November 3, 2011

Bentsen State Park

We started off the day with a dance in the morning with Randy. It was such a good dance and he is a very good caller. We decided to finish up the geocaching at Bentsen State Park. When we got to the park we noticed border patrol in the area so asked them if it was all right to go into the park. They assured us it was no problem so we went in and found our cache. On the way out of the park we stopped at the visitor' center and got into a conversation with the volunteer who just happened to be from Ennis, MT which is about 100 miles from where I am from. While we were talking to her the border patrol came whizzing by then we say the patrol on foot running toward the entrance. We thought they were on a training mission but it turns out it was the real deal. The park called the volunteer and told her she could lock the doors if she was uneasy about what was going on so we decided we should probably leave the park. On the way out of the park the patrol was standing near the entrance with several bundles of marijuana they had found inside and told us there was more in there too. They still had not found the carriers but apparently they had the marijuana in back packs when they crossed the river and dropped the packs when they spotted the border patrol. The helicopter was hovering overhead and there were more patrol looking for the illegals. The sheriff's department told Hardy and I that we should get on the other side of the levy so we decided it was time to leave the area but it was exciting watching our tax dollars at work. It would probably have been more exciting if we had run into those illegals while we were taking our hike in the park. That kind of excitement I can do without! 

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is best known among birders and "Winter Texans" who flock to the park for its diverse bird life and subtropical climate. Located on the U.S.-Mexico border, the park's 588 acres include two large resacas (old oxbow lakes formed by the Rio Grande). These resacas are bordered by dense, brushy woodlands which provide shelter for endangered mammals such as the ocelot and jaguarandi; opossum, javelina, coyote and armadillo are more common. 

Anyway, we went square dancing later on so got to tell our exciting story to our square dance friends.