The (weather) Party is Over!

After a week of warm sub-tropical weather, rain and gusting winds to rock our trailer started at midnight and, by morning, the temperature had dropped to the 40sF/single digits C! It's still miserable but we have made plans for lunch out with our longtime friends Don & Kathy and then cardplaying with RL's cousin Sue and husband Bruce.

Some pleasing photos before the weather change!

Good Morning Brownsville!

Prickly Pear are blooming 

on every untended piece of land around Brownsville

Colours range from light yellow, to pink, orange and almost red

So Beautiful!

Web Art

Patch of Bluebonnets in Jim Hogg Park near Georgetown TX

(haven't seen any in Brownsville area, but lots along the route down)

Bluebonnet (lupinus texensis), state flower of Texas

Back in Brownsville

A sunny drive along wildflower covered roadsides and pastures brought us to Brownsville. What a homecoming we experienced here on Sunday evening!

Last night Bill was welcomed back to the Monday Night Jam.

Today we went for bike ride on the rail trail, through historic downtown Brownsville and the UTRGV campus then out to De Ayala bakery a traditional Mexican style pastry shop (YUM!) with a long history in the area.

                        

It's all good - warm, humid and green!

Everything's BIG in Texas!

Driving to Brownsville we met a convoy of three of these

 monster dump truck boxes - wonder where the trucks are?

Walima Day

In the morning we cycled from the Park with no particular destination in mind. We found Lake Overlook Park and rode across the mile long dam on a fine paved surface. From there we could see where we were camped and plotted to ride back there on Park trails. Well.... we got onto a mountain bike path and found the going pretty tough - rough, rocky and a few water crossings. The rough stuff was probably only about 5-6 km/4 miles but we walked a lot of that!

Between the trees...

Over the rocks...

And through the stream (we're almost there!).

Later that day

The walima was held in an Event Centre (party hall) in a rural area near Georgetown. We arrived at 7, with dinner planned for 8 (it was somewhat later due to issues with the caterer!).

As the groom had informed us earlier, there was no music, dancing, alcohol or mixing of the sexes. The bride, her female relatives, women and children were in an area separated from the men. Men and women ate separately; the bride cut one cake while the groom cut a different one for the men. As there were no photographs taken, you will have to ask each of us about our experiences on this evening.

One of the nicest customs we observed was the offering of "Congratulations!" to both the parents and aunt and uncle of the bridal couple.

You will be happy to know that Collin and Raha had a short honeymoon, all alone (with each other!) at a cottage nearby. By June they expect to be living together as man & wife in Waterloo Ontario.

From Georgetown TX....

We are camped in Jim Hogg Park on Lake Georgetown, a United States Army Corps of Engineers Park (the Army Corps of Engineers provides public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen national security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters). Lake Georgetown is a water reservoir on the San Gabriel River built to supply water to local cities and provide flood risk management and also offers fishing, camping and boating. It's a lovely place to be situated!

As we mentioned earlier (Mar 7), we are here for the walima or marriage celebration of nephew Collin and his bride Raha; walima is the second of the two traditional parts of an Islamic wedding. The walima is performed after the nikah or marriage ceremony. The word walima is derived from awlam, meaning to gather or assemble and designates a feast in Arabic.

Rose Lynn's nephew Collin has become Muslim and found his bride here in Georgetown. His parents were here in December for the nikah and we met up with the three of them at the Park for a walk and visit before our evening at the bride's family home.

Rose Lynn's henna pattern

As is customary in this culture, the women spent time together visiting and having henna designs applied; the bride had the tops and bottoms of her hands and feet adorned with very intricate patterns. Henna is a vegetable-based stain applied freehand in a similar manner to piping icing onto a cake (only much finer!).

The men were in another part of the house, also visiting, until it was time to enjoy the potluck meal of traditional Pakistani and Indian foods.

Been There. Done That.

Gruene was all we hoped it would be - good camping and riding along the scenic Guadalupe River, good food at the Gristmill (in the ruins of an 1878 cotton gin) in Gruene and at Clear Springs, good fun listening and dancing to music two evenings at Gruene Hall.

Gruene Hall, was built in 1878 by Henry (Heinrich) D. Gruene and is located in the historical town of Gruene, Texas (now a part of New Braunfels), and bills itself as "the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas." By design, not much has physically changed since the Hall was first built. The 6,000 square foot dance hall with a high pitched tin roof still has the original layout with side flaps for open air dancing, a bar in the front, a small lighted stage in the back and a huge outdoor garden. Advertisement signs from the 1930s and 1940s still hang in the old hall and around the stage.

Under the current ownership, Gruene Hall has become internationally recognized as a destination tourist attraction and major music venue for up-and-coming as well as established artists. 

Clear Springs Restaurant near New Braunfels in a building that dates back to 1869 when it was mainly used as a grocery store for locals.

Northbound today to Austin area to meet up with family.

Back on the Guadalupe River

Most dramatic sight as we continued our trek across interstate 10 through west Texas. Of course it wouldn't be west Texas without a windmill* in the scene!

We are settled on the Guadalupe River at New Braunfels tonight - warm temperatures, welcoming neighbours and fabulous scenery. It's all good!

* we toured a windmill museum one time in Lubbock and the takeaway phrase was "If you're in Texas and you don't have a windmill...you're just passing through!"

Cool Start

It's 36F/2C here this morning in the SW corner of New Mexico. 

Hope Texas is warmer!

Must be water here on the Yucca* Plains - a tree and a windmill!

Yuccas are the state flower of New Mexico.

What a great day on the road...

warming temperatures (60F/15C)

 and no wind!

Thank-you Texas!

We've been on Interstate 10 since we left Phoenix - a great direct route for us from Arizona to Texas. It runs through some pretty empty places and is well used, especially by truckers running cross-country from coast to coast.  Speed limit out here is 80mph / ~ 130kph!!

Tonight we are camped in Fort Stockton and tomorrow hope to get to our old haunt Gruene/New Braunfels (near San Antonio) area for a few days before the wedding celebration northeast of Austin.

On the Road....Again!

Looking into New Mexico

It was an uneventful day on the road...except for the wind! While it was warm enough for shorts in the morning in Phoenix, a revelation after the cold weather of our trip, the wind was fierce through every mile all the way to New Mexico. Temperatures were in the 70sF/20sC by midday but had dropped to the 40sF/single digits C by the time we came off the road in Lordsburg NM.

* thinking the yellow flowers carpeting the desert could be

 Western Wallflower?

Four Days on the Navajo Nation of NE Arizona

Our small group in Antelope Canyon

This photo epitomizes the spectacular nature of the Antelope Slot Canyon, north of Page AZ near the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

We were attracted to this trip, Discover Navajo, because it offered a guided tour of Antelope Canyon; one can only go there with a Navajo guide and the trips are heavily booked far in advance. The trip was so much more...but more about that later when time allows.

Walking with Wildflowers

This morning we hit the Pipeline Canyon trail in Lake Pleasant Regional Park about 9 am. The sky was clear blue for most of the morning, clouded over by midday and was raining wildly by mid-afternoon. Good planning!

Long lens shot of wild burros grazing on a far slope

Floating bridge across Pipeline Cove

Can you see the gecko sunning on the rock mid-photo?

"Aerial" view of Lake Pleasant Reservoir - 

we're camped on the other side of the lake

Saguaro gateway along the trail

Missing in Action!

You haven't heard from  us in awhile, but we've been busy....

Drew & Donna (Alberta), Bill, RL, Mike (with Betty the photog) (Michigan) went riding Saturday in Phoenix & Scottsdale. We have all ridden together in other parts of the country.

This past Sunday we relocated to the Sun Life RV Resort in Mesa for a week. We are close to two sets of longtime friends who have a lot in common - they are from western Canada, they are staying in the same park close to us, three of four cycle and three of four are quilters, so it is all good with us.

The weather continues to warm, indeed on Tues it touched 80F / 27C, the first time since Nov. 8th! 

On our ride yesterday with Donna & Drew we travelled through Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler (communities S & E of Phoenix) on a combination of canals, paths and roads. While most of the canal crossings are very practical metal bridges for pedestrians, horses and cyclists, this community access on Stonebridge Rd is an exception with the stone bridge and metal flower sculptures.

 Here you can see the Consolidated Canal 

with a granular surface on the right

 and a paved path on the left

The metal sculptures

Our Plans for the Next Two Weeks

👍On Sunday we move to Lake Pleasant Regional Park in north Phoenix to leave our trailer in a dry camp site while we take our "Discover Navajo" trip which starts early Tues for four days/ three nights 

👍 Discover Navajo: Tues March 12 - Friday March 15th

This will be a fine cultural experience for us a we travel through the Navajo Nation of northeast Arizona. We will have Navajo interpreters and visit places such as the much-photographed/visited Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Window Rock and Canyon de Chelly (pr. "shay").

For more details click here.


👍We'll return to Lake Pleasant for a day to catch our breaths and do laundry (what else to you do after a trip?!).

Then we'll set out for Georgetown TX (NE of Austin) for another cultural experience - the Muslim wedding celebration of Rose Lynn's nephew Collin and his bride Raha on March 22nd.

So stay tuned for further updates - they may be somewhat delayed due to distraction and poor WIFI choices for the next little while!