50 Stops, Over 5000 Miles In 150 Days

So, we have been on the road now for five and a half months and hit some travel milestones above we wanted to share.

Our last stop in Texas was El Paso for a three day stint. It took over five hours to get there, so we stopped on the side of the road for lunch on the way. One of the benefits of RV travel. That gave us 2 full days to explore. We stopped at a gas station when we got there and the woman pumping gas next to us said that a few days ago three truckloads of illegals were lined-up in this parking lot. Ha! That made Kathy wonder what this visit would be like, but it turned out we actually enjoyed El Paso much more than expected… and the people too!

We took off on a scenic tour of the city. Literally, it was called the Scenic Drive. The homes at the base of the drive were very-very pretty. The prettiest homes we saw there during our visit. A lot of them were of Spanish architectural design. Haciendas, with wonderful views!

Murchinson Roger Park was the first overlook stop on Scenic Dr. It was a magnificent view of El Paso and the material, signs, and memorials posted about the city were enlightening and intriguing. The first five pics below are from there.

After, we hit this historical district but everything was closed since it was a Sunday. Then, we went to the Chamizal National Memorial Cultural Center. This space memorializes the treaty signed between the US and Mexico of disputed land that divided the two countries. It symbolizes that with diplomacy and open communications, that differences can be resolved peacefully. And that’s what President Kennedy and President Mateos of Mexico did in the Sixties. They worked it out peacefully. We got our national parks passport book stamped which is always an added plus. Yes, some of these national historical sites can be stamped in your national parks passport book too.

Then we drove around the city. We cruised dowtown which was mostly marketed to the Mexican and Hispanic communities. It was cool to drive-by but we weren’t interested in shopping there. Not because of the ethnic divide by any means but it was a bit run down and tired looking. We also drove by the wall that divided The United States and Mexico. It was long and high and well staffed with Border Patrol cars every mile or so. The third picture below is of Mexico on the other side of the Wall. Sorry it’s not clearer. We were moving. Downtown was also home to Chase Field ( home of the Arizona Diamondbacks) and the Phoenix Suns Arena Which Brad enjoyed driving by.

We hit our best Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was only fives minute from our RV Park. Great food, wonderful value, good service. Fun eats!

The next day we went to Concordia Cemetery. One of the oldest cemeteries in Texas Dating back to the 1840’s. Eternal home to Mexican Presidents, Wild West Bandits and Old West Lawmen. We couldn’t find but one famous one. The darn place was so old there was no way to locate grave sights besides just driving around. And it was huge. 65,000, old, dead people. We did find John Wesley Hardin’s gravesite. JWH was a Texas outlaw who claimed to have killed 42 men. Only 27 murders could be attributed to him so he wasn’t as baddass as he claimed. No presidents or famous lawmen were found. We went to the Magoffin Home next. It was an Adobe built house by Joseph Magoffin who was a very successful businessman, polititician, civic leader and pioneer to El Paso. At one point he had 6000 acres that he sold off and then his other family members after he passed donated this historical landmark. Our tour guide had a great personality and a passion for El Paso. We found out her late husband was from Bridgeport, Ct. She toured us throughout the whole house. She was coo and it was cool!

We hit a great barbecue joint for dinner. Famous Dave’s BBQ was rock’n. We went to famous Dave’s in Charlotte, NC and had a good experience before. Great ribs, great pulled pork, good brisket and smoked chicken and the accompaniments rocked( except the fries, we left them), no need filling up on fries. The platter below, by the way, was for two.

Heading out the next morning for a one day stop in New Mexico. As we make our way west to Arizona. Texas was a wonderful state. We really-really enjoyed the cities, the towns, the food, the people, the history, the culture and the diversity and differences from one town to another. Texas proud!

Thanks for reading down this far. Upcoming tales from Tucson! Peace, love and Family. Thanks for following our journey. Kathy and Brad