RV'ing with Peter & Ann Vander Sar
Texas Rio Grande Country and Gulf Coast
Introduction
This article is the fourth in a series in the RV Guide about things to do and places to see RV'ing around the outer periphery of the US and Canada – or “the big retirement trip”. In this article we talk about traveling the edge of Texas – our favourite winter destination despite its distance, mainly because of relatively low costs compared to California and Florida . We run a small class C motor home hauling a Toyota Tercel for side trips, and use the Wal-Mart Rand-McNally Atlas and The Trailer Life Park and Campground Directory as our primary guides. The free Texas State Travel Guide is an excellent guide well worth getting ahead of time by mail, or at Visitors Centres at the border. The Texas State Parks pass, available in the Parks, provides admission to Texas Parks and Historical sites: it is well worth looking into if you are planning to make extensive use of these places.
Along the Rio Grande
The border city of El Paso is a big, busy and sometimes smoky city. It's a good place to stock up on propane, gasoline, and major groceries as it is hundreds of miles crossing the mountains and wide open spaces of West Texas to the next big city. Immediately east of El Paso along the Rio Grande there are some interesting small Mission towns, but before long you must swing way from the valley and continue along Interstate 10 to avoid several large mountain chains that run all the way to the river. There are not many campgrounds in this western part of Texas so plan ahead for accommodation. To get back towards the Rio Grande you turn south off the Interstate onto highway 90 at Van Horn. It's a pretty drive, among hills and valleys, and at one point, inside an ancient volcano. We usually stop at Alpine, where there are several campgrounds.
Alpine is a good jumping off point for visiting the Big Bend National Park area – a combination of majestic volcanic peaks, badlands scenery, and spectacular canyons carved by the Rio Grande . I rate it among the ten most scenic areas on the continent and to pass it up while in the vicinity would be a shame. A couple of hundred miles or so east along highway 90 is Seminole Canyon State Park , one of our three of four favourites in the State. It feature miles and miles of view from a small hilltop campground, walking or biking to the Rio Grande Canyon , century old railway artifacts, an interesting visitor centre, guided tours to view the rock drawings on the canyon wall directly below the visitor centre, and a surprising variety of birds and other wildlife. Del Rio , where Highway 277 becomes the southernmost highway in Texas is good place to stock up on groceries, gas etc and perhaps buy some wine at a local winery established for over 110 years. On the way to Eagle Pass roadside stands have quality pecans at about half store prices, and about 6 miles east of the city on secondary highway 1021 is the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino , the only land-based casino in Texas we are aware of. It has about a dozen no-charge RV parking spots that are actually available if you don't arrive too late in the day.
After a stop at the Travel Information centre at the intersection of Highway 83 (which becomes the “border” highway here) and Interstate 35 you will be ready to tackle the hustle and bustle of Laredo , smaller than but similar to El Paso . Laredo has a state park with decent sites but the proximity to town and associated heavy day-use, fishing, and boating make it somewhat crowded and noisy. Much nicer, but nearly 100 miles further down the road, is Falcon State Recreation Area , beside the Rio Grande 's Falcon reservoir. It features campsites with a wide range of facilities, from dry sites with a four dollar daily charge (plus the per-person daily charge if you don't have the state park pass) to full facility sites.
From here to the Gulf Coast , things become much more busy and crowded along the Rio Grande , with towns large and small all growing rapidly to accommodate increased business and tourism. Tens of thousands of snowbirds from all across North America come here to enjoy the warm winter climate: many come to observe the many varieties of birds and other animals in numerous parks and preserves in the area. The crowds often make for line-ups at border crossings, especially returning, partially because while you can still walk across the border to buy duty free goods, Texas charges liquor and cigarette taxes as you bring them back. Progresso is one of the more popular crossing spots in the area, as contrasted with say Brownsville . Also there is a lot of road construction on Highway 83 in the area, so it can be interesting to drive the byways between it and the river.
The Texas Gulf Coast
There are routes through and around Brownsville to get to Port Isabel, from where a long bridge crosses to South Padre Island (SPI). It is a well known tourist area, with lots of beaches, and RV facilities ranging from RV resorts to a county campground to boondocking on beaches. We like to stay at the county campground, which features a small community hall with a library and internet access, free dolphin viewing, and a small bar – and beaches of course. A free bus service runs the length of the town and across to the mainland to Wal-Mart and a large grocery store. You probably do not want to be at SPI during college spring break, when things are extremely busy.
To keep going along the coast you must go back to Highway 73, which is inland quite a ways from the water. It takes you through Kingsville , which has an unusual museum/store combination featuring the famous ranch that gave the town its name, as well as a museum with a more general historical and railway slant in the recently restored railway station. At Corpus Christi one can either visit local attractions, including the aircraft carrier Lexington and Texas State Aquarium, and bypass these and head back to the Gulf.
There is a third alternative. While we have stuck to the coast so far, San Antonio , about 150 miles from Corpus Christi , is unusual enough that it is worth going off-route, so to say. A major attraction is the downtown canal, which is edged with plants and trees with stores, restaurants, bars, and hotels lining walkways on both sides. Having breakfast or lunch on a patio while watching people in the tour boats and the ducks is an experience unique in North America . The Alamo, so closely associated with Texas ' independence is also downtown. San Antonio is large and busy enough not to be RV friendly, but the Alamo KOA is a very pleasant base for visiting and is right on a bus route to the downtown area.
The coast route continues on Mustang Island which has a state as well as a county park, with beach camping at the latter as well as at Port Aransas at the north tip of the island. A free ferry takes one across the Corpus Christi Ship Channel to causeways and islets back the mainland at Aransas Pass , with views of the Texas Treasure casino/gambling boat and offshore petroleum platform assembly areas along the way. There is lots of parking for the Texas Treasure day and evening cruises, but overnight parking is not allowed.
Next along the coast are the twin towns of Rockport / Fulton , which are the centre of a large oystering industry and tourism catering to mostly American snowbirds. There are several boat tours available here to see the rare, endangered whooping cranes which spend the winter at nearby Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. A little northeast of Rockport/Fulton is Goos e Island State Park , another of our favourites. It features sometimes windy sites right on the bay as well as sheltered spots inland sheltered by trees. There are free guided birdwalks three mornings a week during the winter: as many as 60 species may be observed.
The next peninsula jutting toward the gulf provides good examples of Texas ' relatively reasonable RV'ing costs. Indianola and Magnolia Beach both allow week-long boondocking across the road from the beach, and the town of Port Lavaca charges less than $20/night for full hookups including TV at its beachside park. A little further along highway 35 is the little town of Palacios with a free waterfront park that is perfect for picnicking and free, very nice water if your hose is long enough. After that you have to leave the coast for a while and then go through the somewhat busy Freeport industrial area back to the Gulf coast. You can drive for miles along the beach here, but eventually have to go through the toll booth on the county road leading to Galveston .
Galveston Island State park about 10 miles short of Galveston has campground just over the dunes from the Gulf beach, and walking and biking trails on the inland side. Galveston itself is quite interesting with a museum related to off shore petroleum exploration and some buildings with very classic late 19 th century architectures that made it through the hurricane of 1904. About 30 miles inland is NASA's Houston Space centre which has several interesting (but not inexpensive) tours. Continuing along the coast, a free ferry takes one across to the Bolivar peninsula, which has some nice stopping spots on the Gulf, and some small private campgrounds. One then has to turn away from the Texas Gulf coast again to get to Louisiana , either inland via Interstate 10 through Beaumont , or via smaller roads and a free ferry at Sabine Pass on the coast.
That finishes our tour of the southern edge of Texas . We hope to tell you about RV'ing in the US southeast in a future issue of the RV Guide.
