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test Lone Star 281 Deep South Texas


Edinburg/ McAllen 10 miles from the Mexico Border

“The border” is 60-miles north on US-281. Yeah, it’s Texas down there, but the U.S. of A. is a long ways up the road.

Also known as, “the Constitution-Free Zone”

Not the RGV of my childhood. Lazy summer days in Mission visiting family friends. Swimming in the river and wondering why they called it a border.

Got a kick in oilfield days taking a pneumatic tanker up a homeowners driveway in the western RGV, barely clearing his and his neighbors house. But that was the lease road, ha! Imagine an active drilling site 30-yards out your back door.

Great forum here. I’m surprised how often I do a search and a link leads me right back.

Welcome, if no one else has said so.

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Like the handle. US-281 is one of those Texas highways that goes on to forever. Clear up to Canada.

Or, US-287 (my favorite: the road to the cool Rockies from heat-blasted Dallas) starts in Port Arthur and winds it’s way up to and through Yellowstone.

Radio is like being at sea. Vast distances between habitations and the miracle of a human voice announcing itself.

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Thanks for the welcome! WOW you know your geography that's for sure and you are absolutely right The border is actually 60.-63 miles N. from where I'm at but the U.S.A Mexican Border in Hidalgo Texas is the Border along the rive never thoughr is that way but you are right, near Falfurias
 
Sadly, the only reason I get to the Valley any more is to wait on a brokered load to clear Customs.

Laredo isn’t what it used to be either. The fun (the charm) is gone for me.

19 tends to be quiet. If you are a base station, you’d make more contacts than is apparent by that quiet in regularly keying up and “getting a weather report”. Small talk. The drivers aren’t all first generation to & from the RGV.

Best to you. I get that way again I’ll holler.
 
Hey there LoneStar 281! Did way more than my share of rough neck and wire line service down in that area. I was based in Victoria with Wellex and the shop in Alice had trouble keeping their equipment running and we subbed for them quite often. They had a truck break down near Three Rivers and then one in George West. They had a tool stuck @15,000 FT and we had to replace them and do a cut and strip to save the instrument.
We fed 15,000 FT of armored cable through the drill string 90FT at a time. Earned almost $2000.00 on that one job.
And welcome to the best site there is for CB or HAM.
 
Thanks for the welcome! WOW you know your geography that's for sure and you are absolutely right The border is actually 60.-63 miles N. from where I'm at but the U.S.A Mexican Border in Hidalgo Texas is the Border along the rive never thoughr is that way but you are right, near Falfurias
Highway 59 is a long one too. In Freer, TX there is a sign that says"No Gas for 300 Miles"(In 1977)
is no joke! I filled my company car in Freer along with a five gallon can. I got to the next "Civilized" area and had to refuel again! The trip ended in an area called "South Point."
858 miles one way.(Houston to South Point)
 
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Much adventure is gone today.

I’m sure a few cowboys said the same about the railroad coming to town, bringing bobwahr (Texan: barbed wire), still . . . .

. . one of the best Texas lonesome roads is to turn north out of Del Rio for Junction up the Devils River Valley on US-277.

That, or US-83 from about Abilene north into Kansas.

As, scenic beats endless miles of yawn. I’m pretty sure the roads in Hell feature nothing but mesquite and accompanying brush where walking fifteen feet in can get you permanently lost.

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If you have never heard of the "Tail of the Dragon" It is 318 curves in 11 miles. You better be wide awake and paying attention while driving.
As a joke I mentioned a road I called "The Anti-Dragon" it is 318 m iles with 11 gentle curves. There are lots of roads in Texas that qualify for that moniker. Flat land no trees and nothing to look for except Texas Department of Public Safety.
 
Try doing "The Tail of The Dragon" at 9:30 @ night mid November w/ girlfriend asleep on back of bike. Coming dwn Wheelie Hill I had a lot of extra boob pressure on my back. Made maneuvers difficult.

Did all Three Twisted Sisters backward in one day started with burger at The Broken Spoke, and come nightfall bands and beer at the Buckhorn. That ride back over to Liverpool ain't no joy at midnight.
 
My wife had never been on a motorcycle in her life and I had been without a bike since 1985. She caught me lusting at a motorcycle at a stop light. She asked me if I wanted another bike, without turning my head I said,"Hell Yeah!" At that very second the female passenger made eye contact with me as I was saying hell yeah. At first she looked a little pissed, then she hiked up her t-shirt and flashed me! At that point the wife hit me in the arm and said Green Light Damnit!
(I always thought Damnit was her pet name for me!)
Then she said nobody but me is going to ride your motorcycle!
I started laughing.

We took off and what she had said struck her and she broke out in to a full blown belly laugh with giggle fits for an hour after ward.

I bought an XS-850LG from Craigslist and I talked the guy down to $500.00. We got home and I had it running in less than 30 minutes. The guy had disassembled the carbs with an angle screw driverand did not take the carbs off.. No wonder it leaked!
The first weekend we rode the Cheraholla sky way, The Dragon, and Highway 29.
29 is the bootleggers running strip.
 
Hey there LoneStar 281! Did way more than my share of rough neck and wire line service down in that area. I was based in Victoria with Wellex and the shop in Alice had trouble keeping their equipment running and we subbed for them quite often. They had a truck break down near Three Rivers and then one in George West. They had a tool stuck @15,000 FT and we had to replace them and do a cut and strip to save the instrument.
We fed 15,000 FT of armored cable through the drill string 90FT at a time. Earned almost $2000.00 on that one job.
And welcome to the best site there is for CB or HAM.
Tanks Ive already gotten some awesome help here. Rough necking is no joke worked a trippel decker for Blocker Drilling in West Columbia in Texas one month of that sent my ass back to college with money for the semester, worked back up tongs some experience I will never forget 2 weeks after I left the driller got fired and there went our crew.
 
If you have never heard of the "Tail of the Dragon" It is 318 curves in 11 miles. You better be wide awake and paying attention while driving.
As a joke I mentioned a road I called "The Anti-Dragon" it is 318 m iles with 11 gentle curves. There are lots of roads in Texas that qualify for that moniker. Flat land no trees and nothing to look for except Texas Department of Public Safety.



Sounds like you’re coming up on the town of Eldorado (El-do-ray-do). Dreaming of mohair socks.

Shoulda stopped two hours back for breakfast. Soundin’ a little piqued.
(Been there. Done that).

Next thing we know you’ll be telling us there’s a whole passel a Mormons running around. In Texas.

Order extra bacon. Greasy. Goes straight across the blood/brain barrier. That’ll fix that.

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