El Paso, Texas

On my way out of Austin, I stopped at a hole in the wall restaurant for breakfast.  I told the server that I didn't want meat with my meal.  Before he left, he confirmed, "no meat?" I nodded.  When my meal came, I looked at it then looked at the waiter and said, "there's meat on my plate."  He looked at my plate and back to me and said, "That's not meat, that's bacon."  At that moment I was reminded that yes, I was in Texas.

There wasn't much I knew about El Paso except for the Pace salsa commercials from long ago.  For some reason, I was drawn to the area.  I didn't stay long but long enough to tour around the city for a while, which was empty for the most part.  There were a few locals browsing around at shops, feeding the birds in the park and waiting for the bus.  It seems to be a sleepy town.

I walked around the downtown streets and after a while, I drove around to nearby areas to see if I could find some locals sitting outside of their home.  I noticed a tree decorated with beer cans so I thought I would stop to take a look.  I approached the house taking photographs as the owner walked out.  I asked him about his hand made creation and he said that he's been working on it for years and that the local paper has done a story on it.  He said he's been adding to it "every now and then" and mentioned that he is pretty proud of his creation. Who wouldn't be proud of their beer can tree?

I asked him what to see while I was in the area and he pointed me to the downtown plaza.  I mentioned that I just came from there.  He asked if I saw the workers putting up the Christmas lights in the downtown square trees.  I said, "yes" while he replied, "Look at my beer tree...I beat them to it."

El Paso is as close to the Mexican border as you can get while still being in Texas.  Because of that, you will see a Mexican restaurant at nearly every corner and mixed culture throughout the area.  I love traveling to Mexico but haven't been in a while.  This was a nice reminder that I need to go back soon.

Taking the Road, Unexpected

Saying yes to opportunities is much more fun than saying no.  When you say no, you are saying yes to the same, the predicted, and the comfort of the expected.  Even though there might be the feeling of unease of not knowing in a yes, the rewards are far greater.  You learn lessons, you try something new, you push yourself and take away something good from a yes.

When I was camping in Kernville, I decided to take a day trip to visit an old ghost town called "Silver City."  It was listed on my roadside attractions app for my iphone so I thought it might be worth a stop for some pictures.  It was just ok.  Imagine walking into an old Hollywood studio of a small ghost town and that's what you get at silver city.  As I walked in, I asked the ticket taker/owner/curator, "where are all of the cowboys?"  He said, "maybe they might come later." I knew it was a nice response when he really thought, "good luck lady..this is a ghost town."

While walking around the "city" and taking pictures, I found more interest in the local cat following me around the town and into the jail.  So I did a cat photo shoot in the jail.  After about 15 minutes, I saw everything there was to see so I decided to wander back to the car.  As I was settling in, the caretaker came out and said, "hey, you still want to see some cowboys?"  I said, "sure." He then told me to "drive up that-a-way for about 10 minutes and you'll see some gun slingers for the Havilah days celebration."

I wasn't really sure what he was talking about or what direction he was pointing me in but I decided to give it a shot.  I drove up a steep road with twists and turns for about fifteen minutes not knowing where I was going but low and behold the small town appeared with two buildings and a few people gathered so I knew I was in the right place.

Some of the locals were dressed up in old western wear so of course I had to take pictures of them.  It was too late to participate in "chicken poop bingo" but I am sure that it was a sight not to be missed.  All of the locals came up to me to tell me about it.  Even one gentleman told me to pull up a chair while he told me the history of the town.  Everyone there was friendly and happy to be photographed.  Even Wild Bill Cody wanted to be sure I put his photograph in sepia tone.  He said, "do you know what sepia is?"

Sometimes you will find the most interesting places from word of mouth.  If you take a chance and say yes, you never know what you will find.  I am glad I did and I look forward to more "yes" moments.

Next time I will arrive early enough to play chicken poop bingo.