El Paso

It was on impulse that we left Las Cruces, NM and headed south, back to Texas.  El Paso was calling. Perhaps it was Bucky's continued yearning for BBQ.  My yearning was left behind at Jack's in Nashville.  For me, nothing matched our friend Nate's pulled pork in Talkeetna.  I was done searching for the perfect pork or brisket.  But, such was not the case with Bucky.  As we moved deeper into the world of Mexican food, I sensed his fear in leaving the land of barbecued beef,  having not yet experienced the BEST Texas had to offer.  I think he missed the "best" when he looked at the Atlas and didn't include Austin in our travels.  It was with regret that I folded up my lawn chair and said goodbye to our neighbor on his trike in Sunny Acres.  How could I know that a 55+ RV community would be so pleasant, having the nicest private showers and bathrooms I've ever experienced.

                                     Our neighbor, Bob on his trike facing the beautiful Organ Mountains.

The mountains surrounding Las Cruses surprised us.  Once again, so little is shown in the Atlas. We enjoyed our stay and thought it would be well worth a second visit.  Sunny Acres offered RV storage for $41 a month.  Now, what would that be like to fly down, spend time here or tour around, park again and fly home????? I'm not sure if it was the mountains, the clean bathrooms or the Rib Cage that impressed Bucky.  How convenient that the Rib Cage, professing to have the best ribs in Las Cruses was just a mere 3 blocks away from Sunny Acres!  Better yet, Bucky parked along the curb, ran in to order, hurried back, fixed our cocktails and we settled comfortably into our mobile living room enjoying the mountain view.  Within minutes, the Rib Cage waitress knocked on the cabin door carrying our dinner.  Moving just a few feet  placed us at the dinette where we enjoyed take-out mesquite smoked ribs, eaten in.

During the 50 mile drive from Las Cruses to El Paso, the Organ Mountains of NM melded into the Franklin Mts. shadowing El Paso, again, an unexpected surprise.  Living in Vermont, we have experienced an international border, but nothing like the Mexican border.  Without a clear understanding as to where the Rio Grande was as we headed into El Paso I commented, "Look at that hillside, it looks just like Mexico."  Brightly colored, flat roofed houses, closely gathered together on the hillside to my right.  Focused on the colorful house, my eyes overlooked the high fence that lie in front.  It wasn't until we left El Paso on the same road we had come in on, that I saw the fence and several Border Patrol parked along the river.  When I saw the river and how very narrow it was, it seemed as though an easy swim by even an unskilled swimmer could land one in the US.

Taking pictures as we spend along was difficult, but, this is Mexico through the fence.  So close, but for some so far.

We easily parked the RV outside the City Plaza which that day was hosting a bowling tournament, which explained the small groups of people that we kept passing wearing matching colored shirts.  
At first, I thought flight attendants then I saw the "welcome bowlers" sign.

 The hills close to El Paso

                                       Always looking for interesting architechture.

The brochure we obtained at the Texas welcome center showed El Paso street as the location for shopping downtown.  We decided to take Fisher with us, giving her some exercise.  Upon returning to the RV, she showed her disapproval with our decision by sideways digging on our bed.  This is something she only does when trying to alleviate discomfort.  She does this by sliding on her side while making violent jerking movements with her front paws, as if to exorcise the demons within. Once on El Paso Street, I regretted my decision of taking French instead of Spanish in high school.  Growing up so close to the Canadian border, the thought was that French would come in handy.  It never did! 
El Paso Street was a total surprise, if it were not for knowing that we hadn't crossed the Rio Grande.....we could have been in Mexico!

Fisher attracted a lot of attention.  Folks spoke to us in Spanish pointing to the dog, to which I said, "thank you", not having a clue what was said.  Every child wanted to pet her and one toddler ran from her mother saying, "woof, woof" with a Spanish accent.

                                                                        Why the masks?

                                 Mannequins the likes of which I had never seen, butts facing the sidewalk!

Several times I said to Bucky, "I feel like I'm in Mexico."  If I had looked more closely at the map, I would have seen that the families, each pushing at least one stroller laden with one or two children plus purchases, had just walked a few blocks into the US after crossing the Sante Fe Bridge from Juarez, Mexico.

Leaving El Paso and Texas, I was surprised by Bucky's choice for dinner.  The sign said Hawaiian Barbeque. Now, that ought to be different!