Hidalgo, Festival of Lights

There is the smallish border town of Hidalgo here in the Rio Grande Valley. When the Valley was entering into farming, an irrigation system was needed in order to keep the crops watered.  The Hidalgo Pumphouse tells the unique history of the Rio Grande Valley's development from a semi-desert region to a green and fertile valley, all due to the introduction of irrigation. The pumphouse is now a museum telling the story of how pumps where used to bring water from the Rio Grande into the manmade irrigation ditches to bring life to the desert for growing crops. We will return to Hidalgo to visit the museum sometime and will share our experience.

This little community over the last 22 years has become a big attraction for the Christmas lights and displays they put up starting in October. There are parks, government buildings, etc., which all have displays as well as private residences. We purchased tickets for dinner, a musical show, and a trolley ride to see the lights. The dinner was actually good. It was beef brisket, mashed potatoes, beans, corn, a roll, dessert, and a drink. The entertainment was a local school singing Christmas carols. They were cute, but it seemed as though the children had never sung the songs before. . . nothing past the first verse anyway. After the show, we hopped on the trolley for a tour through the town to see the lights. Our narrator did not know the route or the displays and had trouble reading her lines, continually saying she was just "winging it." Well it showed and we were sorely disappointed in her presentation. The driver of the trolley actually offered more information about the various displays. We were in an enclosed vehicle and the dirty windows did not lend to taking very good pictures. We have been to the festival before and probably saw more by riding around in our car or walking through the parks. But it was an enjoyable evening and at $10 for dinner, entertainment and a trolley ride, it was a good value.

Till next time. . .

Dale