Winter in the RGV

When we first got here in the RGV the first part of November, we had beautiful weather. It was warm, but not too warm. It was lovely. We eventually had a little rain, but rain is welcome down here. I think the water table is still down from what it should be so we don't complain about rain. It's good for the plants and cactus too; and I really don't water the cactus, just count on some rain.

Christmas was a warm day, I think about 84 degrees. But since then, we have had what we all call "Winter in the RGV." It has been cold and we have required heat. The cold lasts a few days, then we will have a warmup, then it gets cold again.  The cold itself wouldn't be so bad, but you can't be in the RGV and not have a breeze. And sometimes I would call it wind. We were out walking one morning and a wind kicked up and in a matter of minutes the temperature plummeted about 10 degrees and the wind became so bad we had to make a dash for home. The wind was kicking up sand in our eyes and we weren't dressed for the wind or the dip in temperature. It continued to blow like that the rest of that day and into the night.

What do I mean by cold? Well, we had a few nights in the 30's, so you probably wonder why I complain. Well, I'm not really complaining. It's much colder in Indiana and our home base of South Dakota. But we DO like it warmer which is why we come down here.

We've had a week of highs in the 60's and that was to linger for another week; but it appears the weatherman was wrong. Or he has changed his mind. We were in the 70's today and it is supposed to do that for the next 5 days at least.

Next week is our street dinner. Our park sponsors street dinners. Residents of each street put on a dinner, sell tickets, and make money for the park. It helps to keep our assessment down. It is a busy day though and we will be tired when we get home. We start at 9 a.m. peeling potatoes. There are tables to set up, etc. Terry will be serving vegetables and I will be serving cake. It is next Wednesday.

The plans for the Alaska trip are progressing. We have a tentative route and a schedule. We really don't have to stick to the schedule, but we are going to ferry hop on the way south through the Inside Passage, so those reservations must be made in advance. Once we commit to that, we do want to make those dates. So our plans are loosely woven I would say so that we have some direction but can change them if need be. That's probably all the planning we will make there. We are studying the areas we will be passing through and watching videos of Alaska. We are really getting excited. It should be a great trip.

Till next time. . .

Dale