TexasCHLforum.com

Having been in most all of Texas' major cities, I recently made a trip to El Paso, since I had never been there before.

From my home in Denton County, the quickest trip would have been I-20 to I-10. But I wanted to travel a different route and see something else.
Once I got to Odessa, I took TX 302 (the pavement is in bad shape due to heavy oil/gas traffic), to Ranch Road 652, to US 67/180. This brought me within about 100 yards of New Mexico, but I went west, past El Capitan. This area contains the highest point in Texas at about 8350 feet above sea level. On the roads I took, I went from 2949 feet above sea level, to about 5700 feet above sea level, in a short distance. But it was a very gentle upwards glide. Denton County to El Paso was 616 miles and I made it in 10.5 hours, with a few stops.

Prior to going to El Paso, I had not checked the population, and was expecting more of a small city. Well, once you get out on El Paso's I-10 or Highway 54, the traffic is just as intense as being in Dallas, Austin, or Houston! The El Paso/Las Cruces MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) 2017 population estimate is 1.06 million folks. No wonder the roads are busy.

El Paso is on the border with Ciudad Juarez. Both cities are fully developed urban centers that go right up to the international border. I tried to get someplace where I could get a clear view of the border, but that was easier said than done.

While there I visited the Magoffin House. The Magoffins were the premier El Paso family. The patriarch Magoffin got 1280 acres of El Paso from his father's estate. Since 640 acres = 1 square mile, his landholdings were exactly 2 square miles. His house was built of adobe, but very upscale. It was constructed from 1875-1877. This land had been seized by the Union as a result of the Civil War, but Magoffin was able to <buy?> get it back after the Civil War.

El Paso was an early adopter of modern infrastucture (water, sewer, electric), so as the city grew fast, this fostered growth. When mules were the animals to pull all the city passenger wagons, all the mules were named "Mandy" so that the coachmen always knew what to call their mules to give them commands. Pretty dope idea.

The city has "Scenic Drive", which allows one to drive high up some steep hills overlooking the city. There are many large homes clinging to the cliffs. Many have elaborate expensive retaining walls to keep them from sliding downtown. It kind of reminds one of how Cali homes cling to the cliffs there, seemingly taunting gravity to pull them down.

I visited the US Border Patrol Museum, the Archaeology Museum, the Holocaust Center, and bought a new pair of Tony Lama's at the Tony Lama factory outlet store. Too late I found out about Rocketbuster Boots. https://www.rocketbuster.com/ I would have loved to have seen this in person, but the website will have to do. Fort Bliss has a military museum, but I ran out of time to see it.

Prior to my trip, I had PM'd "karder", who was the only forum member I was aware of that was an El Paso guy. I was hoping to get together with him, but my PM was not answered. Oh well, people's emails change sometimes.

So now I have seen El Paso. My next "never been there" trip may be to Caddo Lake/Jefferson, TX.

SIA