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Published: December 21st 2008
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Saint Joachim
Mary's father We were on the road at 7:10 so that we could get to El Paso in time to get a doctor's appointment for Nancy's eye checkup. The sunrise was glorious and red this morning. Now we have "Red sky at morning - Sailor take warning". Now, which one do we believe, last night's red sky or this morning's red sky?
Hmmm. The mountains had a rosy glow at first; then the bridges and bushes had a golden glow; then the sky between the clouds turned a most gorgeous turquoise. Later, we went through grasslands with scattered brush two to three feet tall, with an occasional mesquite tree. We saw cattle and water windmills. There were still oilfields, but not as many. We began to see a variety of agave/yucca plants. One was soaptree yucca. At Saragosa, there were plowed fields, pecan orchards, and grass hay. A lot of trains have gone by today. Most of them are trains with only shipping containers - lots of them. We have also been noticing the flatbed semis that go by. They have some interesting loads - large pipes (15 feet across), machinery, chains with each link bigger than Daisy, building supplies, steel I-beams, spools
Saint Anne and Mary
With Joachim, these statues by the door and at the foundation represented the perfect family. of cable, and (this is the best one), airplanes! We went up into some mountains, and by golly, we went into Mountain Time. In the Eastbound lanes, there was a Border Patrol Inspection Station and everybody was stopped. Ahead, we could see El Paso from a long ways off, because of the SMOG! At Fort Hancock, we thought we saw the border wall by the Rio Grande. Rich and I reflected about the use of a wall. We rejoiced when the Berlin Wall fell. Wurely with the modern technology, there are ways to protect the border without a wall - heat- seeking, lasers, satellites, etc. should make a wall old-fashioned and obsolete. Nancy's eye doctor appointment was for 1:30, so we had plenty of time. we went into a big warehouse store that sold Southwestern items. It was a fun store to shop in. Then, after asking a police officer and an ambulance team where a safe place was, we left the trailer at a Wal-Mart parking lot so we could maneuver through the streets with only the pickup. We grabbed a quick bite at Whataburger! The eye doctor said that Nancy's eye was fine and not to worry any
Our Lady of Guadalupe
She was the first saint in the new world, the patron saint of the Americas, appearing to an Indian as a native herself. more. That was a relief! We went back to our little house at Wal-mart and hooked up. As we continued on our way, we enjoyed the beautiful Pueblo-style houses. There were a few tall buildings downtown. There was new construction and lots of roadwork. There was a big, brick , old high school, El Paso High, that Nancy said looked like the high school she and Carol went to in Rochester, New York. Madison High School. Nancy was in 7th grade. (Hi, Terry C.) In a few places, the Interstate was right AT the border. The Rio Grande was a narrow, sandy river bottom with a trickle of water. There was a canal with lots of water, however, right next to it. The houses on the other side in Mexico were very close together. There were several border crossings. Now, passports are required. The AAA guidebook had this note: "The border region has experienced increased drug-related violence in the last year. Visitors should stick to established tourist areas during daylight hours. Avoid the area west of Avenida Juarez as it extends south toward Avenida 16 de Septiembre, especially after dark." Even if we had had our passports with us, there
St. Dominic
A friend of St. Francis' wasn't anything in Mexico that we couldn't do without after that ! Traffic wasn't too bad for 4:15 as we headed out of town. We noticed that the parking lots of stores and malls were filled with shoppers. We also saw several busy trucking company yards. On the way out of El Paso, there was not a Border Patrol Inspection Station Westbound as there had been Eastbound on the way in. There were a lot of huge billboards in a row, like there used to be 40 years ago. Rich commented that they were so ugly, even in a landscape that wasn't all that interesting. We decided to leave the El Paso area because of the smog, and stay overnight in Las Cruces, New Mexico. On the way there, we passed an enormous feed lot for Holstien calves. There must have been 50,000 calves! There were also many acres of pecan trees. We didn't see any deer today at all - alive or dead. There was a possibility for rain this afternoon. We went through a small shower and counted thirty-seven raindrops on the windshield. The sunset was red again. Now what? We pulled in to a beautiful RV resort,
St. Francis of Assissi
He was a good friend of St. Dominic, so together they symbolize friendship. Also, St. Francis is often shown with a skull because he tried to take the fear out of dying. called the Hacienda. It had Southwest architecture in the main building. It had a hot tub and an outdoor fireplace. It had complimentary breakfast like a motel (but we DID pay for it in the camping fees). 😊 The dog exercise area was amazing! It was probably 200 yards long, 15 feet wide, fenced in with stone walls, and gravelled. There were trees every 10 yards or so. Here's the best part! There were motion sensor spot lights so that at night when you walked your dog, it was lighted when you were there, and dark when nobody was there! We were tired from such a long day, so we went to eat at a recommended Mexican restaurant in the tiny town of Mesilla, nearby. It was delicious. On the way back, many houses and businesses had luminarias - even on the rooftops. It was lovely.
We went to sleep thankful for good eyesight and for feeling safe in our travels.
We didn't take any pictures today, so here are some closeups of the San Jose Mission carvings and what they were used to teach.
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Don
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Finally Out of Tejas
Finally! You got through Texas and onto the other side!