RV park residents hitting the open road
Travis Whitehead
ROMA — The Roma Museum made Bob Clarke feel as though he had stepped back in time.
He and other residents of Fountain at Penitas RV Park were touring the museum, the Roma Bluffs World Birding Center, and the rest of the town as part of a growing interest in the location.
Clarke, originally of Ireland, now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada during the summer months. He liked the museum’s authentic feel; it hadn’t been “cleaned up,” meaning it had a more natural feel, providing a more intimate connection between visitors and exhibits.
“That’s the way it should be in a museum,” Clarke said. “It isn’t changed one bit.”
The tour groups have been a win-win experience for everyone involved, said Smokey Cranfill, manager of the Roma Bluffs WBC.
Cranfill said visitors with the tour groups have responded with great exuberance to the sights and sounds of Roma, the exhibits at the birding center and the volunteers available to assist them.
“They all think it’s great,” he said. “They say things like, ‘Everybody’s friendly,’ ‘They give them the information they want’, ‘Cleanest restrooms they’ve ever had,’ and the historical aspects of the facilities, they love that. I haven’t had any complaints yet.”
Visitors also tell him they want to continue coming back with larger groups, so, “We gotta be prepared for that.”
The folks from Alamo Rose Mobile Home and RV Park had a pretty good time, too, when they visited on a previous day. Alamo Rose belongs to the Wilder Corporation that has purchased several big buses the size of Greyhounds. A park resident who used to drive Greyhounds has volunteered to drive the park’s tour buses on various excursions throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
“We have what’s called the Explorers Club here,” said Pat Jeffries, who went on the trip. “The purpose of the Explorers Club is to go around and see all of the sites, wonderful sites in the Valley, such as going out to the air show, over to the Iwo Jima (Memorial), things like that.”
About 42 people took the trip to Starr County, stopping first at Falcon State Park, where they visited the bird blind, the butterfly garden and viewed a video and presentation by volunteer Steve Mondl. They had a brisket and mashed potato lunch, then returned to Roma.
“We stopped at the bluffs, the overlook there, and we got out and another representative from the World Birding Center told us about how they look at the birds there, and about the suspension bridge,” said Jeffries, 67. “I enjoyed the part at Roma, where we went out into the amphitheater where we learned not only about the birds but the history of Roma and stuff like that.”
Don and Connie Phillips, of Norwalk, Iowa, enjoyed the Roma tour. This is their first trip to South Texas.
“I feel it’s interesting to us,” said Don Phillips, 73. “We’re able to see some of their history.”
Many of those visiting the interpretive overlook liked the view.
Marie Burke, 64, said she has often driven right through Roma without stopping.
“We always just breezed through, because we didn’t know there was anything to see,” said Burke, a Winter Texan from Oklahoma who lives at the Bentsen Palm Park.
Cranfill said the tours make an important contribution to the Roma Bluff World Birding Center and to the city itself. Visitors come through, view the exhibits and then tell others about what they have seen.
The word seems to be getting out.
Jeffries said that within 10 minutes of putting out the sign-up sheet for the trip from Alamo Rose, the list was full and there was a waiting list of about 25 people.
“I compared the signing on the sign-up sheet to a shark feeding when you put chum in the water,” she said. “My goodness!”
———
Travis Whitehead covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4452. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.
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Monday, March 26, 2007
RV park residents hitting the open road
RV park residents hitting the open road
Travis Whitehead
ROMA — The Roma Museum made Bob Clarke feel as though he had stepped back in time.
He and other residents of Fountain at Penitas RV Park were touring the museum, the Roma Bluffs World Birding Center, and the rest of the town as part of a growing interest in the location.
Clarke, originally of Ireland, now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada during the summer months. He liked the museum’s authentic feel; it hadn’t been “cleaned up,” meaning it had a more natural feel, providing a more intimate connection between visitors and exhibits.
“That’s the way it should be in a museum,” Clarke said. “It isn’t changed one bit.”
The tour groups have been a win-win experience for everyone involved, said Smokey Cranfill, manager of the Roma Bluffs WBC.
Cranfill said visitors with the tour groups have responded with great exuberance to the sights and sounds of Roma, the exhibits at the birding center and the volunteers available to assist them.
“They all think it’s great,” he said. “They say things like, ‘Everybody’s friendly,’ ‘They give them the information they want’, ‘Cleanest restrooms they’ve ever had,’ and the historical aspects of the facilities, they love that. I haven’t had any complaints yet.”
Visitors also tell him they want to continue coming back with larger groups, so, “We gotta be prepared for that.”
The folks from Alamo Rose Mobile Home and RV Park had a pretty good time, too, when they visited on a previous day. Alamo Rose belongs to the Wilder Corporation that has purchased several big buses the size of Greyhounds. A park resident who used to drive Greyhounds has volunteered to drive the park’s tour buses on various excursions throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
“We have what’s called the Explorers Club here,” said Pat Jeffries, who went on the trip. “The purpose of the Explorers Club is to go around and see all of the sites, wonderful sites in the Valley, such as going out to the air show, over to the Iwo Jima (Memorial), things like that.”
About 42 people took the trip to Starr County, stopping first at Falcon State Park, where they visited the bird blind, the butterfly garden and viewed a video and presentation by volunteer Steve Mondl. They had a brisket and mashed potato lunch, then returned to Roma.
“We stopped at the bluffs, the overlook there, and we got out and another representative from the World Birding Center told us about how they look at the birds there, and about the suspension bridge,” said Jeffries, 67. “I enjoyed the part at Roma, where we went out into the amphitheater where we learned not only about the birds but the history of Roma and stuff like that.”
Don and Connie Phillips, of Norwalk, Iowa, enjoyed the Roma tour. This is their first trip to South Texas.
“I feel it’s interesting to us,” said Don Phillips, 73. “We’re able to see some of their history.”
Many of those visiting the interpretive overlook liked the view.
Marie Burke, 64, said she has often driven right through Roma without stopping.
“We always just breezed through, because we didn’t know there was anything to see,” said Burke, a Winter Texan from Oklahoma who lives at the Bentsen Palm Park.
Cranfill said the tours make an important contribution to the Roma Bluff World Birding Center and to the city itself. Visitors come through, view the exhibits and then tell others about what they have seen.
The word seems to be getting out.
Jeffries said that within 10 minutes of putting out the sign-up sheet for the trip from Alamo Rose, the list was full and there was a waiting list of about 25 people.
“I compared the signing on the sign-up sheet to a shark feeding when you put chum in the water,” she said. “My goodness!”
———
Travis Whitehead covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4452. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.
Travis Whitehead
ROMA — The Roma Museum made Bob Clarke feel as though he had stepped back in time.
He and other residents of Fountain at Penitas RV Park were touring the museum, the Roma Bluffs World Birding Center, and the rest of the town as part of a growing interest in the location.
Clarke, originally of Ireland, now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada during the summer months. He liked the museum’s authentic feel; it hadn’t been “cleaned up,” meaning it had a more natural feel, providing a more intimate connection between visitors and exhibits.
“That’s the way it should be in a museum,” Clarke said. “It isn’t changed one bit.”
The tour groups have been a win-win experience for everyone involved, said Smokey Cranfill, manager of the Roma Bluffs WBC.
Cranfill said visitors with the tour groups have responded with great exuberance to the sights and sounds of Roma, the exhibits at the birding center and the volunteers available to assist them.
“They all think it’s great,” he said. “They say things like, ‘Everybody’s friendly,’ ‘They give them the information they want’, ‘Cleanest restrooms they’ve ever had,’ and the historical aspects of the facilities, they love that. I haven’t had any complaints yet.”
Visitors also tell him they want to continue coming back with larger groups, so, “We gotta be prepared for that.”
The folks from Alamo Rose Mobile Home and RV Park had a pretty good time, too, when they visited on a previous day. Alamo Rose belongs to the Wilder Corporation that has purchased several big buses the size of Greyhounds. A park resident who used to drive Greyhounds has volunteered to drive the park’s tour buses on various excursions throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
“We have what’s called the Explorers Club here,” said Pat Jeffries, who went on the trip. “The purpose of the Explorers Club is to go around and see all of the sites, wonderful sites in the Valley, such as going out to the air show, over to the Iwo Jima (Memorial), things like that.”
About 42 people took the trip to Starr County, stopping first at Falcon State Park, where they visited the bird blind, the butterfly garden and viewed a video and presentation by volunteer Steve Mondl. They had a brisket and mashed potato lunch, then returned to Roma.
“We stopped at the bluffs, the overlook there, and we got out and another representative from the World Birding Center told us about how they look at the birds there, and about the suspension bridge,” said Jeffries, 67. “I enjoyed the part at Roma, where we went out into the amphitheater where we learned not only about the birds but the history of Roma and stuff like that.”
Don and Connie Phillips, of Norwalk, Iowa, enjoyed the Roma tour. This is their first trip to South Texas.
“I feel it’s interesting to us,” said Don Phillips, 73. “We’re able to see some of their history.”
Many of those visiting the interpretive overlook liked the view.
Marie Burke, 64, said she has often driven right through Roma without stopping.
“We always just breezed through, because we didn’t know there was anything to see,” said Burke, a Winter Texan from Oklahoma who lives at the Bentsen Palm Park.
Cranfill said the tours make an important contribution to the Roma Bluff World Birding Center and to the city itself. Visitors come through, view the exhibits and then tell others about what they have seen.
The word seems to be getting out.
Jeffries said that within 10 minutes of putting out the sign-up sheet for the trip from Alamo Rose, the list was full and there was a waiting list of about 25 people.
“I compared the signing on the sign-up sheet to a shark feeding when you put chum in the water,” she said. “My goodness!”
———
Travis Whitehead covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4452. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.
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