Going to McAllen, Tx in 2 weeks

[Mike G]

I'll be there for business all Thursday but should have a lot of Friday before my flight back to Houston, is there anything of interest in the area? I'm looking at a map and it looks like I could get to Brownsville and Boca Chica Wetlands and Beach in about an hour, is it worth the trip?

[Jim Neely]

I don't know what your interests are, but the Santa Ana National Wildlife Reserve is 9 miles south of Alamo, which is almost next door to McAllen.

jn

[deanna]

The Boca Chica beach area is nice if you like undeveloped, relatively unpopulated beaches. It doesn't take as long to get to as the uncrowded parts of South Padre. There should be plenty of shore birds in the area. You would be looking at closer to an hour and a half to 2 hours to get there.

Santa Ana Nation Wildlife Reserve and Bensten State Park are also nice places for wildlife and both are close to McAllen.

[Comanche]

Mike - I will be happy to escort you to whatever picture taking opportunities you want here in McAllen. Payment would be to let me use your Mk III.

Okay - seriously now - I'm not sure I know what you like to shoot, but you sure don't have to drive all the way to Brownsville for nature shots. As others have suggested, Santa Ana is close by, but there is also a butterfly garden in Mission, as well as the old La Lomita chapel to shoot. There is also Bentsen State Park on the river.

Maybe you like street shooting - a quick trip across the border to Nuevo Progresso or Reynosa will get you some good shots. A drive up the river will take you to the Los Ebanos International Ferry Crossing. Yep - a ferry, not a bridge, into Mexico.

Let me know if I can help - just let me know what you like to shoot.

[Mike G]

I'd love to do some street shooting in Mexico .. they require a passport yet?

[Comanche]

No passport requirement - yet! Technically, you're supposed to have a birth certificate, but I have yet to show ICE anything more than a Texas driver's license.

If you go to Nuevo Progresso, be aware it is purely a tourist town - it was built for Winter Texas. But - get off the main street and find the little plaza and you'll do fine.

In Reynosa, be sure all your "stuff" is well secured - the pickpockets are a lot worse in Reynosa than Nuevo Progresso.