MARCH 12, 2025 www.wintertexantimes.com 22 WINTER TEXAN TIMES 2407 E. Griffin Pkwy. – Mission, TX GENERAL DENTISTRY EXCEPTIONAL CARE SINCE 1982 Now Accepting Cigna Medicare Advantage New Patient Exams only $159 • Includes all necessary x-rays • Oral Cancer Screening • Intra-oral Photos • Comprehensive Exam • Periodontal Screening No Dental Insurance? NO PROBLEM! www.sharylanddentalcare.net 956-581-2773 For dental care you can trust and have confidence in Come See Us At Sharyland Dental Care RioValleyEstates@gmail.com • www.RioValleyEstatesTX.com Whether Your Ideal Location Includes • Pool & Spa • Rec Hall • Shopping • Dining • Fun Activities, Entertainment & Dancing Where You Call Home Makes All The Difference 715 N. Westgate Dr. • Weslaco • 956-968-2708 Expwy 83 Business 83 W Pike Blvd Panther Dr Westgate Dr Location! Location! Location! Only 2 Blocks Off I-2, And Beyond To The Entire RGV Within 5 Blocks Of All You Need Has The Location You’re Looking For! Rio Valley Estates and sincere. They made you feel welcome. That was the point in time that I decided I would come back the next year and give it a try, as I was retiring in 2015. So, we bought a travel trailer and made the journey in 2015 down to Mission, Texas to try the Winter Texan thing. My brother was no longer staying in the valley, so we were coming down, knowing no one other than the few people that I had met the year before. My wife knew no one down here, as she was not with me when I was here in 2014. Talk about taking a gamble. My wife and I loved it. Everyone made you feel welcome. The people were not pushy or snobby. We have been Winter Texans since 2015, and plan to continue being Winter Texans for as long as the good Lord sees fit. I will say that things have changed in the nine years that we have been coming down. The dynamics of the Valley have changed dramatically, as well as the dynamics of RV parks. “People are aging out,” is the best way of saying it. Death, health issues, cost, and age are the biggest factors. When we first came down, it was 90% RVs and 10% Park models, and the park was full. Today it has reversed. 90% park models and 10% RVs. This in itself has changed the dynamics of a park. If you lived in an RV, you wanted to get out and do things. The hall was busy every night of the week with people playing cards, games or just gathering. Happy hours were going on daily somewhere in the park. Trips to Mexico were all day events. Golf was 5060 people. Bus trips to events were commonplace, but living in a park model has changed this. People are living in “homes,” not an RV. Texans and other residents also feel safe on the other side as well. Many Winter Texans often do go to Mexico, feeling quite safe when in Nuevo Progreso. This small border town is frequently visited by Winter Texans who go there for cheap prescriptions, low-cost dentistry and to enjoy the food and beverages offered at the local Mexican restaurants. Progreso hosts a big Tourist Appreciation Day celebration on March 21 of each year. Susan Thomas, at Bit-O-Heaven RV & MH Park, said she has always felt safe with border crossings. There haven’t been any problems in their park. “It’s safer here than in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) where I grew up,” said Fred Kosanke, who starting wintering in the Valley in 2006. He says many border crossers with long future court dates go up north to find work. Gordon Koch, from Cedar Falls, IA, has been coming here for 18 years. “I go to Progreso and it’s as safe here as any place in the country,” he said. Steve Chyril, from Ontario, pointed out that Llano Grande Park, like many other parks, have their own park security, making it safer for residents. SAFE From pg. 7 WINTER TEXAN From pg. 6 There is one constant, and this is the heart of being what a Winter Texan is. It is the people. I think of the people as being family, not extended family, but blended family. We are all different and come from diverse backgrounds and beliefs and from all over the USA and Canada. We are here to be among family and friends. That is what brings us back every year. They are our friends, yes, but even more, our blended family. That is what being a Winter Texan means to me. I am proud to be a Winter Texan.
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