HOT TAMALE!!

May 1, 2010

We spent one night in Mathis,Texas at an RV park called Adventure Texas and it was an adventure!!  The RV park review that we read described the wrong place so we checked into something that wasn’t rated very high.  It was okay for one night and we learned that wells drilled in that area produce very salty water.  Fortunately, they provided 2 gallons of fresh water for us to drink.

We went into Mathis to get fuel and some groceries and truly felt that we were in a foreign country.  It is a small town with lots of ranchers and Mexican workers who only wear blue jeans no matter what the temperature.  We were wearing shorts as it was 85 F and we were obviously the only tourists in the area.  We shopped at an H E B grocery store which is a chain here in Texas and the labels on most products are bilingual—English and Spanish.

LOCATION OF MISSION TEXAS - IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY

We drove to Mission, Texas the next day and checked into the nicest RV resort in the area—Bensten Palm Village RV Resort.  It is lovely, but at this time of year there are only about half a dozen sites occupied out of the total 245.  We are all alone in our area but can see 2 rigs in the distance.  We have used the pool a couple of times and were the only ones there.

It was a warm and windy drive getting here and it got hotter after we arrived.  The thermometer at the pool said it was 100F and the humidity was at 87% so we were doing a lot of sweating.  What a difference from dry Arizona!

Overnight, we experienced an example of dew point science in action.  When the air temperature is high, the air can hold more water than when it is cold.  When the air cools down with high humidity, it reaches a point where the water literally drops out of the air onto the ground, or your truck, or your rig.  We woke up to see that the truck and trailer were all wet on the outside and our ceiling vents, which have rain sensors on them, had closed.

Today was cooler at only 92 and there was a light breeze.  We are staying here for a week and spent part of the day checking out the town and getting settled.