El Paso, TX

We arrived in El Paso, TX, a city of 563,662 located on the border of Juarez, Mexico.


Immediately, I noticed that this city lacks the bravado of most "don't mess with Texas" towns, as at times one wonders if they are in the United States at all. Many of the nearby shops are Spanish-first, English-second. Even little touches, like the mannequins of clothing stores, had a Mexican look and feel to them.

Pawn shops fill the area near the border, selling everything from clothes, jewelry, ammunition, and electronics.

At the Geneva store, I could get a gun pretty cheap. These guns are as big as they look. This might say something about the safety of the area. Before coming here, I had heard rumors of abductions and had been warned not to walk around alone.

El Paso's downtown area also has art and culture, the El Paso Museum of Art is one example.

The museum has a fine display of sculpture, paintings, and other artifacts.

On special exhibit were war posters from World War II. They showed that some things have changed, and that some things have remained the same.

Some posters talked about the need to keep information secret, which is a message from our government that our generation may find familiar.

One thing that is not the same however were posters like these, that asked Americans to conserve...especially when relating to driving.

Should brave men die so you can drive? In World War II, the answer was no. Some opponents of the Iraq War might say the same, although this would not be a message delivered by our current government.

What would Abe Lincoln say?

The museum has a lot of wide open space, allowing its patrons to wonder.

There were many groups of high school and middle school students in the museum taking in the art and receiving lessons on its use and development.

This building is outside of my hotel. I'm not sure what it is, but I suspect it's the visitors bureau. Nice. You can see the mountains behind it, which are beautiful when the sun hits them right.

We are staying in the historic Camino Real Hotel, located in downtown El Paso. "Historic" means a bad Internet connection and air conditioning that barely works. It's got a nice lobby though, and it's near a bunch of pawn shops. In the end, it all balances out.

Many companies, like the American Industries company, have conventions here. This one is about shipping American jobs to Mexico.

What's good about El Paso is that it's less Texas than Mexico, but you can drink the water here. It's nice to walk around in an urban environment, and it's a unique city. The weather is great, with dry heat and a cool evening. Not a bad place to visit for a few days.



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America's Treasures