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Here's hoping this insider guide to Laughlin Air Force Base, Del Rio, TX, will help ease your transition to this new assignment. Read on for all the insider tips, favorites, and local gems.
Churches near Laughlin Air Force Base:
These are churches with good, solid Biblical teaching and a place where you would meet other military members and their families:
Recreation near Laughlin Air Force Base:
There are several amazing recreation opportunities and local gems near Laughlin Air Force Base in the Del Rio, TX area and surrounding areas.
Lake Amistad is incredibly beautiful! Crystal clear water and cool temperatures. There are ample opportunities for boating. Laughlin’s Outdoor Recreation rents out boats, kayaks, and paddle boards. There are some cliffs you can jump off of (not sure that is officially sanctioned for safety – FYI). The lake is so large that it looks like an ocean when you are looking out of one side. A large portion of it is in Mexican waters – so watch out where you are going. There is phenomenal bass fishing on Lake Amistad with all sorts of fishing competitions each year. There are several local guide services that could teach you a lot.
Seminole Canyon – you can see some ancient rock paintings. Bring water – it is HOT!
San Felipe Springs
San Felipe Springs is on the way to downtown from the Air Base (on the left – along Hwy 90). Clear and cool waters – fun to float down and then walk back up and float down again. My kids used to enjoy jumping off the bridge in various locations (again not sure that is approved). There are several locations with rope swings. You can enter from behind Memo’s restaurant and float from there down to the bridge off Hwy 90)
Big Bend is about 3.5 hours drive but an amazing place to check out – lots of diverse terrain and some parts of it are so high in altitude that it is a nice break from hot temperatures of Del Rio. There are not too many campgrounds in the National Park, so plan ahead if you want to camp. Outdoor Recreation at Laughlin has lots of camping gear you can rent – we even rented the RV one time.
McDonald Observatory is highly recommeneded - attend their Star Party: Enjoy night sky constellation tours in the Helen S. Martin Star Amphitheater which also allows views of the celestial objects with telescopes. Star parties are 2 hours in length (and it is usually cold). Fort Davis is interesting to check out while you are there – It was a frontier outpost with a good bit of history (both pre and post-Civil War).
Kickapoo Cavern State Park
Stuart Bat Cave, located in Kickapoo Cavern State Park, is a spring-summer home for about 1 million Mexican free-tailed bats. Bats are here from mid-February to as late as mid-October. Bat flights are often spectacular. There are some nice hikes here and you can go down into the cavern as part of a hike (it is dark and very undeveloped).
Floating Down the Rio Grande River
You can also rent tubes from outdoor recreation and take a nice long float down the Rio Grande River. You’ll be floating in between the US and Mexico, be careful to stay on the US side. Cold water!
Upstagers
Upstagers is a local acting group that puts on quarterly shows in the Paul Poag theater that are pretty good.
Little Del Rio has a winery! You can rent it out for private functions.
Enjoy the cool waters of the Fork Clark Spring Fed Pool located in Bracketville
Hunting
There is great hunting in the area.
Annual Events to Look Forward to Near Laughlin Air Force Base:
· Wild Game Dinner – (early December) fundraiser for the town – get to sample all sorts of WILD GAME – Venison, Wild Boar, Elk, etc.
· Annie’s Dance Studio: Puts on the Nutcracker in conjunction with the Firehouse every year. It’s a huge community event.
· The Bull Riding RODEO in late April each year. Quite interesting and fun. Some vendors sell food and drinks. It is very entertaining. Make sure you sport your Western gear!
Interesting Shops Near Laughlin Air Force Base:
· Brown Bag Deli & the adjoining clothing store (only open for lunch). The daily lunch special is really good.
· True Value– Had a really nice store within it that sells wedding gifts and personalized gifts to give people as going away presents.
· Shops downtown on Main Street
· Jewelry store we trust: Robert’s Jewelers. The owner has nice things and engraves her shop. I bought several pewter-type trays that I had engraved at Janie’s shop.
· Raspa King – Frozen Icees with many flavors
· Looking for some fancy shoes that are cheap and beautiful but really uncomfortable? There are several shops in the Plaza Del Sol “mall”.
· Other shops in the “mall” that are decent (keep in mind this isn’t a real mall): Marshall’s, Ross, JCPenny, Ulta
· There is a 8 theater movie theater along the back of the mall.
Restaurants (local restaurants) near Laughlin Air Force Base:
Cripple Creek Steakhouse - Yummy steak and an awesome sampler plate with duck and steak. Reservation is necessary!
Manuel's Steakhouse -one of the oldest restaurants in town.
Memo's Mexican - Good solid Mexican – has a nice San Felipe viewing area out back.
Blue Oasis Bar and Grill - Good American food varieties – great burgers. Sports bar atmosphere.
Fragola's Catering is Phenomenal. I had her cater Bryan’s retirement lunch. She also does single-service meals you can buy. Check her out on Facebook. It’s really affordable and delicious.
Lou's Woodfire Pizza - (yummy NY Style pizza)
Restaurants (not local but still good) near Laughlin Air Force Base:
· Rudy’s
· Texas Roadhouse
· Chick-fil-A
· Starbucks
· Panda Express
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