Passing through El Paseo, population 650,000, our first impression was an absolutely beautiful Texas State visitor’s center.....a great resource for all we want to see.
Welcome to Texas!!Restroom buildings are multi-purpose here!!Rattler Bomber Replica in the welcome center
In El Paso itself we saw areas of houses that were, let’s say, less than moderate. However, We didn’t see one single bit of graffiti anywhere. There is a lot of road reconstruction here and the new freeways are actually architecturally beautiful.......In the 400 miles we have travelled into Texas......still not a speck of graffiti. I find that amazing. So unlike LA ! Graffiti is an art form I don’t particularly appreciate.
A few facts about the Lone Star State...it became the 28th state in the union in 1845 after becoming a stand alone country, The Republic of Texas. Texas was segregated until the 1960’s. Coming from Southern California, that is a piece of history I find difficult to comprehend. It was predominately agriculture and ranching until the discovery of oil in 1901. The speed limit on I-10 is 80 miles an hour. We settle in at 65 because we are towing.
The first night out, we stopped at a rest stop on the highway. Because we were in the middle of no where, with no ambient light, the night sky was spectacular!!!! Pluto, Orion, the Big Dipper, the Milky way.....things we have been able to identify since 3rd grade...they really are there, the difference being, I could really see them. We were told that many of the people that move to Las Cruces do so to star gaze.
Doug and I tried to eliminate the noise that night from the big trucks that seemed to come by frequently....we brought the slides in to plug the hole in the coach and I could only find one ear plug.......result....a fitful nights sleep. Every time I rolled over, I had to switch the ear plug to the other ear and when I had to get up the bathroom, I had Doug’s sleeping legs to crawl over. At 70 the stiffness settles in about 30 minutes after you lay down...you get the picture.
The scenery for the last 400 miles has be bleak with remnants of the oil industry, farming and ranching.....very flat with little color...except for some wild flowers that are starting to show their pretty heads. Comparing this to the drive between Sacramento and the Grapevine......it makes the Sacramento jaunt look like Disneyland. Speaking of heads...I haven’t washed my hair for three days. I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and thought to myself “You look like Albert Einstein minus the IQ.
Bonny’s hair this morning!
Speaking of IQ.....Doug is my go to guy. He is smarter than Siri and tells much better stories. We really never get bored or run out of things to discuss....we are still pretty early in this adventure...day 9 out of 110.
Tonight we spent the night in a bleak RV park off the highway, but next to the railroad tracks. It is a combination of junk yard and RV hookups with pull-throughs (didn’t have to unhook the Jeep) We had a yummy dinner of baby back ribs and an artichoke, fresh biscuits, and chocolate chip cookies...I do cook well on the road. We settled down to the sound of Soft Rock and a good book...waiting for the thunderstorm that was forecasted. I am reading The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. Doug and I have also been listening to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. What a gift of describing the minutia of life. Do you think our grand children would be as enthralled by the antics of a beetle in church or a purchased prized tick?
A few facts about the Lone Star State...it became the 28th state in the union in 1845 after becoming a stand alone country, The Republic of Texas. Texas was segregated until the 1960’s. Coming from Southern California, that is a piece of history I find difficult to comprehend. It was predominately agriculture and ranching until the discovery of oil in 1901. The speed limit on I-10 is 80 miles an hour. We settle in at 65 because we are towing.
The first night out, we stopped at a rest stop on the highway. Because we were in the middle of no where, with no ambient light, the night sky was spectacular!!!! Pluto, Orion, the Big Dipper, the Milky way.....things we have been able to identify since 3rd grade...they really are there, the difference being, I could really see them. We were told that many of the people that move to Las Cruces do so to star gaze.
Doug and I tried to eliminate the noise that night from the big trucks that seemed to come by frequently....we brought the slides in to plug the hole in the coach and I could only find one ear plug.......result....a fitful nights sleep. Every time I rolled over, I had to switch the ear plug to the other ear and when I had to get up the bathroom, I had Doug’s sleeping legs to crawl over. At 70 the stiffness settles in about 30 minutes after you lay down...you get the picture.
The scenery for the last 400 miles has be bleak with remnants of the oil industry, farming and ranching.....very flat with little color...except for some wild flowers that are starting to show their pretty heads. Comparing this to the drive between Sacramento and the Grapevine......it makes the Sacramento jaunt look like Disneyland. Speaking of heads...I haven’t washed my hair for three days. I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and thought to myself “You look like Albert Einstein minus the IQ.
