Apr 1, 2013 - Alpine to El Paso

This morning we are driving through grassland that is in considerably better shape most of the time than the desert pavement I described yesterday. At least some of the ranchers here have quit overgrazing their land, and it is recovering to be the short-grass prairie it was when the buffalo roamed here. We are still passing through some areas where there is no grass, but at least there is evidence that it CAN recover from the damage we've done to it. We also this morning drove through the caldera left by the Paisano volcano which spewed...

Mar 17, 2013 - Friendship and Food

Today we were able to spend the entire day with a dear and special friend for the first time in five years. We shared about our lives, lied a bit, laughed a lot and reaffirmed a valued friendship. He took us to our kind of restaurant and we proceeded to eat too much of some very tasty food. Mexican shrimp cocktails are out of this world and like nothing we've had before. Linda finally found the flautas she's been craving and I had a very small burrito. Both of us did a nice job of clearing our plates and continue to truly enjoy Mexican...

Feb 21, 2013 - Fort Bliss, Tx (El Paso)

2/21/13, ThursdayToday's drive was a fight against high winds. But we managed it and made it to the Fort Bliss RV Park in the early afternoon. The sign for the day was "Truth or Consequences, New Mexico". "In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio quiz show Truth or Consequences, announced that he would air the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show. Hot Springs won the honor. Edwards visited the town during the first weekend of May for the next fifty years. This event was called "Fiesta" and included a beauty...

Feb 9, 2013 - Day 208 - to El Paso, Texas

We left Whites City just before 10:00 AM after a great breakfast at the Cactus Cafe. The road south through the Guadeloupe Mountains was very steep, at one point, a three mile stretch of 8% grade going down. Garry kept us on the road and again we found ourselves on wide open plains. As we headed south the wind picked up, we found out later that it had gusted to 60 mph, a crosswind that built up Garry's arm muscles keeping it on the road. As we got closer to El Paso we then turned west and headed into the wind. As we approached the north...

Jan 30, 2013 - El Paso, TX

The morning of Jan 30th we decided to leave Fort Stockton real early to take advantage of the no wind conditions which were forcast to pick up later in the day to 25 miles per hour. We were on the road by 6:30 am and the sun was just stsrting to brighten the sky. We were headed to El Paso, TX for a three night stay. On thing we heard about West Texas and the Hill Country was that the main industries were cattle ranching and oil. Traveling during the day you really couldn't see evidence of the oil industry. However, this morning it was still...

Jan 21, 2013 - El Paso, TX

The trip from Carlsbad to El Paso was remarkable because we still find isolated highways in the desert to be fascinating. The trip was about 165 miles. When we got outside Carlsbad there was a sign that said "Next Services 130 miles". It gave me an uncontrollable urge to check my fuel gauge! We took a few pictures along the road for fun. El Paso is the place where the Rio Grande could be safely crossed in colonial times, but I am not sure if it was because of the water or because of the large Spanish military presence that was based here...

Jan 6, 2013 - Off to get oil changed

Jan 6 we drove to Cummins in El Paso to get the motorhome oil changed and had them check some wiring for the tow car because the turn signals weren’t working on the passenger side. They found some bad wiring in the MH. Jack started getting sick again, cough, cough, cough.

Jan 6, 2013 - Arrived El Paso Texas

We always enjoy our visit to El Paso, we really miss our good Friend Polly, she passed away two years ago. We couldn't believe how much the area has grown in two years. I was glad we were able to get a picture of the Thunderbird on the mountain, it depends on how the Sun is hitting the mountain. Made a trip out to Cattleman's Restaurant about 30 miles out in the Desert, had not been there in about 6 years, was disappointed it wasn't open for Lunch, should have called ahead. Stayed here 3 days.

Sep 25, 2012 - The Dentist - Ugh

On September 24, we had an early start (for us) and drove to El Paso. The Rio Grande Valley was a sight to behold - beautifully green our whole drive. The purpose in going to El Paso was for me to get some dental work done. Had that done on the 25th and had to wait a few days for a device to be made and then we were on the road, again, on the 28th.

Apr 18, 2012 - Arrived in El Paso Texas

We departed Tucson this morning heading off to El Paso Texas. It was a nice drive not much to see it seems to be the same old thing sand, scrub brush, heat. Needless to say we are not much the flat desert people. We decided on the way we would stop for the night at Fort Bliss instead of heading to Van Horn. It will just make a little longer day tomorrow. We arrived and parked. We did not even unhook the trailer just put down the stabilizers and pushed out the slides. Tomorrow will be an early start.

Mar 4, 2012 - El Paso, TX

Well, we made it down from the mountains and into the BIG city, El Paso. Nothing like the song... Anyway Joe & Katrina's family live way up the the northeast of town, right on the edge of the desert. Pretty nice, but they just keep on building, lots of houses. Joe works alot, Katrina stays busy with 3 children, 3 dogs, 2 cats (and 3 visitors...).

Feb 29, 2012 - El Paso, Texas

Gained an hour this morning, now we are on Mountain Time. Still flat desert landscape with a few ranches and mountains in the distance. But near Sierra Blanca an abundant amount of giant Yuccas appeared scattered around. Some would have been 12 to 15 feet tall. These will bloom later in March or April, unlike the ones near Brownsville, that were blooming in February. Only went as far as El Paso today, so had time to drive around the city after we registered at the Mission RV Park. El Paso is the largest U.S city bordering on Mexico,...