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When you are in Tularosa, it is easy to go nuts for pistachios.
Finally, we made it to Texas. Now our trip can start, right? It wasn’t a long day, but if felt good to be back on the road again. Here was our rather short drive:
Before we left Tularosa, we made sure to stop by and ham it up in front of the world’s largest pistachio (see pic at top of the post).
From there, we drove south on highway 54 until we saw the magic sign:
Our first and only real stop of the day was at the National Border Patrol Museum. Surprisingly, it is entirely donor based. No federal funding is used to support the museum.
Inside, the museum is divided into small sections. One area was devoted to Border Patrol vehicles. Another honored those agents that had died. One section explained the history of the Patrol, how it originated, and its evolution over time. It’s a nice little museum that doesn’t take long to explore.
Of course, I was there to see the jeeps. In fact, their 1947 CJ-2A is one of the center-pieces of the vehicle exhibit. The jeep was assembled by volunteers. The front frame rails have more patches than a leftovers quilt. And, the floors aren’t particularly pretty. But, it’s doing the job!
There were also a couple models of jeeps, from a small matchbox sized MB to a cigar boxed-sized GPW.
The photographs hanging in different locations also contained some jeeps.
The museum also has an onsite research library that may contain photos and, perhaps, purchase information. So, if you are passing by sometime, the museum is worth a quick stop.
We spent the night on the west side of El Paso. In the morning we’ll be visiting several locations in town, before heading to Guadelupe National Park. From there we will turn south toward Marfa, where we’ll spend the night.
NEXT SIX DAYS: Here is our approximate route for the next six days —
<– Day 11 & 12 – Wed. & Thurs Apr. 22rd & 23th: Road to Recovery | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 14 – Sat. Apr. 25th: Saddleblankets to Prada –>
That’s one big nut. Can you imagine the stories that little cj2a could tell. I like the high hood and the late model wagon. “Border patrol” green is pretty light. I think they make Pace Picante Sauce in El Paso…
Y’all should go to L&J’s Restaurant in El Paso for enchiladas. And I’m not sure of your route but Big Bend is very pretty this time of year.
Todd: When Campbell foods bought Pace it was being made in San Antonio. I haven’t got a confirmation if that is still true or not. … The border patrol green is lighter than the light Forest Service green it seemed to me.
Hollis: Thanks for the suggestion. We went for pork ribs instead of Mexican last night. We will head for Guadelupe NP today. Tomorrow we plan to tour Big Bend NP. We are hoping both are pretty!
Dave, you’re absolutely right! Been a while since I have seen that commercial, you know the one…”made in new York city!!!!” Still makes me laugh…
Glad Ann is feeling whole again! Wonder if Derek has seen some of those photos?
Be sure to stop at Ft. Davis while y’all are down there. Also, I am not sure when Alpine, Texas host their Cinco de Mayo festival but it is soon and lots of fun, parade, car show and Saturday night street dance.
Dave I was station at Ft Bliss starting in July, (for boot Camp) Trained in the White Sands of New Mexico. (up to 120 + degrees) When I left Ellensburg was 60-70 degrees out. Landed in Texas (105degress) (first plane ride) 😉 Thought I step into a oven. They knock off 20lbs on a tough country boy. 🙂 Thought I was going to die. Been to El Paso too. Decided that town was to rough me. 🙂 The army was a real eye opener for a naïve country boy!
John: We are in Alpine tonight. I didn’t see any signs of a festival, but sure is a neat town. I saw the signs for Ft. Davis, but I never made plans to go there. It didn’t pop up during my research (just looked up some pics and it seems like a pretty cool place to visit, but we won’t have time). Tomorrow morning we head down to drive along the Rio Grande. I’ve read that’s a beautiful drive.
Roy: I wouldn’t want to be training and breathing all that white sand (gypsum dust). You know that stuff goes into the atmosphere and lands on cars. Apparently it eats the paint. We were told that auto dealers offer a special coating to counter it. … I *think* you’d find El Paso a little less rougher these days? Even driving through downtown we found it clean with a good vibe. However, they do have a problem with vehicles disappearing . . . I can’t imagine where they disappear to . . .
That last picture of a wagon sure looks like a Traveller to me.
Maybe Todd can get some parts of it. 🙂 I thought the same thing 🙂
Dan .. I was wondering if anyone would mention that!