Sunday, February 26, 2012

Houston . . . We Have Landed

Cool and dreary Saturday morning as we bid farewell to the Rio Grande Valley around 9:00 AM. Compass heading North and East to Houston about 330 miles (about 482 kliks).

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Traffic was light although there were quite a few RV’s travelling both north and south.

About 73 miles north this unsuspecting Check Point in Falfurrias suddenly appears. We’ve travelled this route many times so it wasn’t a surprise for us. We’ve never experienced any issues here.

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I wasn’t quick enough with my camera and the stats on the right are cut off but it looks like they’ve seized 69,422 pounds of drugs and caught 3,433 aliens. From what I could find on the internet these numbers seem to be accurate.

With 5,297 inhabitants, Falfurrias, Texas is home to the Border Patrol checkpoint with the highest seizure rate in the country. You would think that this small town would be in “the middle of nowhere” but, in fact, it is in the middle of everything—the hub of a wheel of activity. In 2006, the Falfurrias station apprehended almost four times as many illegal aliens (20,000) as residents in the town and seized conveyances valued at approximately $7.5 million. Located on Highway 281, the three-lane checkpoint is one of three permanent checkpoints in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Sector.

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A little heavier traffic as we entered Houston. Keep in mind that the Rodeo is here for about 3 weeks.

The Cowboy confidently finds our exit – and bluer skies.

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And the sign for All Star RV Resort. Always a sigh of relief when we are travelling in new places, especially in a place the size of Houston.

We arrived about 3:30 and got set up. The setting up consists of The Cowboy hooking the coach up to water, electric, cable, etc. Also unhooking our Toad and making sure everything else is in order. Probably a million other things that I don’t even know about.

I make the coffee. Who me?

The park hosts have been very welcoming and helpful. The park is full but very quiet – assuming everyone is at the Rodeo. Feels like we are right in the heart of the city and altho’ we’re not far from the major highways there are no traffic sounds.

We are on our way out now to explore and will report back our findings.

Thanks for stopping by. Make it a Great Day!

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