Bob-Kats on the Road 2-1-11

Camping  Trip

You might have thought we were already sort of camping.  No, no.  Bob put exhaustive research and much work into planning for “car” camping.  We got a four-door jeep for that reason -- the  top comes off for star-gazing.  So, our first trip was to Falcon, which is about an hour and a half northwest from Mission.  You may recall the name because Falcon Lake is where the American couple on jet skis was chased, presumably by the Zetas.  He was killed and his body was never recovered.  The area on the Mexican side directly across the lake from Falcon State Park is controlled by members of the Zeta drug cartel (in point of fact, they control the area across the Rio Grande from where we are living as well).  You might think people would be somewhat reluctant to go into the park now.  Not so.  The parking lot at the boat launch was full – at least 40 cars with empty trailers.  One could gather quite a few people were on the lake as this is not the only launch.

The campground was pretty full as well -- too full for us, so we went off to a favorite place of ours, a little county park near there.  There were maybe nine campsites occupied in a large, open area.  There are few services, save water there, but on the other hand, there is no charge.  We discovered that most of the people there were Canadians.  We met people from Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.   I do like Canadians very much, but I find it interesting that Zapata County, a rather poor county,  is paying to maintain a camping area for people from another country.  Possibly some stimulus money at work here.

So, Bob, who had spent most of one day loading the car, now began unloading the car.  The wind picked up and by the time we were ready to deploy tarp and tent, it seemed to be near gale force.   Fortunately, no one was close enough h to witness this as it must have looked like a comedy routine.   The cat, of course, had come with us – not willingly and I must say, it was not my idea to bring a cat camping in a coyote-infested area.  She watched from her carrier in the car with an appalled expression (Crazy people are in charge of me)  

So, the wind blew, the sun was blistering hot and pretty soon I joined the cat in the shade (inescapable conclusion here:   I am about as useful on a camping trip as a cat).   Bob set the rest of the camp up, soon had us ship-shape and we began assessing our provisions.  At this point someone usually says, “What?  I thought YOU packed the __________________.” (insert something important).   Pretty soon we were off to find a store.   We found one in Roma, about 10 miles away.  You know you are not going to have a good shopping experience when there are no carts and it’s a large supermarket.  It was probably not the business model of the store not to have them.  It was just that the customers perhaps found them useful for other things at home as well.  When I lived in Mexico, I never saw a store quite like this one.  I must say, I lived in the State of Mexico and this is pretty much the State of Tamaulipas we’re dealing with and tastes are perhaps different.  But is that a food item or something to re-sole a shoe with?  Is Bimbo a reliable brand of cinnamon roll?  Helpful store clerks asked us if we needed help  --  they were very nice and we did our best to find something to buy lest we hurt their feelings.  We settled for a box of Cheerios and a lighter.  Once back to camp we decided a nice glass of wine would put things right.  Wine opener?  Ah, no, no wine opener.  Off to a little store down the road, a grocery store-slash-beauty salon.   It was run by a very nice old couple.  No, they did not actually carry a cork screw for sale, but were sure they had one in their kitchen.  Off down the street the wife went to look.  No wine opener.   He said no, no, my friend, I have just the thing, wait here.  And he went into the back, rummaged around a bit and came out large rubber-coated screw of the type you use to hang a bicycle up in your garage.  Here, here, this will work, I give this to you.  He would take no money, so off we went.  And the thing worked like a charm and will be a permanent part of our camping retinue.

Bob was also right in that a few glasses of wine made things much better.  We dined on carry out chicken and watched the sun set.  It was magic.  We were on the Serengeti.

It was amazing.  Soon in the gathering darkness, the night became alive with the sound of animals.  Chickens actually.   We remembered that cock fighting is the local sport of choice.  I didn’t see many houses near us, but it seemed there were some and every one had at least one rooster.  Maybe they were all addled  by blows suffered in the fighting, but in any case, they were all crowing at night instead of in the morning.    Things began looking up for the cat.  It was dark and there were things to chase.  She thought she was in cat Disneyland.  My idea was to contain her in the car with us.  HA.  She did that thing where she makes you trot after her, arms extended, butt sticking out, while she keeps six inches out of your grasp.

Soon the coyotes I knew would be there, were indeed there.  Except for fears of losing our beloved pet to snarling jaws, it was awesome!  The stars were incredible.  Our friend Orion just above our pillows, stars by the millions in the black sky.   Somewhere around 3:00 a.m. the coyotes began sounding really close and the cat, no dummy, shot into the back of the jeep and installed herself in the front seat, us between her and coyote.  All was peaceful after that.

The next evening when the wind came up, we knew it was the arctic cold front that was coming and we decided to head for home.  Dinner at one of our favorites, the wonderful Mr. Pollo (if the Border Patrol is there, you know it’s good).

Nothing on the menu is in English, nor is there anyone there who speaks English, but no fear, everything on the menu is very, very good I am sure.  Bob had our favorite Camarones con Ajo (shrimp with garlic),  The shrimp is always perfectly done on a bed of superbly caramelized minced garlic.  Having this dish there only recently, I opted for something else.  This, it turned out, was a mistake.  I am quite sure that if we ever had insects in the motor home, they are all dead now.  The fumes would kill just about anything I think.

Trip back uneventful, but we had a neighbor waiting for us at home.