rationalized that if there was a 30% chance of rain, there was a 70% chance of no rain. The odds were in my favor. The temperature was around 50 degrees, perfect for a long bike ride. Off I went. Not much to see for the first couple of miles as the path paralleled a road and crossed an empty field, ripe for further development in this busy area.

Soon I crossed one of the local roads, where the bike path separated from the local traffic. Going up and over a footbridge, I was enjoying the view of a canal on one side and the cactus-filled wildlife refuge on the other.

No evidence of civilization. I took a couple of pictures of the cactus, but decided to wait and get better shots of the canal on the return trip. Didn't happen.

It began to get a little more cloudy, but I forged on. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I get pretty single-minded when I set a goal and CANNOT enjoy myself until the goal is accomplished. That mind-set has helped me accomplish a lot during my career, but not this day.

I had to have only been about a half-mile from my goal and about as far away from the campground as I could get when it began to sprinkle. I stopped pedaling to put on the green water-proof jacket and to move the camera and cell phone from my jeans pockets, where they might get wet, to the pockets of the sweatshirt that would be under the water-proof jacket. I also searched for a plastic doggie bag to further protect them. I usually have a couple for dog-walking emergencies, but not today.

You know what happened next - the heavens opened. Not only was there a deluge of rain, but the winds whipped up and the temperature began dropping. (At one time I was a high school swim coach, wet all the time. I still didn't think a little rain and wind would bother me much. Wrong.) As I reluctantly turned around, I realized that I would be biking directly into the wind. I still wasn't too concerned; it would make it a better work-out.

After a short time, I realized that my water-proof jacket WAS NOT WATER-PROOF. It provided no more protection than a light wind breaker. I found the flapping of the hood in the howling winds, splattering drops of water everywhere, to be very irritating. My glasses were covered with raindrops. I could NOT see. The dry dirt on the bike path had transformed into mud, which stuck to the tires until it flew off in chunks onto my clothes and into my face.

I began to worry about the water soaking through to the camera and cell phone. In fact, I was more concerned about that than any discomfort that I was experiencing. Moisture was attacking the electronics on two fronts - a rain-soaked sweatshirt from the outside, and SWEAT from the inside.

When I crossed the footbridge and reached the open field my spirits rose, because I only had a couple miles to go. (I am so stupid). The last two miles were across the open field. There was no protection from the winds that were now bending the palm trees. The wind blew so hard - directly in my face - that I had to get off the bike and walk it the rest of the way in, time consuming. I tried to get back on several times, to no avail. The wind was just too strong.

Dianne enjoyed taking my picture as I climbed back in the motor-home. She enjoyed it a little TOO much.

The temperature had dropped to 40 degrees. Every bit of my clothing, including socks and undies, was soaked. Fortunately, the inside of the sweatshirt pockets were dry. The cell phone and camera did not get wet.

The story does not end here. Since I was already soaked, I thought it would be fun to watch the wind and rain from the campground hot tub. At one time when we lived in Indiana we owned a hot tub. We kept it running all winter. It was sooo relaxing to sit in the tub, staying perfectly warm, and watch the snow flakes fall. So I put on a swim suit and a dry pair of sweats, and ventured over to the pool area.

I knew this might be another mistake when I had to remove a lawn chair and table from the hot tub before I got in. I was forced to anchor my sweats and towel underneath one of the overturned tables to keep them from blowing to Mexico. I must admit that the hot tub felt great, but every time there was a gust of wind, an entire row of plastic recliners (all in a line) edged three feet closer to the pool and the hot tub. It was almost like they were alive, the column of an army moving forward in sync, like the advancing brooms in Disney's Fantasia.

I was a little concerned when I read the sign at the pool that warned to not enter the hot tub in severe weather (lightning, tornadoes). But there was no lightning and, being from Indiana, I knew this was not a tornado, so I stayed. Until.... a large frond blew off one of the bending palm trees forcing me to duck.

It was time to end my day of freedom.

On my next day when I am by myself I will be driving the dry, warm car to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a new water-proof jacket.

Hey, Gringo-Dog, Those are Mexican Cows!!

Hi all -- Dianne here.

The title quote was "Nacho" the chihuahua showing Chaplin the cattle adjacent to the dog park here at our new location.

We had an easy drive south from Kerrville New Year's Day to our home for the next two months, Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort in Mission, TX. We made the reservation here almost a year ago, early last March, as we heard it is very popular and hard to get a site.

Our blogs will be a little different while we're here, because we'll be out of the "tourist" mode and back into the "fulltimer" mode.

Most of our activities while we're here will center around activities and things to do right here at the RV resort and its immediate surroundings. There is no lack of things to do here!

They offer free bicycles, free kayaks, pool, hot tub, miles and miles of walking trails right next door, and the best dog park we've been to since "Barkham at Markham"

in Fort Lauderdale last year.

Every day there are planned activities as well. This morning I plan to join the aerobics group, and this afternoon there is a margarita get-together that we plan to take advantage of. Next week we've signed up for a group kayaking expedition on the Rio Grande. Once we know our way around we'll take our own inflatable kayak out exploring. We have to be careful, though, because we are so close to Mexico that the border patrol is ever present and we don't want to end up in a Mexican jail!

This RV park is directly adjacent to Bentsen Palm State Park and the World Birding Headquarters. We have free access to the park and its trails and the birding center from our RV park, so we've already been over there multiple times. I walked over there twice yesterday to join the serious birders who are congregating along the levee next to the park to catch a glimpse of a rare tiger heron; the first sighting of this bird ever in the U.S.! People are actually FLYING in from Canada and other U.S. states to try to see this bird, and I can just walk over there any time I want to! If I AM lucky enough to see it, I'll try to get a photo for the blog.

I'll try not to bore my readers with bird sightings, but needless to say I'm in my element here and really having fun! I am an unabashed eco-nerd, I admit it. I can walk over and get my fill of birding while Roger can use a bicycle and ride around the RV park and its environs to his little heart's content. (Bicycles and I don't mix very well; to learn more about that, look under the categories for our Shark Valley blog from last winter in the Everglades).

I'll let Roger finish up with his thoughts on our new "home":

Check out the picture of the javelina (also called peccary)!

We have seen several of them at Bentsen Palm State Park. I made up my own little song about them to the tune of the Macarena that I sing whenever we see them and there are no other people around. It is worth the off-key singing just to see Dianne roll her eyes.

Some people call them a pecca, pecca, peccary.....

Some people call them a hoggy, hoggy, hoggy.....

Some people say that they look like Miss Piggy....

Hey Javelina!

Dianne again: Sorry 'bout that! Had I known he'd launch into his silly Javelina song, I would have hidden the computer!! He really does make up weird songs like that on the spur of the moment. Not only do I roll my eyes, there is usually a loud groan when he does this. This playful side of Roger reappeared (after a decade-long absence) about two weeks after he retired!

We have taken a couple of long walks at the state park.

The Honey Mesquite trees that are everywhere have wood that reminds me of Walnut wood. There are also a lot of Texas ebony trees. During one of the walks we did not see another soul for the entire two miles, just lonely scrub growth and the occasional birds. By the way, the bright green, yellow, black and blue birds are Green Jays.

When we saw the first one we were excited. There are so many of them that now when we see them we say, oh, it's just a Green Jay. The bright orange bird in the middle of the large Plain Chachalacas (I also have a song for them) is also pretty common down here.

It is actually not a bird at all, but an orange peel.

We had kind of a quiet day yesterday because the boys got a hold of some "bad" water. Intestinal problems ruled the day. One of us had to be with them at all times or we would have a stinky, messy motor home. They are both pretty good about walking to the door and staring when it is time for an emergency walk.

During Dianne's time with the dogs, I borrowed one of the campground bikes for a twelve-mile bike ride. Unfortunately, I did not think to take the camera (I will the next time). The lengthy bike path skirts the edge of a National Wildlife Refuge so it was an interesting ride - dark green cactus pretty much blanketed the ground only allowing a few scrub trees to invade from time to time. At one point I left the bike path and rode into the National Butterfly Park. I did not go in - probably no butterflies this time of year, oh and there was a $5 fee.

The dogs are getting some good exercise here, running, chasing balls, and socializing. The last photo shows their normal position in the motorhome.

The caption might be "why we use slip covers." They really are 35-mile-an-hour couch potatoes!

Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, Kerrville, Texas

Hi everyone. Roger here....

We are in Mission, Texas now on the Rio Grande River, but we still have a couple of posts to do from our time in the Texas Hill Country. We were so busy doing things that we did not have much time to write the blogs. (Dianne here: I'll be chiming in on this one, too, so the blue comments will be mine. We are posting two posts today in order to get caught up. Be sure to scroll down after reading this one to read about our fun day in Llano and the meal we had at the famous Cooper's BBQ restaurant there).

Today's blog is about the Buckhorn Lake Resort in Kerrville,

TX and - our home for nine nights, including Christmas and New Year's Eve. The resort was one of the nicest -- maybe the nicest -- private RV parks that we have stayed in.

Our first views were of a working windmill,

and a red barn (activity center) with a green John Deere Tractor in front, seemed like we were back home in Indiana. When we checked in at the yellow,

upscale, general store we discovered that we could arrange to have the RV washed and waxed, for a price, which we did.

(Dianne here -- doesn't the RV look great??)

The RV appreciated the washing away of three months' worth of Kansas dust, and the Indiana dust under that. We also signed up for a propane delivery directly to the site. Nothing but hassle-free convenience here.

When we parked at our pull-in site, we were very happy with the great view out the front windshield. Our concrete pad and patio was located above a small river (crystal clear water). Across the river our view was of a waterfall that tumbled into the river and a bridge that led to upscale RV homes.

Buckhorn Lake has wonderful facilities that included two pools, two spas, and an exercise center. There is also a cool outdoor

entertainment area that they use for outdoor happy hours and meet-and-greets, weather permitting. There were lots of other scheduled activities, as well. Dianne took advantage of aerobics with the ladies three times per week.

Our daily, three-mile walks to the end of Goat Creek

Road that we already blogged about were beautiful.

We passed cattle -- which Chaplin especially enjoyed --

horses, ranch entrances, small streams, and lots of cactus.

(Dianne again: Check out the barbed-wire wreath, complete with cowboy boots which hung at the entrance to one of the ranches on our walking route.)

On our last walk we spent about fifteen minutes talking to a friendly resident (everyone in this area is friendly) about our dogs and about his dogs (an intimidating bull mastiff and a rottweiler). He explained how he had rescued his dogs.

They were beautiful dogs, but we were very happy they were behind the fence. If they had gotten loose, our dogs would have been lunch.

New Year's Eve was our last night at Buckhorn Lake. We attended the gala New Year's Eve party in the red barn and sat with our new friends, Gene and Kathi (from Georgia),

and Spike and Linda (from Florida). (Dianne again: We had met Gene and Kathi on our bus tour of the Christmas lights in Johnson City. Kathi was also a "regular" at the aerobics workouts. They introduced us to Spike and Linda, and the six of us enjoyed a fun New Year's Eve, as you can tell from our happy faces!)

We had a great meal: stuffed cornish game hen, long-grain & wild rice, broccoli, and a most decadent chocolate dessert - unbelievably rich. (Linda remarked that the dessert had so much chocolate in it, it would probably keep her awake. She must be wired like I am, because the dessert DID, in fact, keep ME awake most of the night!)

There was a live band. Lots of people danced. The evening ended with an impressive fireworks

display. (Spike and Linda had recently come to this resort from the one we are headed to in Mission, TX. We got really excited about our winter stay there after talking with them about their visit. It's fun to compare notes with people sharing this lifestyle; we always come away with more places to go and things to do.)

It was a great end to our time in what is now one of our very favorite places!

Llano, Texas, Willow City Loop & Cooper's BBQ

Hi all -- Dianne here. This will be a short blog, but we wanted to share our fun day driving to Llano, Texas to eat at Cooper's BBQ and the scenic drive home on the Willow City Loop. (Roger here.... On the way to Cooper's we drove through the center of downtown Llano. The building in the picture is the county courthouse. What a neat looking building!)

Our Amazon friends, Rob & Tanya, had given us lots of good ideas of things to do in the Texas Hill Country. One of those was to eat at famous Cooper's BBQ in Llano, and to drive the Willow City Loop.

Cooper's was a very unique, "Texas" experience! Roger and I must have looked like aliens from another planet, because it took us a while to "get with the program" and figure out the routine at Cooper's!

First, you line up outside in front of the outdoor pits. Then you tell the pit master (or whatever he's called) which meats you want. There was chicken, HUGE pork chops, sirloin, brisket, sausages, ribs -- almost anything you could imagine! Roger chose brisket and I chose sirloin. Most folks chose a MUCH LARGER variety and quantity of meat. After they hand you your meat selections wrapped in butcher paper, you go inside and hand them over to the "weigh master" (or whatever HE's called), who weighs your choices and marks the price on them. Then you pick from a deli case of prepackaged cole slaw, or potato salad. There is also a dessert section of mouth-watering selections such as peach and blackberry cobbler. They looked really delicious, but I summoned up all my willpower and let them be.

After you put all that on your tray and pay for it, you go all the way to the back of the room to get your silverware, some Texas beans, and a saucer of famous Cooper's BBQ sauce to dip your meats in. The tables are long picnic-type affairs, so you just find an empty spot, sit down, and dig in! There were large jugs of pickles on the tables, loaves of white bread, and condiments. They give you waxed paper sheets to place on the table to put your food on (no plates!).

It was all very confusing to this Indiana girl, but I finally got the hang of it and boy, was it ever good!! They say this is George W. Bush's favorite BBQ restaurant, and it's listed as one of the top things you must do while in Texas. I'm really glad we did! Thanks again, Rob!!

We drove home via the Willow City Loop, which is a country

road through private properties and roaming cattle. There were lovely hills and outcroppings, sparkling streams, and it was really, really a pretty drive, even in December. I can only imagine how it is in the spring, because it is well known for its abundant wildflower displays, especially Texas bluebonnets.

Roger again... Our last stop before heading back to the motor home was at an abandoned railroad tunnel that has been turned into a wildlife preserve. Guess why? It is the home to millions of Mexican Short-Tailed Bats.

At twilight the bats all fly out of the tunnel to feast on the local mosquitoes. Since it was nearing twilight, Dianne and I walked down a trail to the tunnel entrance, searching for the flying mammals. My last memory of Dianne and a bat was when one woke us up while flying around the bedroom of our former home in Indiana

in the middle of the night. Dianne thought it was a bird. When I told her it was a bat, she dove under the covers and refused to come out until I assured her it was gone. It was very brave of her to make the trek to the tunnel considering she did not have a blanket to hide under. Back to the hike... there were several benches along the trail for viewing the spectacle. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you view bats as Dianne does), the residents of the cave were vacationing for the winter in Mexico. They won't be returning until March. We'll have to come back.