Rio GrandE

Rio Grande 

High on my checklist of “must see” things during our southwest adventure earlier this year was being on the shores of the Rio Grande. And for all those who are unaware, as I used to be, it is redundant to say, “The Rio Grande River”, for translated, you’re saying, “the big river river”. Early Spanish explorers, in the 1500’s, originally named the Rio Grande, “El Rio Bravo del Norte” or “the fierce river of the north”. My understanding is that many in Mexico still refer to it as “Rio Bravo”. 

I wanted to visit the Rio Grande due to its storied history, and whilst not as romanticized as the Mississippi River, this principal river for our southwest folks is very much part of their heritage. Visions of General Zachery Taylor maneuvering US military troops during the Mexican/American war across the river is what held my interest in “being there” at the Rio Grande. 

Previously, I never realized its length, fourth longest in the United States, at 1896 miles and that it is the vital water source for seven arid and semi-arid states in Mexico and the United States. However, at only one fifth the amount of water, the Rio Grande would be nothing without the neighboring Colorado River. And this is actually what I saw – nothing! Driving into El Paso, the GPS was indicating a substantial river was on my left. I asked my wife if she could see any water beyond the commercial and residential landscape of the city as I could only catch glimpses whilst driving. She saw nothing either. “Maybe we need to get closer to the riverbank?”, I suggested. My navigator advised that in a couple miles, I would be turning left and crossing a bridge that spans the river. So, I took solace that I would reach my desired destination soon and I should bide my time and concentrate on the traffic. Crossing the bridge over the Rio Grande, it's the picture above that proved to be our view of the “Big River”, or more accurately, the “Big Dry Riverbed”! 

Disappointed to say the least, nevertheless, we carried on to our intended destination, the Zin Valle Vineyards. It was at this winery we met the affable owner, Ryan Poulos, and the winery cat “Truffles”. Ryan admitted that he was the establishment’s owner in name only as Truffles was the actual boss, which comes to no surprise to any devoted cat lovers. Truffles checked us out at the tasting bar and approved that we could be given a sample of the vineyard’s selections. We chose a lovely pinot noir to drink with our charcuterie that we enjoyed in a warm park-like setting on a sunny February afternoon.  

But I had questions for Ryan.  

Why did I just drive into El Paso, Texas fifteen minutes ago and now I’m supposedly in New Mexico?  

Ryan directed my gaze to the zig zagging white picket fencing just on the other side of a few grape vines that are planted near the tasting room, “That fence line is the Texas/New Mexico border.” 

“Really?” I was surprised to learn that we were in a nook between these two States. My next question: “How do you keep everything so green where everything else around us, for miles, is parched earth?” 

Twenty some years ago, Ryan explained, when his family purchased the vineyard, the previous owner had invested heavily in establishing a well that could irrigate the entire vineyard without having to rely upon local resources, and this was forward thinking at its best. Ryan alluded to a pact between the state governments whereby each year the water of the Rio Grande would be diverted in a systematic method that everyone would receive river water at some point. Ryan mentioned how contentious this process is and answered my next question by stating if I wanted to actually see the Rio Grande, I’d probably have to drive over a hundred miles north. 

No longer parched nor peckish, but refreshed for the next leg of our journey that day, we bid farewell to Ryan and Truffles and the Zin Valle Vineyards, which truly is “where the edge of Texas meets the soul of Tuscany”, and made our way back to the river. Having parked the car, I walked to the bridge over the Rio Grande and got a closer look. It was evident that the bone-dry bed today is only good for folks spinning up sand with their all-terrain farm bikes. And yet, I recalled the Rio Grande not only forming a partial state boundary between Texas and New Mexico, but an international border between Texas and the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. Officially El Paso serves as a border crossing, but from what I was observing, immigrants would simply have to walk across this dry riverbed. 

Here’s where my research has enriched my understanding of the situation. Since the middle of the 20th century, only 20% of the Rio Grande actually reaches its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico, when there is any water flowing at all. Officially, the Rio Grande is over appropriated, mostly due to the voluminous consumption required for irrigating farmland. Confirming what Ryan had told me, the use of the river water belonging to the US is regulated by the Rio Grande Compact, an interstate pact between Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.  

Efforts to manage and conserve the vital water source since 2022 have resulted in work beginning on the El Vado Dam and the Elephant Butte Reservoir creating some storage of the Rio Grande. And yet despite these efforts, reportedly the reservoir is only at 13% capacity. Drought conditions have resulted in cities north, like Albuquerque, which rely heavily on the river as a water source, having run dry for the first time in decades. The area seemed to be getting a reprieve when above average snow falls in 2023 resulted in high river flows, but then tributaries, such as the Jemez River, flooded. When I get to meet my Jemez contact, Paul Sando, again I want to ask him specifically of what he experienced, flood-wise, in 2023. 

Yes, I’ll admit that the dry Rio Grande was one of my disappointments on this trip. I had high hopes and even if I had done more research before embarking on this journey, I probably wouldn’t have believed my eyes when viewing the Rio Grande as a dry riverbed. 

What I truly need is one of Trump’s infamous sharpie pens that he uses to rename things, and yes, I have purposefully referenced the “Gulf of Mexico” in this blog. With one of those pens I could more accurately rename the Rio Grande to be “Rio Nada”, for sadly, there is nothing to see.