The Southern Tip of Texas

University of Texas at Brownsville

I have always been a sucker for things Mexican - the food, language, tequila, traditions, sense of family, tequila. You get the picture - all that other stuff and tequila. Seriously, I love the culture of our Mexican neighbors. I was thinking, if I want to get a taste of Mexico and still be in the USA, where would be a good place to go? Easy answer. Brownsville. In Brownsville, I'd still be in Texas and get the flavor of Mexico as well. Hell, Matamoros is just across the Rio Grande. The southernmost city in Texas has a population of about 140,000 and a semi-tropical climate that attracts many snowbirds, or Winter Texans or as Texans call them, Yankees. :)  The climate is just one item on the "plus" list for Brownsville. Other pluses include a landscape laden with palm trees, bougainvilleas and comforting Gulf breezes, exotic birds and a zoo that features over 1500 species of animals. Brownsville's recorded history goes back to the 1600's but was settle many years later. According to The Handbook of Texas Online, "In 1781 Spanish authorities granted fifty-nine leagues of land on the northern bank of the river, including all of the site of Brownsville, to José Salvador de la Garza, who established a ranch about sixteen miles northwest of the site. During the early nineteenth century a small number of squatters, most of them herders and farmers from Matamoros, built huts in the area. A small settlement had formed by 1836, when Texas declared her independence from Mexico, but the region was still only sparsely settled when United States troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor arrived in early 1846." THOT has a more detailed history of Brownsville here. Today, as in centuries past, is a major shipping port that brings in goods from all over the world. I guess the most famous thing Brownsville is known for is Spring Break. Enough said. It seems that I have discovered Paradise at the southern tip of Texas, and it called Brownsville.

Laughing, Humiliating and Learning

Guffawwwww!!!

After a little more than a foot of snow on Friday, today is sunny, breezy and a little cool in New England, but that big yellow ball in the sky is a joy to see. can I get an "amen!" from the readership? Amen back at you. I'll take the amens today, because guess what? We're gonna get more snow tomorrow and then again on Wednesday night. I don't have the will to look at the detailed forecast, I am just checking the weather widget in my status bar. I'll get back to you on the particulars another time, I just want to enjoy the today's glory. That's worth another amen because "It's a Great Day to Be Alive".

It's also a great day to laugh, make fun of Liberals and learn something new. Let's get to it!

• Unique Town names are always a hoot to laugh at. I have some real knee-slappers as we discover just exactly What's in a Name?
• Tweaking Liberals is one of my favorite things to do and, it appears, that Maine's new Governor and I have something common. The NAACP is not amused. LePage Tells NAACP to "Kiss My Butt". I love this guy!
• When I think of the Rio Grande, I think of the natural border between Texas and Mexico. There is much more to it than that. "The Rio Grande Starts Here".

I think we have accomplished our three objectives set forth earlier in the post. We have laughed at silly town names, made fun of Liberals and learned some new stuff about the Rio Grande. All in all, it is a great day to be alive.

Black Friday; 3 Posts for the Price of One While Supply Lasts !

I hope and trust that you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day, football not withstanding. We had a great one here at The Shoe Box. Heather spent the vast majority of two days preparing an honest to goodness feast for the four of us. We had turkey, stuffing, homemade rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, marinated carrots, gravy, apple pie, pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips, homemade banana bread and damn, I'm still full. Thank you, Heather for all the hard work and love that you put into our Turkey Day Dinner. it was fantastic!

We just finished putting up the Christmas tree and all the attendant bric a brac that goes throughout the house. It looks very festive. Oh!!! I almost forgot, we got our first snow of the season overnight and this morning! We got only an inch or so, but it still looks nice and wintry outside, almost Christmas -y.

I am looking forward to spending the rest of the Holiday Weekend with my family, so I am going to present an encore of some of my favorite posts from the past few months. Aaaaaannnnnnddddd awaaaaayyyyy we go!!!

• Texas Tidbits: the Greatest of the Greatest Generation - this is an outstanding post on one of the most decorated and celebrated heroes in the history of our country - Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
• Maine Minutiae: Tomah Joseph - Legendary American - here I pay tribute to an amazing Native American. It's a reall good story.
• Colorado Chronicles: The Rio Grande Starts Here - when I first posted this back in early August, it was one of the most viewed posts since the beginning of this blog. It's still in the Top 5 or 6.

Have fun eating leftovers and watching some outstanding football games this weekend. If anything blog-worthy comes up, I'll hop on here and do my usual brilliant reportage and commentary. Adios, y'all!

Colorado Chronicles : The Rio Grande Starts Here

Falling For the Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is one of the most famous rivers in the world. "The Big River" has been memorialized in John Wayne movie classics, Johnny Rodriguez songs, and literature. Texans think of the Rio Grande as a border between the Lone Star State and Mexico, where it's known as El Rio Bravo del Norte. But it's much more than that. Modern history shows that the river has been used for irrigation since before 1540 when Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado set eyes on the Pueblo Indians doing just that near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Some folks will be surprised that the Rio Grande begins as a trickle high in the mountains of Southwest Colorado in Rio Grande National Forest. Located four hours southwest of Denver and four hours north of Albuquerque, Rio Grande National Forest is an outstanding place to hike, camp, cross country ski or snowshoe, depending, of course, on the season. According to the USDA.gov website : "The 1.86 million acre Rio Grande National Forest is located in southcentral Colorado and remains one of the true undiscovered jewels of Colorado. The Rio Grande begins its 1800 mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico high up in the San Juan Mountains in the western most part of the Forest. The Continental Divide runs for 236 miles along most of the western border of the Forest and the jagged tops of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains form the eastern border.  In between these two mountain ranges sits the San Luis Valley which is the largest agricultural alpine valley in the world. The Forest is composed of a myriad of ecosystems ranging from high elevation desert at 7600 feet above sea level to rocky crags at over 14,300 feet in the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  Portions of four Wilderness Areas (South San Juan, Weminuche, La Garita and Sangre de Cristo) make up almost ¼ of the Forest." Rio Grande National Forest is a more than worthy addition to any vacation schedule. I plan on taking my family on a cross country trip in the next few months and Colorado was on the list because my Mom lives there. The Rio Grande National Forest is not on the direct route home for us when we head back to Maine, but having discovered such a place as RGNF and its incumbent Natural Splendor, I think we'll take the long way home.