Traveling to Rose Parade

---

Departing Ft Sam on Sunday December 9th is a dream with no traffic on base and minimal competition going through San Antonio – a good thing since the routing and signs are confusing. US Route 90 is 4 lane a good ways and then it's smooth traveling over flat and unscenic West Texas. We did enjoy the sign in Hondo which said: “Welcome to God's Country. Don't drive like Hell going through it.” They had large sponsored wooden “Christmas Cards” along the highway, reminiscent of Dade City, Florida's Church Street Christmas. As we paralleled Mexico's border we noticed the Border Patrol pulling “smoothing” tires along the frontage roads to determine if people had crossed the highway. Later I learned that this usually identifies illegals dropped off by “coyotes”, after crossing, or drug runners. After setting up at Laughlin AFB Fam Camp ($15 a night), I visited Amistad (“friendship” in Spanish) National Recreation Area and its dam built by a joint United States of Mexico-USof A treaty to control flooding and provide agricultural water and hydroelectric power. We've learned that Laughlin is a major AF flight training facility, tucked in next to Del Rio, a 38,000 population border town known before for agriculture and border tourism. Now the border creates a challenge but nothing like the more famous areas of McAllen, Lorado, and El Paso. I'm told by the NPS Park Ranger that crossing the border during the day and staying in “safe” areas is fine. They also report the ancient hieroglyphics found locally, probably created by pre-American native peoples, are unique. Tonight we're enjoying our on-site cable and in-house satellite plus refrigerated food for a quiet evening watching American video. Tomorrow we're on to Big Bend National Park.

---