Butterflies Are NOT Free!

All of the RV’s in our group left the RV park beside the Rio Frio this morning at 8:30.  Carol Ann and I waited and left about 45 minutes later.  Not that we are anti-social, it’s just that since our Mexico adventure we can no longer travel in a caravan.  It’s more stressful than traveling alone.  The “rubberband” effect makes it impossible to drive on cruise control because of a constant speeding up and slowing down. 

Upon leaving the RV park this morning we had a choice of turning right or left, either way would require traveling on a narrow county road for a few miles but either way would put us on US 83, our route to Mission.  The GPS told us to turn right, which we did.  After only a couple of mile we were quite surprised when we came upon a section of the road with water running over it.  It was where the Rio Frio crossed the road.  The road and shoulders were made of concrete to prevent the river from washing away or eroding the road.  It was only a few inches deep but it was still somewhat unnerving.  I can’t believe in this day and age that we actually had to FORD the river!

What we saw through the windshield

Looking out the driver's side window

After that exciting start the remainder of the trip proved to be a relatively eventless drive of about 300 miles to Mission, TX and the Bentsen Palms Village RV Resort.   I did take some other photos on the drive:

It's Texas, for God's sake!

From the Rio Frio to the Rio Grande

Helping the Border Patrol watch for illegals

We will be in Mission for 7 nights, departing next Sunday morning for home and the end of our 10-week trek throughout the Southwestern US.  It has been a good trip but we will be glad to get home.

The 17^th Annual Butterfly Festival begins in Mission begins this Thursday and runs through Sunday.  Having never attended a butterfly festival I wasn’t sure what to expect so I did a little research.  It turns out that these people are really serious about their butterflies!  The festival is not about drinking beer, eating, and having fun.  It is more of an educational experience and includes seminars that will be presented by highly respected lepidopterists (someone who studies butterflies and has a lot of time on his or her hands).   There is still time for you to get to Mission and attend one of these seminars.  I have listed 3 of them below:

1.          Functions of Butterfly Coloration
2.          Searching for Blues in Western North America
3.          What Butterflies Want and Need

I won’t be attending any of these seminars as each one requires a registration fee of $30 to $40.  Like I said, these people are serious about their flying bugs.

I have already discovered some very interesting facts about butterflies from Google, which cost me nothing.  While we are here in Mission I will be learning more about these fascinating creatures and hopefully getting some good photos.  Think of me as “your man in Mission with a mission”, reporting to you from the actual site of the Butterfly Festival.  I will be answering such fascinating questions as:

•       How does one determine the sex of a butterfly?
•       Where are the butterfly’s ears located?
•       How many miles are traveled in the Monarch migration?
•      At what altitude and speed do they fly when migrating?
•       How does one tag a butterfly?
•       Why do some butterflies live only about 4 weeks while others live up to 9 months?
•       Do they actually taste like chicken?

Make sure to check this blog every day in order to keep up with the fast-paced happenings at the Butterfly Festival.