Downtown Historic El Paso

Although the area was already settled, El Paso experienced rapid growth as the stage line traffic grew and once the railroad arrived. Many of the historic architectural landmarks we saw on our self-guided walking tour were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I've posted three of our favorites.

The Kress Building has some art deco features and is very colorful. S. H. Kress operated it's five-and-ten-cent store at that location from 1938 to 1997 and the building is said to be the company architect's favorite of all the Kress stores. The stained glass photo is of the 25-foot Tiffany dome inside the lobby of the former Paso Del Norte Hotel (now named the Camino Real Hotel). This hotel was the most elegant in it's time and had a roof top ballroom. The third picture shows the ornate work of the Hotel Cortez in Spanish Colonial Revival Style. Enlarge it and you can see the unique feature of portrait heads of conquistadors (look for circles with darkened features). President John F. Kennedy was a guest at the Cortez in June 1963.

Typical Texas Themes

When you think of Texas, what thoughts come to mind (besides the word BIG)? For me, its a couple of things: the Bluebonnet, longhorn steers, and cacti. Well, we've been privileged to see all of these during our travels through Texas.

Starry, Starry Night

Sing along: "The stars at night. . . are big and bright [clap-clap-clap-clap], deep in the heart of Texas." How true. We visited McDonald Observatory, a research unit of the Univ. of Texas, and home of some of the largest telescopes in the world--the Hobby-Eberly with a 433 inch mirror, the Harlan J. Smith at 107 inches, the Otto Struve at 82 inches, and numerous others. Atop Mt. Locke (elevation 6000+) you can find the darkest night skies in the U.S. We attended the Twilight Program and the Star Party, where we were entertained with a tour, interactive educational presentations in an outdoor amphitheater, and awesome views through telescopes. Featured performers for this crystal clear evening were the moon, Saturn, Orion Nebula, and a newly-forming star. But the most magnificent and memorable sight of all was the entire night sky in all of it's splendor. It is rare to get a chance to see a night sky the naked eye can see so clearly sprinkled with millions of sparkling lights.

Big Bend National Park

This park is one of the largest U.S. National Parks (800,000 acres) and yet the least visited. It's name refers to the U-turn the Rio Grande River takes along the park's 118 mile southern Texas border. Santa Elena Canyon (pictured) north wall is in the U.S., while the south canyon wall towers above Mexico. Our drive provided miles and miles of magnificent vistas of varied rock formations in the Chisos Mountain range.

Margaritas in Marathon

On the way back to Alpine after a very full day exploring Big Bend National Park, we stopped over at the White Buffalo Bar in the Gage Hotel, Marathon, Texas. The Gage is a restored 1927 railroad hotel with original pine floors and woodwork and is appointed with authentic furnishings from the Mexican, Native American and Cowboy cultures of Texas. The bar truly has a white buffalo mounted on the wall. Their self-proclaimed world famous margaritas were a quite welcome refreshment.

Western Humor

Call the kids over for this one. . .We found an old log cabin trading post here in Alpine, Texas, where our RV park is, and outside they have "Jack-assic Park". Enlarge the picture to see which "ass" you can choose for your photo. Drew declined, and instead chose the real thing. At least I think it's the real thing--I never learned the difference between a donkey, a mule, and a burro.

Life on a Frontier Military Post

Fort Davis in western Texas has been preserved as one of the best remaining examples of a frontier military post. The first establishment beginning in 1854 was garrisoned by six companies of the U.S. Infantry to fight Indians who attacked travelers and mail carriers. Texas seceded from the Union and Confederate troops occupied the fort until 1862 when Union forces retook possession. In 1867 new buildings began to be constructed and the fort grew to over 100 structures for over 400 soldiers, continuing the mission to safeguard travelers between San Antonio (300 miles East) and El Paso (200 miles West). Most officers got individual quarters that were made of brick, with a stucco-like finish, etched to look like stone (click to enlarge picture and see detail). The enlisted men quarters were large, shared barracks of white brick.

During several intervals throughout the day, there is a sound program (performed by Army Bands) broadcast throughout the grounds that replicate bugle calls, trumpet assemblies, and parade sounds that were part of the military rituals of the day. After we returned to our motor home, cranked up the satellite TV and microwaved dinner, we thought a lot about what it's like to rough it out West!

Texas Energy

On our drive from Dallas to western Texas, we saw miles and miles of wind turbines like the ones I took a picture of. Often, in the same fields were active oil wells, and it occurred to us that Texas has all the energy bases covered--oil, gas, coal, hydro, solar, and wind. If Texas ever seceded from the US, they could probably be very self-sufficient, from energy to farming, to ranching. Now I know why you "don't mess with Texas."

The Big D's Central Market

We're now in the Big D--Dallas--visiting Drew's sister, her husband, and their son. Right away, we're into the food. We lunched and browsed Central Market, where fresh is the operative word. From the bakery to the meats to the prepared meals, there are so many choices that it's overwhelming. Drew was truly a (big) kid in a candy shop at the bulk candy isle. You can see that he didn't leave empty handed!

Mississippi Morsels

Seems we can’t leave an area without commenting on the good eatin’. I guess that makes us true “foodies.” One of our favorite places was Shed’s, a local area BBQ. As you can see [click on picture to enlarge], it truly is pretty much a shed with lots of picnic tables set up outside. They tell us that this restaurant was one of the first to reopen after Katrina and all the workers would come here to eat. Our NOMADS team met at Shed’s right after work one day and really enjoyed it. Another favorite for us was Sassy’s, a restaurant owned and run by four sisters. We learned about Sassy’s from people at our host church, as the sisters are also members there. The food was very good but the desserts they make were AWESOME. Our best meal of all, however, was the one Miss Ophelia’s daughter Reann cooked and brought us for lunch at the worksite. She made fried catfish fillets, cabbage with ham, potato salad and corn muffins. Usually we pack sandwiches for lunch, so this delicious hot-cooked meal was an absolutely fabulous treat. We're going to miss the wonderful hospitality we've found in Mississippi.

Third and Final Housework

Our third week of NOMADS work was at a new construction house. The owner is a 80ish year old woman whose house was literally blown in half by Katrina. She’s been living with her daughter for the past three years, waiting for assistance. The United Methodist disaster response group started the project six weeks ago and already the house is dried in and ready for floors. Due to my new-found skill, Drew and I were asked to lay the laminate flooring in the living room, hallway, and two bedrooms. I feel pretty good that in three days we were able to accomplish that task. And even better, we did it with only a little waste! Measuring for notches around doorways and closets, plus allowing for slightly crooked walls, was the challenge and where our boo boos usually occurred. Actually, they were MY mistakes, because Drew just cut what I gave him! Judging from the continuing progress, Miss Ophelia should be in her new house in April. Seeing the joy and anticipation of the homeowners has been the best part of our volunteer work here.

The local independent TV station did a segment on NOMADS and our leaders, Marley and Nancy Walker. You can view it at CoastProjectMedia.com. Click on “watch episodes” under Up the River [left side of page], then click on Nomads (yellow button under the video window), then click forward arrow. You'll have to suffer through commercials, but you'll get a good idea of our NOMADS work.

Laminate Lament

I’ve learned a new skill during my second week of Katrina rebuilding. I can now lay laminate flooring! The house we worked on this week required all new flooring plus a total rebuild of the enclosed carport. Water had risen as high as the window sills. The first day I assisted in laying the flooring, but from the second day on, I was on my own! Drew manned the saw, cutting for me and another guy working on the floors. The other two couples with us at this house worked on rebuilding the add-on. Our floors are almost finished, but it will take another week to complete the carport room. Believe it or not, Drew and I have decided to stay yet another week! Hey, we didn’t want to get to California until Spring anyway!
[You can learn more about NOMADS at: NOMADSUMC.org]

Pascagoula River Tour

On our second week’s “day off” we were treated by members of our host church to a guided boat tour of the Pascagoula River and surrounding bayous. The weather was just perfect, sunny and warm. We saw all kinds of wildlife and flora, much of which is similar to Florida. We departed from the dock of the Audubon Society. Our guide, Capt. Benny McCoy, is Certified by the Society, and had a wealth of knowledge, plus a great sense of humor. Highlights of the trip were seeing “Big Al”, a 12-foot, 500+ pound alligator, as well as catching several Ospreys build their nests. A nice day of respite for our tired, aching bodies after four days of more hard labor.

Hard, but Satisfying Work

We completed our week of volunteering and enjoyed it so much that we've decided to stay another week! Most of the week was spent working on the home of a young man who has been living in a FEMA trailer for over a year (see the trailer behind the house in the first picture). FEMA has notified many of the people in this Moss Point, MS area that they are going to pick up the trailers and use them in other areas. In other words, time’s up for these folks. So the rush is on to get them back into their homes. Our team of four couples repaired drywall; cleaned and painted the bathroom, hall, kitchen, ceilings, and dining rooms; stained and varnished new kitchen cabinets that his church had provided; and replaced outside soffits, fasciae board, and siding that had been ripped off by a hurricane-spawn tornado. We were dog tired at the end of each day, but it was a very rewarding tired.