The Park organized a tour of a local Aloe Vera Plant including lunch - so off we go!
Although the aloe vera plant closely resembles a cactus or agave plant, it is actually a member of the lily family. The sticky, mucous gel in the center of the thick leaves is an ingredient in hundreds of consumer products.
Sigrist got into the aloe vera growing business almost by accident. His parents retired to the valley to escape the harsh winters of northwestern Missouri in the Seventies. Initially they went into the mobile-home-park business, but his mother's dry skin problems led to the use of aloe vera for its curative properties.
Sigrist decided he wanted to try his hand at growing aloe vera, and borrowed $500 to rent five acres of farmland outside of Mercedes, Texas. His first crop of $200's worth of plants netted him $2,500. He was hooked on the economical value of the plant as well as the medicinal value.
His mother still gives tours and runs a small gift shop of products at the farm.
Interesting centerpieces - actual resin coated frogs. What did they do? Drop them in a bucket of resin and pulled them out in the various poses and then stuck the appropriate instrument in their hands?
Tour of the aloe vera fields. They harvest the individual spike and leave them on the ground for several hours for the liquid that is a laxative drain out. The guide sliced off the outer skin and the inside was just a completely clear gel.
The owners dog followed the tractor.
The tour ended at the gift shop where his 90'ish mom gave an information tour. I missed most of it because I was chatting with her husband who makes sand bottle paintings using naturally colored sand they found over the years (except the green which they can no longer find because houses and shopping centers were built on their supply!
