TEXAS -- HEADING SOUTH TO KINGSVILLE AND LAREDO
We knew that as soon as we decided to leave
Galveston, the rain would clear out -- and, of course, it did! The harbor
side of the island is predominately a commercial area with lots of construction
activity. Because of the weather, leaving the island was the first chance
we had to see it all.
Draw Bridge - Galveston
Harbor Barge/Construction
Activity
As we headed South toward Kingsville
and Laredo, Texas once again proved that
"they do it big no matter where you drive." The Central Artery in Boston (old or new) doesn't hold a candle to the complexity and height of the interchanges in Texas. One wrong left merge or right merge and you'll end up somewhere where you didn't want to go and considering we're 65 feet long. . .this could be a disaster!
Houston Highway
Interchange
The terrain was flatter than we
could have imagined. From the vantage point of the motor home, you can see
forever.
Miles & Miles
of
Water
Tower
Plowed
Fields
We saw rice paddies in northern
Texas and processing plants close by.
Rice
Silo
Rice Warehouses
The sites continued to change as we traveled south. Here are just a few of them . . .
Field Shack
w/Cattle
Branding
Corral
Water
Tower
CSX Along
I-59
First Cactus
Sighting
Oil Derrick
Oil Storage Tanks
KING RANCH,
KINGSVILLE, TEXAS
One of the last items that Ron sold
before we left New Hampshire was his Ford King Ranch Pickup. Before we
bought the truck, we had never heard of the the King Ranch. We realized
that the ranch was big but had no idea of the impact that the holdings had on the past
and current history of Texas.
KING RANCH, a National Historic Landmark, is recognized as the birthplace of the American ranching industry. Captain Richard King obtained a land grant in 1853 as a beginning to the 150+ year legacy. The Santa Gertrudis breed of cattle -- cross between a Brahman bull (nature to India) and the British Shorthorn -- was developed on the King Ranch. Santa Gertrudis breed is recognized as the first American breed of beef cattle. The steers can withstand arid climates and is considered to be some of the best, most tender beef in the world. The King Ranch also has the honor of producing the first registered American Quarter Horse. Today, King Ranch sprawls across 825,000 acres of South Texas land, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. As the home of 60,000 cattle and 300 Quarter Horses, King Ranch is one of the largest ranches in the world today.
King Ranch is one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States.
The day we were at the Ranch, one of the oldest living Rancheros was talking to the tour groups. Alberto V. Trevino ("LoLo") was born on the Ranch and is in his 80's. As a young man, he worked as a "bronco buster" for the cowboys' horses. He had some great stories about ranch life, rustlers and branding. The horse blanket in the photo is made exclusively for use by the cowboys. Texas Magazine featured LoLo on the cover as part of the story of life on the King Ranch. The saddle in the picture is one of the last saddles that LoLo used as a cowboy on the ranch. The original workers were recruited from a village in Mexico. Those workers came to be known as Los Kinenos, or the people of King Ranch. Third, fourth and fifth generation Los Kinenos continue to work on the ranch today.
The brand examples are from all over the world. There are actually King Ranch properties outside of Texas including Florida and Australia. Each ranch may modify the brands over the years or for different locations but can generally be recognized as the "owner" ranch. The King Ranch brand is called the "Running W." The Running W is in the middle of the photo. No one is certain what the design was originally meant to represent -- legends include a diamondback rattlesnake, the winding Santa Gertrudis Creek or the Longhorn's sweeping horns. .
Henrietta King was very much a part of the operation of the King Ranch. She insisted that every child on the ranch -- family or hired help -- be educated at the San Gertrudis School. The original one-room school building is a stop on the tour and recently a man on the tour started crying when the tour bus stopped. He grew up on the ranch and attended school in that building -- it had been over 50 years since he had been back to the ranch and he was overcome with emotion because of "how the kindness of Mrs. King gave him an education." A large percentage of the students who graduate from the King Ranch schools go on to graduate from college.
The main house -- hacienda -- was built and rebuilt a number of times due to fire. It was one of the most extravagant homes in Texas. The formal dining room table would seat over 30 people at one time. Mrs. King always had an open home policy -- any of the cowboys were welcome in her home for any meal and she supposedly was not concerned about the dust that they may have on their boots. Peacocks wandered the grounds and were out the day we visited.
The revolving
gate was designed on the King Ranch years ago to make it easier for the cowboys
to move equipment from one field to another. The gate is weight activated
-- you drive up to the gate and let the weight of the vehicle push the gate open
-- but can be dangerous if you don't hit the fence moving at the right speed.
At one point, Texas Fever was one of the most deadly threats to the
cattle industry. A process to "dip" cattle in pesticides to kill
the infected ticks. This process developed on the King Ranch has all but
eliminated the disease in this country. Water caldrons are visible
in the fields all over the ranch. Generally, there is also a
windmill close by that harnesses the air to pump water to keep the caldron
full.
We saw a herd of Quarter Horses grazing along a river bank. As we watched, one of the horses walked into the river and started to cross to the other side. Remember the old adage, the "grass is greener on the other side" -- well, we were told that horses usually do not swim without being prompted to do so and that this was out of character. For one to do it, was unique; but, before we left the stop, the entire herd had entered the river and was swimming to the other side. These horses are big and beautiful. There is significant history associated with the King Ranch and thoroughbred racing including horses that have one the Triple Crown.
There are examples of the past all over the property. The chuck wagon sits in the display area at the Welcome Center and was used on many of the cattle drives and roundups. You can also see a display of antique saddles.
The town of Kingsville is laid out in a series of square grids -- east/west and north/south. Years ago, if you worked for the ranch or any of the affiliated companies, you were able to purchase a tract of land for very cheap money.
The
King Ranch today is still owned by descendents of Captain King and remains one
of the most progressive and profitable companies in the world.
Kingsville Water
Tower Main
Street
Welcome to
the
Roadrunner
Grazing Quarter Horse Revolving Gate
King Ranch
Steer
Cattle
Herd
Bull &
Yearling Calf
Water
Caldron Longhorn
Steer
Dipping Corral
Quarter Horses
LoLo
Texas Magazine
LoLo's Saddle
International Cattle
Life on the King Ranch Brands
Saddle
Blankets
Old Santa Gertrudis
School
Peacocks at Main
House
Original Stable
Antique
Saddles
Viewing the Back
400,000 Chuck
Wagon
Ranch Flags
Flying W
Laredo, Texas
Laredo was
established by a Spanish land grant in 1755 and has flown seven different
government flags. Nuevo Laredo (New Laredo) is Laredo's
international sister city. A short walk across the International Bridge
provides an interesting experience and great shopping. San Agustin Church
was first constructed in 1767 through a grant of the bishop of Guadalajara in
1760. The current church is the third building as has stood since
1872. The church sits on the east side of San Agustin
Square.
One of the biggest celebrations in southern Texas (started in 1898) is the
Washington's Birthday Celebration. Celebrating George Washington's efforts
to establish a country free of Europe influence, the celebration lasts for
16 days with parades, balls, street parties, pageants, concerts, a carnival and
fireworks on both sides of the border. The Jalapeno Eating Contest
is the culmination of the celebration.
Sunset at
Lake
Going to
Mexico
International Bridge
Casa Blanca Intl State Park
San Agustin Church San Agustin
Square
Carnival -- Washington's Birthday Tigers at
Carnival
Republic of the Rio Grande Museum
-- The spirit and
resolve of Texans to be independent became evident in 1840 when an independent
republic was established for a short ten months ending in November of that
year. Mirabeau B. Lamar, as President of the Republic of Texas,
tried to maintain a neutral position between his former government to the north
and Mexico to the south. The Museum was established to preserve the
history and culture of the region during that period. The exhibits are
interesting and are presented in an original building right along the Rio Grande
in Laredo. Here are a few examples of the displays of period furniture and
artifacts while Laredo served as the capital of the short-lived Republic.
Museum
Hacienda
Office
Miscellaneous
Items
Bedroom
Kitchen
We had an interesting few
days in the area. We stopped at the Visitor's Center in downtown
Laredo to get our bearings. It was lunch time and we asked about a place
to eat. We were directed to a "yellow door" a couple blocks
away. The El
Meson De San Agustin restaurant has no signage on the street but offered the
best authentic Mexican food that we have ever eaten. There was room for
probably a total of 30 patrons and stayed packed right through the entire lunch
time with locals -- we were the ONLY gringos in the place!
One of the Celebration activities was a bull fight in Mexico. We thought
about going because you would be able to get public buses just across the border
and you were well within the 26 miles travel radius so that we didn't have to
get a travel permit. The hunter in Ron came out and he
researched an "authentic Spanish" bull fight on the Internet and we
decided not to go. A Spanish bull fight requires that the bull be killed
and this is often accomplished in a humane way. So, we'll wait until we
get to California (several stops on the bull fight circuit) where we understand
the bull doesn't get killed to attend a bull fight.
We read that Laredo is 93%+ of the population is Mexican/Spanish. We
found that many of the local people we tried to talk to, couldn't speak
English. The evening we attended the carnival, we never heard English
being spoken except from the vendors! The old City is somewhat dirty with
narrow, one-way streets. Keeping that in mind, several weeks
after we were there, we weren't surprised to read that Laredo appeared at the
very bottom of the list of "best places to live" in the United
States.
Nuevo Laredo (New
Laredo), Mexico
Mercado
Old Glory -- Flying
Over
Clock Tower --
Laredo (viewed from
Mercado)
Plaza Hidalgo
in Nuevo Laredo)
NEXT STOP: SAN ANTONIO