Sunday, March 27, 2016

Rolling on home

25-March-2016
Avon nc

We made it!
40 nights on the road
7903 miles on the gunship.
Almost 4000 miles in Mexico.
Lots of great experiences.

We spent at least one night in 9 of the 31 states of Mexico
Tamaulipas
San Luis Potosi
Hidalgo
Oaxaca
Chiapas
Veracruz
Puebla
Guanajuato
Queretero

Truth is, we moved faster than we expected and covered a lot of ground.


We stopped in north Georgia at the foot of the Appalachian trail for a night.
Saw a gator not 50 miles from our home on Hatteras Island.
















That's the way the prairie chickens are down in Texas

Falfurrias/San Antonio Texas
Atwater prairie chicken preserve
Columbus Texas

22-March-2016

We rode from the border up toward San Antonio looking for the spring wildflower bloom.
We found it about 30 miles southeast of the Alamo then pointed the gunship east.

We landed west of Houston in Columbus Texas, home of the Attwater Prairie Chicken Preserve.
The Attwater Prairie Chick (APC) is one of the most endangered birds in the US. Only a couple hundred exist and 99% of the wild ones live on the preserve. 
Many reasons exist for the decline of population including habitat loss, etc. Based on the number of Hawks and Falcons flying around the preserve I'm guessing the APC is one tasty bird. The Hawks were everywhere just waiting for one of those chickens to stick their heads up. 
In spite of the hard work going on there , I'm not hopeful for the species.
We did not see an APC during our visit but we did have a nice visit and walk.

















Monday, March 21, 2016

You could lose more than you'll ever hope to find

Pharr international bridge
Pharr, Texas 
20-march-2016

We ate carnitas at Lalo's in Tamaluipas as our final meal in the great country of Mexico.
I got a few chicharrones for the road

Under cover of darkness we sneaked back across the border. 
Donald Trump was nowhere to be seen.


Good thing I finished the last of the chicharrones on the bridge as the customs agent specifically asked whether I had any pork products.
He cared not about the case do mescal I had under the bed.

We went to a wings place and slept at a walmart in McAllen Texas. We go looking for wild flowers in the morning.












Last Chot !

State of Tamaulipas
Ciudad Victoria.


Still no chorty.
The blog stands by waiting for extradition.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

The smell of tamarind in the morning

XState of San Luis Potosí
Xilitla
19-March 2015

Well get back to the colonel  Kurtz wannabe living in the jungle later.

Just to get you up to date.
The blogs spent  four days in San Miguel de Allende.
A few museums, a church or 2 , a botanical garden, lots of tequila.
About the only substantive creation was my latest idea for creating a coffee table book on the taco stands of San Miguel de Allende(SMA)
Truly things of beauty.

Anyway, SMA is full of expat gringos with a large infrastructure in place should you not speak Spanish. It's a little pricier than a lot of other places in Mexico but if you want a Starbucks on your plaza central, then somebody has to pay.

It is a nice place, there is lots to do, and the climate is beautiful. We enjoyed our time there.


After SMA we backtracked past Bernal , through the Sierra Gorda mountains, drove around Jalpan and ended up in the little San Luis de Potosí town of a Xilitla. It was raining pretty hard, dark and Bob stuck the gunship up a very steep, one way street with no good way out. After a few minutes of assessing the situation, we decided to employ the "F troop" maneuver. Retreat and reverse into victory!

All done we spent the night camped in the parking lot of a taco stand. The next morning, in the rain, we visited the main attraction in Xilitla, the concrete statuary of Edward James. Back in the 60's this wack job (my opinion) retreated  to the rain forest of Mexico and began 20 years of constructing concrete "statuary". One is immediately taken by the imposing presence his work makes, almost erupting out of the jungle. 30'seconds later it hits you- "Apocalypse Now".  Or an awful lot of hallucinogenic drugs,which turns out to be the real reason. Anyway, you be the judge.


General San Miguel de Allende 


























Thursday, March 17, 2016

The San Patricio's

State of Guanajuato 
San Miguel de Allende 
17-March-2016

The blog has taken a few days off while we relax and see the sights in this very popular town


The San Patricio's were a group of US Army immigrant Irishmen who, for a variety of reasons, switched sides and joined the mexican army to fight against the US during the Mexican-American war (1846-1848).

While the San Patricio's were known for their bravery in battle, their side did not prevail, and many of the surviving members were ultimately tried for treason. The luck of the Irish.

The San Patricio's are still revered in both Mexico and Ireland.

On this Saint Patrick's day, our first inMexico, we send best wishes to our friends Pat and Frank Clark and wish we could attend their annual parade and party. 

Perhaps a little green mescal?


Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Still no chorty

State of Guanajuato
San Miguel de Allende


Just a drive by in traffic but no sign.
We were not followed.