Page 486 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

484  TEX AS

which once lined the river for
miles upstream.
E Harlingen Arts and
Heritage Museum
2425 Boxwood St, Harlingen. Tel (956)
216-4901. Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sat,
1–4pm Sun. & 7 8 by appt.
O Sabal Palm Audubon
Sanctuary
Southmost Blvd, 6 miles (10 km) SE
of Brownsville. Tel (956) 541-8034.
Open 7am–5pm daily. Closed Jan 1,
Thanksgiving, Dec 25. & 7
Façade of the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum, San Augustin Plaza, Laredo ∑ sabalpalmsanctuary.org
r Laredo sprawl. Linked by east–west
US 83, which becomes y Big Bend
* 200,000. @ n 501 San Augustin increasingly busy as it gets
St, (800) 361-3360. ∑ visitlaredo.com National Park
closer to the Gulf, the valley
Located on the north bank of feels very different from the n Panther Junction, (432) 477-2251.
the legendary Rio Grande rest of Texas, thanks in part to & ∑ nps.gov/bibe
(or Rio Bravo, as it is known in the lush, temperate climate
Mexico), Laredo is often referred softened by moisture-laden One of the wildest and most
to as the “Gateway to Mexico.” breezes. Numerous roadside isolated corners of the US, this
It operates two international stands sell bags of grapefruits diverse park covers 801,000 acres
bridges to Mexico and is hence and bunches of red chili (324,154 ha) of southwest Texas.
one of the principal US ports of peppers, while convoys of The name “Big Bend” comes from
entry into Mexico. trucks lumber past warehouses the 90-degree turn made by the
Located north of the Rio and factories on both sides Rio Grande as it carves its way
Grande, the original center of of the river. toward the Gulf of Mexico
Laredo has been well preserved The region’s story from through the volcanic rock of
around the historic San Augustin border banditry to bilateral the San Vicente and Sierra del
Plaza. Here, the intriguing trade is traced with permanent Carmen Mountains. Ranging
Republic of the Rio Grande and changing exhibits at the from 1,500-ft- (457-m-) deep river
Museum is housed in a building Harlingen Arts and Heritage canyons along the Rio Grande
that once served as the Capitol Museum, while numerous to the pine-forested Chisos
of the short-lived independent parks try to protect the region’s Mountains, Big Bend offers a
republic that in 1840 included varied natural heritage. The complete experience of the
southern Texas and the three 525-acre (212-ha) Sabal Palm rivers, mountains, canyons, and
northernmost states of Mexico. Audubon Sanctuary preserves deserts that define the American
The museum traces Laredo’s role the last stand of the stumpy Southwest. These contrasts in
under six different national flags. native Sabal palm trees, topo graphy have created a

E Republic of the Rio Grande
Museum
1005 Zaragoza St. Tel (956) 727-3840.
Open 9am–4pm Tue–Sat.
Closed public hols. & 7
∑ webbheritage.com

t Rio Grande Valley
n FM 1015 Expressway 83, Welasco,
(956) 968-2102.
Stretching along the Rio Grande
for 200 miles (322 km) between
Laredo and the Gulf of Mexico,
the Rio Grande Valley is a
bustling corridor of agricultural,
commercial, and retirement
communities all jumbled
together in a complicated Fascinating rock formations at Big Bend National Park
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp490–91

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm