Some words about the valley

    I’ve spent some time in the Rio Grande Valley.  It is a place of sunshine and citrus and gentle people.  It is friendly and welcoming and has an unhurried charm.

    It’s the Gladys Porter Zoo and the lighthouse at Port Isabel.  It’s flocks of parrots in Harlingen.

    It’s giddy sunseekers from Canada’s snowfields.

    It’s old church bells and caring hands shaping a perfect tortilla.

    It’s the heady fragrance of gardenias and orange blossoms.

    It’s the warmest winters west of the Mississippi.

    It’s a night sky filled with sparkling stars.

    It’s towering palm trees lining highways and boulevards bordered with oleander.

    It’s picturesque fishing villages and shrimp boats in the gulf.

    It’s tropical plants and exotic wildlife.

    It’s cities like Pharr, San Juan and Alamo, Donna, Weslaco and Mercedes.

    It’s the longest bridge in Texas and the state’s newest port.

    It’s the site of the last battle of the Civil War.

    It’s where you’re not sure where Mexico ends and Texas begins.

    It’s the muted sob of the Inca dove and the exuberance of the chachalaca.

    It’s an aloe vera farm and the feel of soft sea breezes.

    It’s jacaranda, hibiscus and ebony trees.

    It’s both urban and rural, with resorts and agriculture.

It’s Starr, Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties.

    It’s a slow pace, fiestas and mariachis, King Ranch and drowsy afternoons.

    It’s South Padre, where sails billow in the wind and dolphins provide an escort.

    It’s the Rio Grande River and celebrations with piñatas.

    It’s countless miles of unspoiled wilderness and the beautiful splendor of a valley sunrise.

    It’s a place where the bougainvillea blooms and the people are happy.

    It’s a place that some  people call the Magic Valley.