Winter Texans

I guess my husband and I can now claim the label, winter Texans.  We drove out of a NY lake-effect blizzard last Friday, and made it down to Alamo, Texas on Monday. Alamo, Texas is very near McAllen, Texas, 45 minutes from South Padre Island on the Gulf coast and about 15 minutes from the U.S./Mexican border. The climate here is listed as arid, although we are here in the Rio Grande valley which is well-known for it's fruit and vegetable cropland. We are near enough to the coast that the weather is quite tropical - it nearly never freezes here. Summer temperatures can often reach 100, but right now in January most nights dip to the 40s or 50s, while day temperatures are in the 60s and 70s.  Pretty darn nice, especially considering the fact that this Monday the temperatures were well below 0 degrees back at home.

We've rented a mobile home in the Alamo Rose Park through the end of February. My parents have been living in this park for many years. It's a friendly, relaxing little community all on it's own. There's a heated pool, hot tubs, activity halls, and things going on all the time. This is the longest vacation my husband and I have ever been on.  How will we cope?  So far, it's been easy.

One of my Texas goals is to educate myself on some of the common plants of this area.  There are many beautiful plants growing right here within the park.  I'll use my camera and my computer, and try to share what I learn through this blog.

I'll start with something very familiar: the rose.  It is Texas's state flower, and embedded in the name of this park, so it comes as no surprise that I found roses throughout this little community.  What was a surprise to me is that the roses are all in full bloom.  What a nice welcome.