Our home in Texas - Tropic Winds in Harlingen

Tropic Winds is an Encore property that is part of the Thousand Trails system. This year we've chosen to just pay for the season so we can stay in one location instead of traveling every week or two.

The gate at Tropic Winds is a real gate and the whole property is fenced-in. There is no way in except through the gate. When we arrived we saw that we could call the gatekeeper which we did and she kindly let us in. Once registered we got a "clicker" for the car which opens the gate and we also got name cards to wear at different activities so people can see your name and where you're from. I think it's a great idea but most people forget to wear them (I do too).

In our welcome package, they explain how to get free internet from Spectrum. We had to go to the Spectrum store in Harlingen and bring our invoice from the campground and then they set us up with a modem. Since we didn't have a router they rented one out to us for $5/month. Sweet deal as this is good internet that we can stream movies with and download anything we want. We even have cable TV! It turns out that the wiring for the cable and internet in our trailer is probably defective so a spectrum technician came and set us all up with a splice and a wire that comes through a window and connects to the system. We finally had good quality internet! We're better here than back home where there is no internet to speak of so we have to rely solely on our phone data which makes cruising the web very limited and where we often only get only one TV channel.

So this campground, like most other Thousand Trails, has a lot of amenities. We particularly enjoy their very big dog park where both Cheeka and Alli learned to jump jumps. They also get good runs going after the ball when Glen throws it as I'm such a poor pitcher that the ball doesn't go very far.

You can see how big this park is.

 Beside the dog park is a bird park. I think it's still in development but already there are beautiful plant beds and several birdhouses to encourage birds to come. We've seen a few in or around the bird park but also some butterflies.

Could be a Spicebush Swallowtail.

Laviana White-Skipper (I learned that from a man at the bird park
who was very nice and pointed out three different butterflies and identified them).

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Curved-billed Thrasher

Northern Mockingbird

Now let's see the rest of the campground!

We have kangaroos!

Not kangaroos but very large hares! 

The streets are paved

There are many mobile homes where residents live year round.
It's a nice way to retire with a vibrant community and lots of activities.

There is line dancing in the main hall along with potlock dinners
and dances.

And yes, here I am doing my best not to turn these line dance moves
into hip hop. 

Beautiful little oasis with a koi pond and little waterfall. Very peaceful there.

Shuffleboard

Bocce

A racetrack for remote control cars

The pool and hot tub

Pickleball courts

Friendship hall where card games are played and at the back
you can see a very well organized library. People also leave
puzzles there so if you feel like it you can contribute to their execution.
Tai Chi classes have started here and I keep wanting to participate but keep missing it.

Glen and Alli by the pickleball courts with beautiful bushes in bloom.

Someone asked me to post pictures of good-looking cowboys. Well I have yet to find one but I did catch a picture of this cowboy practicing his lassoo on a wooden cow.

There is also a woodshop club where they make all kinds of projects. It has all the necessary tools.

The weather has been varied but it does tend to be cooler and less sunny than Florida. AND IT'S WINDY!! Dear Lord, hang on to your hats! I have given up on trying to look decent (hair) because it's always the windblown look. I don't think you get a tan here, you just get wind burn. But all in all, we are enjoying ourselves as we discover more areas around us and enjoy beautiful sunsets right from our window.

Stay tuned to learn more about the surrounding areas!