I can't remember exactly why I knew of Del Rio Texas. At only 48000 people, it ranks low on the list of Texan cities by population, but it is the star of the empty space that's above Laredo, beside San Antonio and not quite as far out as Big Bend/Marfa.

It's also in my beloved No Country For Old Men as the setting of the movie's key motel, but I can't remember them referencing Del Rio enough for that to be the reason I'd heard of it.

Ignoring how I knew about Del Rio, it was on the list of Texas places I wanted to see regardless. Now needing somewhere to go for a few days to make this Houston jaunt worth it, this southwestern Texan city seemed like an appropriate destination.

Houston to San Antonio took about 3 hours and I was feeling good as I rolled past while San Antonio radio played a different, excellent Puff Daddy song that they must've had the rights to. Another 2.5 hours would bring me to Del Rio, arriving after dusk and pulling up to the local grocery store, then to the local Whispering Palms Inn I had reserved.

Del Rio had some grimy choices for accommodations, but I spent an extra $20 and ended up with a room that was perfectly fine. The proprietor was even nice enough to strike up some conversation, asking if I would be going over to Mexico tomorrow since that's one the best things to do in Del Rio. Contemplating if maybe I was walking into a trap just like Llewelyn Moss in Del Rio, I decided against telling the guy at the motel my plans.

In the morning I continued further west, just over to the Amistad Reservoir because the internet said that it was a good area for birds.

Not seeing much besides American Coots at the supposed birding spot at Amistad, I did finally see a Pyrrhuloxia (or desert cardinal) near the marina of the local air force base.

That was enough birding though as it was already getting into the day and the temperature was rising. The major plan of all this travel was partly to see a new and exciting city in Del Rio, but also to weigh again going over to Mexico.

Here at Del Rio the border town was the medium-sized Ciudad Acuña, a city which looking online prior to this trip, appeared just as safe as the city of Mexicali that I crossed over into back in 2010. That last time was so exciting, so short and so safe, that it left me longing for another chance to walk across into Mexico ever since.

Today I would have a bit of a walk (about 1.8km/1.1mi each way) and where I couldn't drive into Mexico with my rental car, I had to use the system they have here in Del Rio where a local taxi stand/car dealership allows you to park for $3/day and/or takes you over for $25-$50. Thankfully the guy wasn't too upset with my desire to walk and exiting his trailer, soon enough I was looking back and saying goodbye to my rental car. I could only hope $3 in business was enough to ensure this guy wouldn't make my car disappear somewhere out here in the desert.

Temperatures were already in the 90s even though it was only March. As I pushed forward and tried to get out of the sun, I ferociously guzzled my water while only seeing two other people on foot; two women coming back from Mexico walking on the other side of the bridge.

Cars didn't seem to be too shocked with the sight of me crossing the border though, which I took as a good sign that I wasn't that out of place.

The majority of the walk was made up of feeder roads and the giant expanse of the American customs plaza. Once I finally paid my $0.75 to cross the bridge, I saw the actual, measly separation between the two countries here: the mighty Rio Grande down to about 100m or 330ft wide.

(No Country For Old Men aside: They filmed Llewelyn walking across an "international" bridge in Las Vegas New Mexico, but if that grassy island doesn't look like the spot where he throws the briefcase full of money from the bridge!)

Up ahead I could see traffic veering left and continuing down a busy roadway while high jersey barriers guided a pathway to the right. I wondered about the envisioned grittiness, beggars and graffiti I thought I would see just up ahead, but I was seeing none of it as I approached a fine Welcome To Mexico sign and a shiny border crossing building.

Of course I wouldn't be going in any building or subjecting myself to any border controls. Entering Mexico was a simple matter of continuing to walk until I went through one set of turnstiles. I was now on the streets of Ciudad Acuña and free to make my own decisions in regards to safety and how far I would walk into Mexico.

Considering my high alert level, it was nice that the first thing I came to was a spotless city plaza. I wasn't immediately into the depths of buildings and alleyways, but rather in a big open area where the only people I could see were a couple of city workers picking up trash. Not exactly shady desperados.

I started walking west, planning to follow the grid of streets to create a square that lead me back to the bridge in short order. I was going to expand this square depending on how safe I felt.

This first area used to be quite the tourist spot, but the drug cartels and strict security measures following 9/11 have cut into incredible amounts of Mexico's tourist dollar. Ciudad Acuña was hit even harder when a sheriff was killed nearby & the local Del Rio police chief stated that all Americans needed to stay out of Mexico. This crippled places like Ma Crosby's (seen above).

As I stood here, I was only enamored with Ma Crosby's because of Steve's boy Sidney Crosby. It turns out Crosby's is a famous and historic cantina & even mentioned in George Strait's famous Blame It On Mexico. Sadly I found a silent ghost town here because Ma Crosby's has been closed for over 5 years (after being open for 87 years).

At the sight of a convenience store, I made a left and headed in there to partake in the freedom of being able to walk around with an adult beverage. Since I would have to drive later, I couldn't wait to have a beer in the line back to America like last time, but I still enjoy being able to have a single beer in the street, unlike under Trump or Justin's totalitarian regimes.

It was then back to the Ma Crosby's street, where stores were only just opening and a few places were garnering my attention. Finding one with knockoff NFL ponchos, I made a plan to return and take money out of NFL Commissioner and general putz Roger Goddell's pocket a bit later.

Continuing along, I was three blocks away and already wondering what the deal was with this Canada store. And while I was hoping for collectable hockey pucks or poutine, there was no way I was going to be able to figure out this store's purpose. The interior was gutted down to the bones & you could even "cut through" the store to the back alley if you wanted. I thought about cutting through to up my urban exploration cred, but at the last moment I noticed some dudes working inside and stayed on the sidewalk where I belonged.

By now I was feeling much more comfortable. No one was glaring at me, let alone batting an eye at me. Even as I clumsily bought some water and was lost at the Spanish instructions from the clerk, it didn't even cause a ripple amongst the 10 other Oxxo gas store patrons. I also figured out that the numerous currency exchange places had the same posted rate & would seem to give me a fair deal. This allowed me to abandon trying to use the Scotiabank ATM, to instead exchange cool, American greenbacks for some colourful pesos. It was time to get something to eat.

I'd come across some restaurants by now, but they were of the variety of giant 2-story buildings with next to no windows and a mystery interior. Thinking about my nonexistent Spanish and the inability to look inside and size up the scene, I kept walking for a handful of city blocks.

Growing tired of looking for food, I could smell something good even with my terrible sense of smell. Through some open windows, I could see giant, steamy grills and about 4 men standing around big piles of shredded chicken. In addition, about 5 dudes were all standing or sitting down eating tacos and this place was bumping compared to everything else I had seen.

Feeling good, I wandered inside.

It's no surprise that the first guy that came over spoke in Spanish, but after he realized I don't even know how to say "I'm sorry I don't speak Spanish", he gave me the one minute index finger, then went and grabbed another guy who spoke pretty good English. He told me to sit down and that I would be taken care of, and things seemed to be coming together. So far, I was happy I wandered in here.

And if I was happy just from this scene of all the locals standing around the cooking chicken while this guy took care of me in a quiet little hole-in-the-wall, boy did everything go through the roof once I had some tacos. While I'm not usually much for authentic Mexican food, these tacos were out of this world and I hurriedly ordered 4 more. In the end, I ate 8 and the chicken was so juicy, the tacos so fresh and soft, the sauce so tangy and complimentary.

I thanked the man profusely & dreamed of somehow ending up back in Ciudad Acuña one day.

It was now time to meander back and pick up that Kansas City Chiefs poncho along the way. I stopped in a craft store and another trinket store, feeling little pressure in either place to buy anything. One last trinket store was open and after I wandered inside, no one was around and it getting dark near the back. Creeped out a bit, I figured it was time to stop photographing the plentiful bald eagles and get out of there.

After taking a picture of myself in the Mexican streets wearing my KC poncho in the heat, it was time to get back to America.

This was another great time walking over the border into Mexico. It was even better this time since I could wander further and felt more comfortable, but it was also simply so cool to explore another border city like this.

I was just about to head back when I took a second to exchange my last pesos and appreciate the beautiful & smooth-looking ledges in the local plaza. Just as I was running my hands over them and looking at the spots while savouring one last minute in Mexico, a homeless-looking man came over and took a path right through my personal space, babbling something at me in Spanish with wide, threatening eyes, before storming off.

It was funny that this happened right as I was leaving, when if it happened at the start, it could have easily kept me to exploring only 3 streets like back in Mexicali.

I was thankful for my time in Ciudad Acuña and kept it moving.

There were a ton of cars waiting at the border - and this border has awful Google reviews because of how slow it is - but I was on foot & the only person on foot in the midday heat.

I pictured American border trouble again, envisioning a border guard wondering why some random dude who lives in Newfoundland was walking across this random crossing...but there was none of that. The border guard was a young, southern fellow in his mid 30s, who asked about 5 questions, scanned my poncho with an x-ray machine, then sent me on my way.

I'd ran into the Del Rio taxi guy in Mexico, which was quite startling when someone recognized me in Ciudad Acuña. This worked out though, because that made us friends and prevented him from selling my car into the black market from his weird car lot out in the middle of nowhere.

It was now time to explore the bits of Del Rio I missed when I rushed out to birds and Mexico this morning. I headed right downtown to get the Val Verde County Courthouse, which was extra fun because there an election going on & sheriffs peering at me as I walked alone on the grass towards the courthouse doors.

There were also candidates campaigning on the sidewalks surrounding the county square, which hindered my interest in the abandoned church that sits right across from the courthouse. The church was under renovation but with some apparent ingresses, but also 15 feet from some candidate yelling from his folding table about policies affecting Val Verde County residents. I had to laugh at this new way that the world was conspiring to keep me out of the buildings.

I went for a brief walk around downtown Del Rio and it was pretty ho-hum. I could see myself returning to Del Rio because I like notable, desolate Texan towns, but Del Rio also had a pretty good headstart towards being a city I would love...and I was just lukewarm towards it.

(No Country aside: The motel road got points because it felt like the motel road from No Country. Then again, it was just a wide road with old motels, poor lighting and fast food signs. Down here, a road like this is not unique to Del Rio.)

Leaving Del Rio, I had enough time for one more destination, so I followed the Rio Grande south towards the next county seat of Eagle Pass.

Highway 277 was quite empty here, but there was some photogenic buildings and pecan stands near Quemado. It's just that without proper research I didn't realize Quemado would be the only village/town I would go through on my hour's drive south. This lack of research also meant I missed out on some amazing empty streets & buildings in Radar Base Texas. Clearly I need to up my pre-trip research.

In Eagle Pass, I found a downtown that had elements of old Texas buildings, but all of the businesses felt very much like I was back in Mexicali or a busier version of Ciudad Acuña. The great old buildings were set back with ugly storefronts though, leading me to find Eagle Pass somewhat forgettable.

Eagle Pass's Maverick County Courthouse wasn't forgettable though, as this 1885 Richardson Romanesque beauty stands right near the centre of downtown.

The only problem is that Eagle Pass replaced this gorgeous courthouse with a more modern structure in 1979.

Taking a busy street out of Eagle Pass, I couldn't help but stop at this abandoned house that looked like it belonged to a movie set with its wide porch, plywood-covered windows, twisted trees and crooked shutters.

I was thinking this might be one of those cases where I wander onto the property and find it more rundown than it looks from the street, but a cop car pulled over just as I was at the property line and put an end to all that. I took my distant picture and returned to my car.

My troubles with the police would continue after leaving Eagle Pass, where after clearing internal highway border patrol, I found a highway that had a max speed of 75mph (120kph) and set my car to a comfortable 81mph (130kph).

Much to my surprise, after an hour of driving 81mph, a cruiser was coming the other way and I wasn't even worried enough to take my car off cruise control - something I immediately regretted as they slammed on their brakes and banged a u-turn with the cherries now flashing. Great.

Everything in the end would be fine. I acted hokey and puzzled that 6mph was speeding, offering up "oh you mean like, when the speed limit is 75, it means 75 officer?" The hardass woman was unimpressed and went back with her second in command, while a third cop stood by the car and chit-chatted.

Now especially since I didn't get a ticket in the end, I had a pretty good time talking with this good ol' boy. He was shocked that very few people have A/C in Newfoundland ("you wouldn't last in Texas without A/C!"), while I was surprised that he grew up about 30 minutes from here and had only been to Eagle Pass once. Apparently the only reason most people go to Eagle Pass is for the casino, something that didn't interest him.

I had plans for a small abandoned building near the city of Hondo, but daylight was fading and my dumb ass forgot to put the point in my GPS (so unprepared!)

Instead it was over to their Medina County Courthouse, where I thought I finally checked off a county after learning that I missed a separate courthouse building in both Del Rio and Eagle Pass. Unfortunately in the case of Hondo, they have an even older county courthouse in Castroville. I was only getting half points for all of these.

Hondo had a really distinctive downtown that looked like the wild west, with a string of 2-story brick buildings and the railway separating it all from the highway. I was highly interested in exploring the area and maybe grabbing some sit-down dinner, but I had to get going and only had time for Taco Bell in Hondo and then hitting the road towards San Antonio.

Passing through San Antonio brought about another highlight as the roadway gained elevation and I could see out over the plains in every direction but north (the city was to the north). Slowly cruising through at less than 81mph, there was a distant thunderstorm going on, where off in the distance a lightning bolt would shoot out over the plains every 10 or 20 seconds. As someone who loves the wide expanses and distant horizons of plains country, plus distant thunderstorms that don't threaten my safety, I was in heaven.

My flight the next day wasn't until the afternoon, so I grabbed a motel in Columbus so I could explore one last Texan city, even if just briefly in the morning. While I had thoughts of maybe spending more time out by Eagle Pass or Hondo, I couldn't complain about how Columbus had me up at sunrise, with the golden glow of early light setting ablaze the dome and upper reaches of their Colorado County Courthouse.

Also, as far as I can tell this is the only Colorado County Courthouse, so I finally checked off a county on this trip.

The drive to the Houston Airport was uneventful and the only excitement came when I made myself go up to a random guy because I thought he was Krist Novoselic from Nirvana - and as it turns out, the guy wasn't Krist Novoselic from Nirvana. At least I wasn't that embarrassed because he said he wished he was, haha.

Another good Texas trip. I can't wait to go back.