We walk the sub-tropical forests on this side of the Rio Grande. We get to see and hear all the birds and other animals this habitat has to offer; deer, javelina, bobcats, coyotes. Saturday we went to Sabal Palm Grove Refuge east of Brownsville. It’s on this side of the river, but the other side of the border fence. We got the Crimson-collared Grosbeak we had gone there to find.
Here, we have to wait for a Mexican bird to wander across the border, then we all run to see it. There is matching sub-tropical forest on the other side of the river, but continue south and the habitat continues to change. There are mountains, plains, and tropical forest with the attendant changes in wildlife. Wouldn’t that be cool to just go see the birds where they normally live instead of waiting for one to accidentally cross the river? Wouldn’t that be exciting to cross over and wander through everything over there? It would be exciting; too exciting. The U.S. government just issued another travel advisory for Tamaulipas, the Mexican state immediately south of us. No roads in Tamaulipas are considered safe for travel. Drug Cartels. Shootings. Kidnappings for ransom. If you must go, don’t show any conspicuous signs of wealth. Don’t drive a nice car. Certainly don’t drive a nice motorhome bus like ours. No trouble on this side of the river, but we can’t drive across and stay in the bus. We can’t even drive the Jeep across on a day trip. Can’t all these people just stop for a moment and consider the impact this has on me??? It’s just not fair.
Here, we have to wait for a Mexican bird to wander across the border, then we all run to see it. There is matching sub-tropical forest on the other side of the river, but continue south and the habitat continues to change. There are mountains, plains, and tropical forest with the attendant changes in wildlife. Wouldn’t that be cool to just go see the birds where they normally live instead of waiting for one to accidentally cross the river? Wouldn’t that be exciting to cross over and wander through everything over there? It would be exciting; too exciting. The U.S. government just issued another travel advisory for Tamaulipas, the Mexican state immediately south of us. No roads in Tamaulipas are considered safe for travel. Drug Cartels. Shootings. Kidnappings for ransom. If you must go, don’t show any conspicuous signs of wealth. Don’t drive a nice car. Certainly don’t drive a nice motorhome bus like ours. No trouble on this side of the river, but we can’t drive across and stay in the bus. We can’t even drive the Jeep across on a day trip. Can’t all these people just stop for a moment and consider the impact this has on me??? It’s just not fair. 
