nicky4968
Member
Any information,good or bad, would be appreciated.
What should I know about Del Rio Texas?
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ohiojerry
Member
"Saturday night in Del Rio" is one of the things Gary P. Nunn likes in his song "What I Like About Texas".
Sorry, that's all I've got.
Sorry, that's all I've got.
ringo1597
Member
Crossing over the border for some cultural exchange...
El Bombardero
Member
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Watch out for this guy
He doesn't have a sense of humor.
He doesn't have a sense of humor.
I remember that guy, I would avoid him at all costs.
I drove through Del Rio on my way between Boston and Seattle back in July 1973. I wasn't lost, just taking the long way around!
About the only thing I remember is a checkpoint on the 2-lane out in the middle of nowhere, the Border Patrol guy standing on a mat on the center line, probably so his shoes wouldn't melt.
I drove through Del Rio on my way between Boston and Seattle back in July 1973. I wasn't lost, just taking the long way around!
About the only thing I remember is a checkpoint on the 2-lane out in the middle of nowhere, the Border Patrol guy standing on a mat on the center line, probably so his shoes wouldn't melt.
CW Spook
US Veteran
I have a retired Navy friend who lived in Brackettville, about 15 miles east of Del Rio for 10 or 15 years and who used to make regular shopping trips to Del Rio and over the border. He moved out of the area about a year ago because he felt it was becoming quite unsafe.
You sure were!
I haven't been to Del Rio in many years...we used to go down there occasionally when I lived in Ft. Stockton, because my stepfather would go across there to see a dentist in Mexico.
I remember it as hot and dirty. As has been mentioned, it is a border town, and these days, I would check that very carefully.
bluetopper
Member
Just outside of town is the huge Amistad Lake which resulted when they dammed up the Rio Grande way back when.
Was in 2 or 3 yrs ago when a couple was on their jetskis/wetbikes (whatever you call them) on the lake and the man was shot by Mexicans on a boat and they pursued the woman but never caught her. All for no apparent reason.
If you're caucasion you will be in the vast minority and I wouldn't linger. It is not as it was in the 70's and 80's there.
Was in 2 or 3 yrs ago when a couple was on their jetskis/wetbikes (whatever you call them) on the lake and the man was shot by Mexicans on a boat and they pursued the woman but never caught her. All for no apparent reason.
If you're caucasion you will be in the vast minority and I wouldn't linger. It is not as it was in the 70's and 80's there.
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You sure were!
It involved a visit to the Confederate Air Force in Harlingen, so there was some reason for that madness.
Being from the North, it was all very interesting. 125F in Blythe, then bucking a hot head-wind going into California that had me stopping every exit to cool down the radiator with a hose, couldn't even maintain freeway speed at full throttle.
dhallz71
Member
I used to haul Gates Rubber products there for shipment across the border. Even at the truck stop, I wouldn`t get out of the truck after dark. Wasn`t much more than a dirt lot behind the station tho. I have heard gunfire at night there, just don`t know the reason for it, and didn`t want to find out. This was about 15 years ago.
Old TexMex
Member
Don't cross the border to Acuna, unless you just have to, and you'd better know what you're doing. There was a shootout in broad daylight last week, 13 bodies recovered, automatic weapons(AK47) and a Barret .50 cal. The firefight lasted almost three hours.
Sorry to sound like a "aguafiestas". (wet blanket) but, there's been over 2500 reported deaths in gunbattles and grenade attacks, blockades and IEDs on the border between Matamoros and Pedras Negras.
We don't hear much about it in the U.S. news, but you can catch up on Borderland Beat
[Note: that site may contain content that in unsuitable to the standards of this respected and family friendly forum.]
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Please note the bodycount of 2500 is since CHRISTMAS 2012!
Sorry to sound like a "aguafiestas". (wet blanket) but, there's been over 2500 reported deaths in gunbattles and grenade attacks, blockades and IEDs on the border between Matamoros and Pedras Negras.
We don't hear much about it in the U.S. news, but you can catch up on Borderland Beat
[Note: that site may contain content that in unsuitable to the standards of this respected and family friendly forum.]
.
Please note the bodycount of 2500 is since CHRISTMAS 2012!
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Wyatt Burp
Member
I'm reading an older book on Judge roy Bean. Del Rio is mentioned a lot and go west and you'll run into Langtry where the judge hung out. Not that I've ever been there. And when i read your thread the first thing i thought of was the creep from "No country for Old Men". Good luck, freindo.
I was in Del Rio once as a 10-year old. My parents would bundle the kids into a car every other summer for a visit to Texas, where my mother was born (me too, actually) and where there were lots of relatives. My father liked to take different routes so we wouldn't just see the same stuff every time, and one year he decided to take the Southern return to get back from Austin to El Paso -- 1955, I am pretty sure it was. So we left Austin, went to San Antonio for the Alamo visit, and continued on to Del Rio.
Even at 10, I could recognize a place that was a long way from anywhere when I saw it. Del Rio was tiny, low, dusty and hot. I knew there was supposed to be a river, but I don't remember seeing it or feeling cooled by the supposed nearby water. The thing I remember most about it was a drive-in theater where people didn't have to sit in their cars to watch the movie. They could leave their cars and take the steps to the top of the refreshment stand/projection booth and sit on folding chairs up there in what passed for the evening breeze. I never saw that arrangement anywhere else.
I wish I could remember what the movie was, but all I remember are the rooftop chairs and the heat.
The next day we visited Langtry, which was smaller, flatter and hotter than Del Rio.
I just learned that Roy Bean spent some of his youthful years (late 1840s) in San Diego before heading back to be a big shot in Texas. His brother Joshua was San Diego's first mayor (elected 1850).
I imagine Del Rio today is not as far away from everywhere as it used to be, except perhaps in terms of the safety of its citizens and visitors. I'm not sure I would want to drive through again.
Even at 10, I could recognize a place that was a long way from anywhere when I saw it. Del Rio was tiny, low, dusty and hot. I knew there was supposed to be a river, but I don't remember seeing it or feeling cooled by the supposed nearby water. The thing I remember most about it was a drive-in theater where people didn't have to sit in their cars to watch the movie. They could leave their cars and take the steps to the top of the refreshment stand/projection booth and sit on folding chairs up there in what passed for the evening breeze. I never saw that arrangement anywhere else.
I wish I could remember what the movie was, but all I remember are the rooftop chairs and the heat.
The next day we visited Langtry, which was smaller, flatter and hotter than Del Rio.
I just learned that Roy Bean spent some of his youthful years (late 1840s) in San Diego before heading back to be a big shot in Texas. His brother Joshua was San Diego's first mayor (elected 1850).
I imagine Del Rio today is not as far away from everywhere as it used to be, except perhaps in terms of the safety of its citizens and visitors. I'm not sure I would want to drive through again.
The cross border lake near Del Rio is Amistad - it is a big lake in the middle of no-where. Falcon Lake is south-east of Laredo and a totally different situation.
I go there every year or so for a reunion of sorts. I know some guys who still live in the area, but they are natives to the area and to married natives. Before I retired, I oversaw the Eagle Pass office for my agency - most of the employees lived in Del Rio and commuted 50 miles each way.
There is still an air base in Del Rio and that influence makes seem more like a small Texas town than Laredo or Eagle Pass. I still would not cross into Cd. Acuna, Mexico without an experienced local as a guide.
Are you looking to relocate there, or just visiting?
I go there every year or so for a reunion of sorts. I know some guys who still live in the area, but they are natives to the area and to married natives. Before I retired, I oversaw the Eagle Pass office for my agency - most of the employees lived in Del Rio and commuted 50 miles each way.
There is still an air base in Del Rio and that influence makes seem more like a small Texas town than Laredo or Eagle Pass. I still would not cross into Cd. Acuna, Mexico without an experienced local as a guide.
Are you looking to relocate there, or just visiting?
Guero
Member
What should I know about Del Rio Texas
I have spent a considerable amount of time there over the past 30 years but am no expert. Visitors never see the place like people who live there. I was always a visitor. Like most border towns it has changed recently but it has not had the problems that Laredo and others further down the river have had. Likely because it did not have access to a major highway. Suggest you check the web site for the Del Rio Herald to get an idea of what the newspaper chooses to print concerning local activities. It is a majority Latino community but does not seem to have the friction found in some border towns between ethnic groups. Again as a visitor doing consultant work, I was in a slightly different situation then someone vacationing or assigned to the Air Force base. Laughlin AFB is a basic flight training site and they fly a lot. I have the feeling that the base people remain a tight community somewhat removed from the civilians. It is hot there. There are not four seasons there are about one and a half. Stay away from Mexico, you won't find anything there you can't find here and you will feel better about things if you leave all that business alone. Approach Texas and the border as you would a foreign county. Learn the customs, the language, don't tell people how it was at your previous base/job/assignment and you will do well
I have spent a considerable amount of time there over the past 30 years but am no expert. Visitors never see the place like people who live there. I was always a visitor. Like most border towns it has changed recently but it has not had the problems that Laredo and others further down the river have had. Likely because it did not have access to a major highway. Suggest you check the web site for the Del Rio Herald to get an idea of what the newspaper chooses to print concerning local activities. It is a majority Latino community but does not seem to have the friction found in some border towns between ethnic groups. Again as a visitor doing consultant work, I was in a slightly different situation then someone vacationing or assigned to the Air Force base. Laughlin AFB is a basic flight training site and they fly a lot. I have the feeling that the base people remain a tight community somewhat removed from the civilians. It is hot there. There are not four seasons there are about one and a half. Stay away from Mexico, you won't find anything there you can't find here and you will feel better about things if you leave all that business alone. Approach Texas and the border as you would a foreign county. Learn the customs, the language, don't tell people how it was at your previous base/job/assignment and you will do well
OFT II
US Veteran
Stay out of Mexico. Del Rio is hot and dry. I'm going down to Amistad this weekend to do a little fishing. The expected high for Saturday is about ninety degrees. By July the temperature is hotter than the hinges of you know where. The lake is a beautiful place. If you cross the channel of the Rio Grande you will need a Mexican fishing license even if you're not fishing. Best to stay on this side.
Old TexMex
Member
There's a winery in DelRio. Oldest in Texas. My old daddy told of how he and another character went there right after it opened. The vintner had a large barrel of wine to be tasted. It was a hot day, and the old cowboys were taken by the heat. As they drank glass after glass, their wine tasting knowledge increased, Dad speculating that it had a taste similar to the rice wine he'd tasted during the occupation of Japan, and his time in Chiang Kai Sheks army in China...
The other old Tush hog insisted it had a rather brassy taste.
When the level of the wine dropped to half, the differences of opinion were resolved, as a deceased chinaman with a brass ring in his nose was exposed. Dad never cared much for the fruit of the vine after that....
The other old Tush hog insisted it had a rather brassy taste.
When the level of the wine dropped to half, the differences of opinion were resolved, as a deceased chinaman with a brass ring in his nose was exposed. Dad never cared much for the fruit of the vine after that....
truckemup97
Member
I agree with others who have said its not like Laredo. Licensed concealed carry is legal and recommended, but I would say the same if you asked about Dallas. Be aware of your surroundings, don't cross the border, conduct yourself in a proper manner, and eat some good Mexican food. All will be well. 
Ogandydancer
Member
Ain't never been there but by just looking at a map it's to close to you know where.
