|
Security was tight at Dallas Love Field but we were there 1 1/2 hours before flight time, knowing that any diabetes testing equipment must be in its carrying case, lancets capped, test strips in their original prescription package, etc. My medication bag carried twice as much diabetes pills and other medications than I'd need for the 5-day trip. If I'd needed to carry insulin, I would have called Southwest prior to leaving for their exact requirements for carrying insulin and syringes - in their case insulin must be carried in its original prescription box and syringes must be in their original package. Since Southwest only serves little bags of salted peanuts and a bag of very sweet cookies, I'd packed a sandwich lunch and a couple of pieces of fruit for us since we would be flying during the noon hour. That with a diet soda or glass of iced tea would keep us fine until dinnertime.
Once on the ground, we headed for baggage claim and the security checkpoint, where we met up with the others members of the family who'd arrived earlier by car from Phoenix via overnight drives. We quickly claimed our bags and loaded them up in the sports utility van we'd all be using for the next four days. We headed west, driving past Fort Bliss where my brother-in-law had trained during the Korean War and onto the Scenic Drive which gave us a panoramic view of the city, seeing all of El Paso across the border into Juarez (Mexico), and over to New Mexico. My niece's hacienda-style home had the same view into Juarez and New Mexico, missing only the downtown El Paso vista. The rest of the day was spent visiting and watching the beautiful sunset and light coming on the valley below from Mexico and New Mexico. Since my niece knew that two of us have diabetes and the others are all watching their cholesterol and fat intake, dinner that night was a wonderful roasted pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes baked in their jackets, fresh asparagus which she cooked in the microwave and tossed with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil, and a big tossed salad with fat-free dressing. Dessert came in the form of a Russell Stover's sugar-free chocolate that was divine and more than filled anyone's need for a sweet, yet it was safe for anyone with diabetes.
The next morning, after a breakfast of bagels, fresh oranges, and coffee, we piled into the van to go shopping and see the town. El Paso is "boot country" and we passed the factory outlets for Justin Boots and Tony Lama Boots as well as Cowtown Boots with more than 40,000 square feet of boot displays. Another famous Texas company, The El Paso Chile Company, was also along our route, dubbed "The hottest salsa company in the land," by the New York Times. Each Christmas, I send gift baskets of their Texas Champagne (hotter than hot sauce), specialty salsas, and Mesquite sauces to my friends and relatives outside of Texas. If you have the time, there's a wonderful 90-minute self-guided walking tour of downtown El Paso that starts at San Jacinto Plaza and takes you past historical buildings and architectural landmarks that depict the vast cultural diversity of the region since the mid 19th century. Although we were doing a lot of looking, we didn't do much buying until we got to the El Paso Connection, where the products range from cast iron, rustic wood and accessories to pottery, blankets, gifts, and statuary. The goods are procured throughout Mexico and offered here at great low prices. This is when I wished we'd driven a van or truck instead of flying, as I found many lovely cast iron pieces I'd love to own but which would be cost prohibitive to ship home and too large to carry on the plane.
When the wind started to pick up, we decided it was time to head home for lunch. We were glad we'd taken the Scenic Drive the day before as by the time we reached it to cross into the Mesa Hills region where our host home is, the Franklin Mountains (Texas) to the north, the Juarez Mountains of Sierra Madre (Mexico) to the south, and the Guadalupe Mountains (New Mexico) to the west were all totally obscured by a dust storm. Before lunch we secured lounge chairs and patio tables from being blown into the swimming pool, moved potted plants, and hanging wind chimes from the destruction path of the storm. Since we'd all spent considerable time in Phoenix and Palm Springs and had been through a lot of dust storms, we knew it'd soon blow over, and it did in time for us to have the planned evening barbecue of fresh salmon, corn on the cob, a fabulous salad of fresh spinach, mandarin oranges, broken walnuts, and a fat-free raspberry vinaigrette (I got my niece's recipe and it's in this month's 'what for dinner' section). After dinner we got out maps and brochures and planned our trip to New Mexico's White Sands National Monument the next morning.
Taking I-10 west of El Paso, one is soon crossing into New Mexico and then entering Las Cruces, New Mexico's second largest town, rich in Spanish heritage blended with the charm and flavor of the "Old West." Agriculture is big here with chile peppers, cotton, and pecans; we did also see lots of pistachio trees as well. Also key to its financial base are the New Mexico State University and the White Sands Missile Range. Changing to I-70, we passed by the missile range on our left and on the right, the beautiful Organ Mountains, so named because they resemble the pipes of a pipe organ. Soon after, rising out of the Chihuahuan Desert is a spectacle of stretches of white sand dunes as far as the eye can see. The gypsum that forms the white sand dunes was deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered this area of the Southwest 250 millions years ago. The Dunes Drive leads from the visitor center and museum 8 miles into the heart of the dunes. Four marked trails, including the wheel-chair accessible Interdune Boardwalk, allow you to park and explore the dunes by foot. One of the most popular of the guided tours is the Sunset Walk that's led by park rangers. Constantly shifting with the winds, the dunes are hostile to most desert plants. The soaptree yucca, New Mexico's state flower, however, has managed to avoid burial by the moving sand by elongating its stem to keep its leaves above the sand. The creamy blossoms were just beginning to appear on some of the plants - their showiest period will come in late May or early June. Children (and some adults) were saucer-sledding on the dunes. Before this day our only knowledge of what White Sands looked like came from television as it's a popular place to film commercials - on this day, there was a film crew filming a Hummer commercial that we're sure to see on TV later this year.
Since the White Sands Missile Range completely surrounds the park, both White Sands National Monument and U.S. 70 between the park and Las Cruces may be closed while tests are conducted on the missile range. These closures occur on an average of twice a week and usually last from one to two hours. If you're on a tight schedule and planning to visit the park, you might want to call ahead for the closure schedule at 505-479-6124.
Heading south from White Sands, we passed through Las Cruces to Historic Old Mesilla, a charming adobe village filled with shops and restaurants. The center plaza and connecting streets frame San Albino Church, one of New Mexico's most beautiful churches, built in 1908. The plaza is the site of numerous events and fiestas throughout the year, a Mercado (Market) twice weekly, and the site for many musical performances. A lively social center, Mesilla attracted its share of "Wild West characters." The most notorious was Billy the Kid. Today there's a Billy the Kid Shop housed in the old courthouse where he was sentenced to hang in 1881, filled with Indian and Southwestern memorabilia and souvenirs.
Driving back to El Paso, we passed grove after grove of pecans and stopped at Stahmanns County Store for pecans, New Mexican chiles, hot sauces, salsas, and dried soup mixes. Like most food writers, I never travel without an extra bag that I can fill with foods of the area.
The next day was spent in Juarez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso. You can walk across any of the three main bridges connecting El Paso and Juarez, but we opted for the El Paso Juarez Trolley, also know as the Border Jumper. It picked us up at the El Paso Convention Center, crossed over into Mexico and dropped us off at our first destination, DÉCOR. Here we could watch the artisans at work in the internationally known glass blowing factory, then walk through the huge displays of art, glasswork, and antiques. From there we went to the Juarez City Market where one can buy jewelry, pottery, woven goods, and crafts at discount prices, at any of 50 small shops under one roof.. Here one bargains with the vendor for the final price. If one vendor doesn't have what you want, the vendor next door will assure you that he (she) does. Beware! These vendors are good at getting visitors to part with their money. My niece reminds us of this often, telling of her bringing a visiting friend here who wandered away from the others. When they found him, he was about to buy an expensive saddle at what he thought was a great price, only to have his wife remind him that he doesn't own a horse. The vendor then said, "No problem, mister, my cousin can sell you a fine horse."
Back in El Paso, it was all too soon to pack our bags for tomorrow's departure. Although we'd seen a lot, we hadn't visited the many art galleries, museums, missions, and dozens of historical sites. For a long weekend, though, we'd gotten a good taste of the El Paso area - enough to decide that it's someplace that we look forward to returning to again.
FTG
|
