#45 Hildalgo Pump House 1-11-09

On Sunday, after we went to church we took a ride to Hildalgo to tour the old Hildalgo Pump house. This was the first water pumped out of the Rio Grande River for irrigation. Originally there were two smoke stacks and the steam engines were fired by wood. Later they were replaced with gas powered engines. Big ones!!Below are the two big intake pipes. The water is the intake canal, not the Rio Grande River. The Rio Grande flooded in 1930 and moved away from the pump house, so in order to get water they dug a canal from the river.

Each year the pump house is decorated with "snow villages." Below is only one of many. This one you can walk right up to it.

The village below has a working tram. It was so cute. They keep the snow villages up until the end of January. Which was nice because we were so busy we didn't get to see the little villages until almost the middle of January.

Right outside of the pump house is the the border betwen Mexico and USA. Right where they are building the "wall." It is quite a project.

Lots of heavy equipment are used and are still working. The wall is being built 1 1/2 miles inland from the border. I guess that will be where the border patrol will patrol.

Above is Frank standing by part of the unfinished wall. Below is a picture with Frank and I so you can see how tall it is and how big it is. (And how ugly!)