Monday, January 29 – We pulled out of Mission, TX, early this morning and followed the USA-Mexico border on US-83. This is a nice route through Texas oil field country. Most of the traffic we saw was service vehicles for the oil drilling industry. Thank goodness for oil because there isn't much else here for people to earn a living! It was a pretty interesting drive. (You can click on any photo to enlarge it.)
One inspection center to go through.
Scenery….what scenery?
We arrived at the Kickapoo Casino in Eagle Pass, Texas, by early afternoon. This is our second time at this Indian casino (We were here in 2012.), and boy has it changed. What was once a small casino on a dusty road is now a large casino with a 200+ room hotel and a full hookup RV park. Nice to see they are spending all those tourist dollars on roads, sidewalks, and other capital improvements.
Last time, we parked in a small area at the back of a parking lot. We did have water and electric but little else. The casino has now built a nice full hookup campground with 20 sites, paved roads and sites, concrete patios, and nice grassy landscape areas. The rate is $15/night which we paid, via credit card, at a self-serve meter similar to the type used in many large cities for street parking. As a side note, if staying here be sure to use a water pressure regulator. Paul found the pressure in excess of 100 pounds.
2012 campground. That’s are previous RV, a Tiffin Phaeton.
2018 campground
Looking right. There’s the automated pay station.
Looking left.
2012 Casino
2018 Kickapoo Casino…all three buildings. Plans for adding more hotel rooms!
The landscaping is beautiful.
“Humorous” side note. While walking around our RV admiring the campground, we mentioned to each other that there was an occasional sewer smell. Little did we know we parked in site #1, right next door to the sewer treatment plant. Ha ha! Good planning!
After dinner, we decided to head over to the casino and win enough money to pay for our two nights stay. There is a very nice shuttle that we had pick us up at our door which came in handy since it cooled down significantly after sunset. Unfortunately, the slot machine devil was out and thanked us for the contribution to the casino capital improvement fund rather than allowing us to leave with big winnings.
Tuesday, January 30 - Today, we explored Eagle Pass, Texas. Our first stop was Walmart to pick-up a few supplies. What a wonderful surprise we had when we checked out at the register. NO BAGS! As of June 2017, single use bags have been banned in Eagle Pass, Texas. Only bags with handles and made of cloth, washable fabric, durable plastic or recyclable paper may be used. If you forget your reusable bag, they will sell you a recyclable paper bag with handles for 25 cents. The gal at the checkout said they can already see a difference in the amount or lack of litter in town. We feel there are numerous South Texas cities that should consider this law.
We then drove around the city of Eagle Pass. The city borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande River. Eagle Pass was the first American settlement on the Rio Grande. Originally known as Camp Eagle Pass, it served as a temporary outpost for the Texas militia, which had been ordered to stop illegal trade with Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Eagle Pass is so named because the contour of the hills through which the Rio Grande flows bore a fancied resemblance to the outstretched wings of an eagle.
The population of the city is just under 30,000 people with a median age of 31.7 years and a median household income of $36,907. The population is 94.4 % Hispanic, 4.2 % White and 1% Asian. 90% of the population speak a non-English language, and 80.3% of the people are U.S. Citizens. 26.2% of the population in Eagle Pass live below the poverty line compared to the national average of 14.7%.
There is a very “different” RV that pulled in last night. We got a better look at it today. What do you think…a bit different?
We enjoyed our little tour of the city and then returned to the Kickapoo Casino campground to relax for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow we head to Seminole Canyon State Park in Comstock, Texas. This stop was highly recommended to us by friends and blog readers, so stop back and see what we discover.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
