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Published: April 27th 2010
Distance today: 417 miles
Reached over 1000 miles travelled since the start of our trip!
New Mexico: Lordsburg, Deming, Las Cruces, Anthony
Texas: El Paso, Siearra Blanca, Van Horn
Right now, in birthday celebration, we're reclining on our terra cotta patio and loungers drinking some cold cervesas in Van Horn, TX. So glad to be back where folks say "yall"!
We started out this morning at our fabulous brand spanking new Hampton Inn in Lordsburg, NM. We went for a great workout in the brand spanking new hotel gym, and then cancelled it all out with some awesome waffles at the hotel continental breakfast. Really, they were awesome. (Victoria, we decided to talk about food, para tu!)
Next, we hit the road and arrived in Las Cruces, NM around lunch time. Our main objective is to find the historical places wherever we go. Las Cruces has been around since the 1800s, but right near there was the Mesilla settlement, which initially had elected to stay with Mexico when they divided the land (they saw the light later). When Las Cruces decided to undergo "modernization" in the 1960s, Mesilla decided to bypass it. So, today we went to Historic
Mesilla instead of Las Cruces and had an awesome lunch at El Comedor, a charming little adobe establishment with Mexican and New Mexican cuisine. Of course, Lesley loved the guacamole and the entire meal was just so fresh. You just know when the food is fresh. We walked around the historic square and went to the courthouse where Billy the Kid was put on trial and sentenced to be hanged. Yes, Billy the Kid. The building is legit, but pretty much it's now a tourist shop (but not even close to the sad Tombstone atmosphere).
Next, to the low point of our trip - El Paso, TX. Maybe El Paso isn't such a bad place, but to us, it will forever be engrained in our minds as a hell-hole. Keep in mind, our goal is to travel down one of the oldest highways in America, so maybe we had the "good fortune" of being in the trashiest part of town, and maybe there are better areas. But, nevertheless, we experienced tons of traffic, auto repair places, stereo shops, check cashing establishments, and junk stores in general. To top it off, El Paso is super close to the Rio Grande,
which as you can imagine, it would be cool to see if you within less than a mile from it - but, we may or may not have seen the Rio Grande. Again, we can't imagine how people actually get across the border and into the states! The fencing and border patrol are exceptional. We went through a full border check on the interstate, but again, they respected our Southern charm. Unfortunately, we never really got a good look at the Rio Grande but had a good adventure trying.
New record today - we spent some time on I-10, which boasts an 80mph speed limit!!! Makes the miles fly by!
We arrived this evening at Hotel El Capitan - no words can describe how cool this place is. It's a luxurious oasis off Highway 80 in the midst of a somewhat weathered town. Built in the 1930s, Hotel El Capitan has just reopened after renovations and it definitely meets Lesley's standards. It's nice, and it still embraces the old historic charm - including mosaic tile bathroom floors, and a classic neon sign alerting travelers to its presence. You can see the charm in our pictures.
There are
basically two places to eat in Van Horn: Chuy's Mexican Restaurant, and the Cattle Company. After already having Mexican/NM today, we went for the Texas steak: food was good, beer was cold, so it got an A in our book.
Right now we're having a few beers on our beautiful patio overlooking the courtyard. Nick is enjoying his nightly scotch, purchased directly from Scotland, and aged for 30 years (bday scotch!). Tonight is like every other, but enhanced with a celebratory cigar (on Nick's part) to commemorate the occasion!
Tomorrow is a big day as well - we have a long drive, but some of the highway will be I-10 and I-20, which we expect will also have the 75-80 mph speed limits. Hopefully we will move fast, bringing us quickly see our old friends Lauren and Jake in Dallas!
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Captain Matt
non-member comment
Hotel
Looks like you are staying in my Hotel there! :-) Hope y'all are having a great trip. I am enjoying reading about it stuck back here in Columbus.