Winter Texan Times

R/C racing reminiscent of NASCAR

Details: Published: Tuesday, 02 March 2021 13:59

20210227 Alamo Rec RC Open House Henry IMG 3526 600px “No, no he didn’t slam you, he didn’t bump you, he didn’t nudge you… he rubbed you. And rubbin’ son is racin’.” -- Robert Duvall as Harry Hoggie in the hit movie “Days of Thunder.”

Cars blazed down the front-stretch, at one point hitting three and four wide on the cement track similar to the NASCAR venue in Dover, Delaware. The biggest difference here, however, was that sometimes when the cars were three and four wide, they weren’t all going in the same direction.

Olympics, chili, and cornbread

Details: Published: Tuesday, 02 February 2021 14:25

20210203 cheap 3326 600px Sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding, karate, baseball, and softball are all new sports for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (baseball and softball making a return).

Maybe the International Olympics Committee should consider chili and cornbread cookoffs as well for future games. With McAllen Mobile Park giving a super-small sampling, if the results are anywhere near as tasty, it will surely be a hit and a long-standing event where winners will fiercely battle for the gold medal.

Softball: Camaraderie and Fun

Details: Published: Tuesday, 26 January 2021 14:53

cheap 3255 600px Patrick Neel heard all the motivation he needed as he rounded the bases.

“Run faster, run faster,” the frantic voice of his wife Darlene echoed from the stands.

“I'm running as fast as I can,” Neel laughed.

In the end, Neel went into the scorebook as hitting a grand slam. It was during the Winter Texans U.S. versus Canada game that signals the end of the Winter Texan softball season.

R/C racing still going strong

Details: Published: Tuesday, 12 January 2021 13:40

cheap 3024 600px DONNA – The remote-control race car scene is in full swing in the Rio Grande Valley's Winter Texan parks.

At least one park has also opened their doors for more than just winter visitors to compete as well.

Bicycling

Details: Published: Tuesday, 08 December 2020 02:17

20201209 cheap 600px Helen Wright found a Schwinn bike back in Michigan for $20 and bought it, figuring she may want to ride after she arrived at Bentsen Palm RV Park in Mission.

She did not realize at the time how much she would be using it.

Texas Trails Golf Bingo

Details: Published: Wednesday, 02 December 2020 06:00

tx trails golf bingo img 2382 2 “Golfers” sat in their carts and patiently waited.

Wait, these aren’t golfers.

“B7,” a voice called out over a speaker. Those waiting went into action, looking down at their “scorecards,” which weren’t scorecards at all — just like they weren’t golfers.

Enjoy an intense game of table tennis

Details: Published: Wednesday, 18 November 2020 06:00

cheap table tennis 2416 3 Jan Easton was looking for something active to do so she took a shot at table tennis.

Now, she's playing three to four times a week (probably more when nobody's looking) in the craft building at Victoria Palms RV Park in Donna.

Halloween and the spirit of Winter Texans

Details: Published: Wednesday, 04 November 2020 16:00

03 cheap Ghouls, goblins and ghosts – and a whole bunch more – didn't wait for the stillness of night to make their scary presence seen and heard around Texas Trails RV Park in Pharr.

From the Cheap Seats

Details: Published: Wednesday, 21 October 2020 14:00

20201021 cheap img 2250 Tripp Wright was watching the cars race around the oval when he was told he needed to “pick a driver.”

He didn't know much about NASCAR at the time, but he knew which car he liked.

A leaner is worth two points – just not in Texas

Details: Published: Wednesday, 11 March 2020 10:09

20200311 cheap 01 I remember my dad and my neighbor, Jim Brewer, used to go out back with some wooden stakes, drive one into the ground and then spend the next 15 minutes arguing over how far to place the other stake.

My dad was 6-foot-4 and Mr. Brewer, as I would call him, was probably 5-foot-9. They would mark off the stakes 13 strides apart. My dad, being tall and strong, would make sure his 13 strides were stretched out and Mr. Brewer, well, he didn't particularly care for that strategic move.

La Floresta sports love and more love

Details: Published: Wednesday, 04 March 2020 10:27

20200304 la floresta 03 Sporting events have been aplenty recently, especially at La Floresta Park in Mercedes. From love on Valentine’s Day to love for finding a cure, the Winter Texan park has been filled with kindness, caring and big hearts.

Valentine’s Day at La Floresta Park in Mercedes was filled with fun activities.

Love of golf was in the air, as was a bit of coolness, for the Valentine’s Day 9-Hole Scramble. Thirty-five couples participated, and the winners were:

1st Place: Pat Hymers, from Manitoba, Canada, and Casey Tippet from Sallisaw, OK;

2nd Place: Rodger Vanderville from Manistique, MI and Ginger Seurkamp from Whitney, TX; and

3rd Place: Karen Birtwhistle from Manitoba, Canada and Ken Webb from Frisco, TX.

Of course, there was a potluck that featured a wide assortment of delicious cuisine, including some Winter Texan favorites! All the ladies received a red rose!

In the evening, “country music and more,” was provided by Curt James, from Alamo. His third season in the valley, he was nominated for Male Vocalist in the Rio Grande Valley.

Valentine’s Day activities were coordinated by Don and Linda Adams, Blue Earth, MN; and Charlotte and Wayne Summerly, Manitoba, Canada; with assistance from Karlene Weiland, Mercedes, TX; Marlys St. Martin, St. Paul, MN; and Lorna and Dennis Brown, Laverne, MN.

‘Bowling’ making a comeback?

Details: Published: Wednesday, 19 February 2020 04:42

20200219 WiiBowling IMG 0869 It was probably 10 years ago that I stepped onto a bowling lane and had the greatest game of my life.

My team was in the semifinals of our league tournament and I was horrible, barely managing a 120 average for the season.

On this day, however, for one game, I came through. Out of nowhere everything lined up and fell, as they were supposed to. When we were done, I had rolled a 268 and we were moving onto the semifinals.

Reality is cruel, however, and it took me two games to surpass the 268 I had bowled in that one game. My passion for bowling was struck down for good.

Read more: ‘Bowling’ making a comeback?

Bridge was intense at the Encore Games

Details: Published: Tuesday, 11 February 2020 21:35

20200212 Bridge IMG 0852 The intensity was felt through the deafening silence as 19 teams competed to see who, after probably 5-6 hours of competition, would earn the rights to be named champion.

Nineteen teams of two men or two women from 10 Encore Parks took their seats across from their partners, their opponents taking the opposite chairs as the battle for Bridge dominance began Monday morning at Victoria Palms RV Park and Resort.

Bridge derived from the game “Whist” and dates back to as early at 15th century when a French author mentioned a game “La Triomphe” in one of his publications. These are the earliest known mentions of the game.

Old Guys Rule

Details: Published: Wednesday, 05 February 2020 12:51

20200205 Tennis Old Guys Rule Bob Repp took his glasses off and made his way toward the tennis court.

“Hey,” yelled out Jerry Butcher. “You forgot your glasses.”

“What,” the 92-year-old Repp responded. “I don’t need those things.”

Repp, Butcher and Bob Tenyak are the three elders in a group of tennis players that meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to play tennis for 90 minutes. They’ve been doing that at Aladdin Villas for at least 20 years and in a recent email that provided a photo of the group, the subject was: Old Guys Rule.

“I have a hard time sometimes keeping up with them,” said Butcher, the baby in the group who just turned 84. Meanwhile the more “experienced” Tenyak is 87 and Repp is 92. “We play 70-year-old and sometimes 60-year-olds and we definitely keep up with them, if not trounce them occasionally.”

I almost had a Harper

Details: Published: Tuesday, 28 January 2020 21:42

20200129 FtCS IMG 0824 I almost had a Harper.

The news kinda surprised me when I first heard it.

What’s a Harper? And how did I not get it?

I was at the indoor shooting range at Alamo Rec Veh Park in Alamo checking to see how good – or bad – my shooting skills were.

“He got a 10,” Jim Davis said, almost surprisingly. “He almost got a Harper.”

A Harper is named after a shooter at the 10-meter air rifle range (with the same guns and distance used for the Olympics) who could shoot out the middle of the tiny target and leave nothing but the white ring around the shot out target. My third shot caught just a piece of the white line or else I would’ve had my first Harper.