We passed through El Paso. I’m not sure what I was expecting, maybe spacious haciendas and eye-catching sombreros. But the El Paso I saw as we drove through on Highway 10 was not one of historical novels; it looked like any other American city. Maybe the Spanish villas of my imagination were tucked away in another part of town.
The Rio Grande (Big River) was also a disappointment. I like Wikipedia’s statements: “Despite its name and length, the Rio Grande is not navigable by ocean-going ships, nor do smaller passenger boats or cargo barges use it as a route. It is barely navigable at all, except by small boats in a few places. The water of the Rio Grande is over-appropriated: that is, there are more users for the water than there is water in the river.”
The Rio Grande marks the boundary between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The difference between the two countries was amazing and more than a little sad.
Once past El Paso, we noticed the 80 MPH speed limit, but did not go that fast ourselves. We had a mandatory stop at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol checkpoint. We drove beside mile after mile of Texas oil fields, a.k.a. Texas tea and black gold! At night, the oil rigs were lit up with like white beacons on the horizon. As we neared Sweetwater, we watched the hundreds, and perhaps thousands of blinking red lights atop towering wind turbines. Sweetwater’s claim to fame is as the Wind Energy Capital.
We boon docked (Translation: no water, no electricity) at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Abilene.
No comments:
Post a Comment