Mission to Eagle Pass TX

Today we drove most of the day — from Mission TX to Eagle Pass TX. We made stops in several small towns just to walk enough to stretch our legs. Most of these towns are mere shadows of their former selves. Many were important trade towns over 100 years ago, but had become quite rundown until they were experiencing a bit of a revival with the oil and gas business. Unfortunately with the changes occurring in that industry and the drought that this area is experiencing, I don’t know what the future brings for them.

In this area, more than 90% of the population identifies as Mexican or Hispanic. I was surprised to see one billboard advertising McDonald’s which was entirely in Spanish.

We stopped for lunch at Lake Casa Blanca, a man-made lake outside of Laredo. There is a nice state park on its shores with large picnic areas and a nice camping area with sites overlooking the lake.

Except for these stops, our day was basically driving through scrub and sand.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)