Blog #9 Two Steppin our way through Texas- Part 1
- Pamela Sonier
- Dec 30, 2024
- 38 min read
Updated: Jan 6
After our six month adventure on the road, one month in the USA and 5 months in Canada, it’s time for a break. Initially we had planned to stay in Calgary for two weeks to do business, appointments, and visit with family and friends before heading back on the road. But, unexpectedly, our stay here turned out a bit longer then intended, instead of two weeks we ended up staying for six. We did take advantage of this extra time though, and enjoyed precious visits with family and friends. And, as important, we enjoyed the luxurious privilege of daily showers, flush toilets, and the comfort of having a warm bed to lay our head on each night. But still, as good as all this was, we were itching to get back on the road. So, after much debate about either driving over the Canadian Rockies and then down the Oregon Coast, or heading straight south from Calgary, we chose the latter, hoping to beat the November snow and cold. We, against our will and our travelling nature, sped through Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, on our way to a warmer Texas. We did escape the Calgary snow storm by one day; but the freezing cold seemed inescapable until we got into the much deeper south of Texas.
Traveling down the Montana highways, we saw many beautiful sceneries passing us by through the windows, to which we allowed ourselves only quick glances. Montana, can easily be mistaken for Alberta with its mountains to the West and never ending fields to the East. As Guy said, “if I didn’t know where I am, I could easily think I’m still in Alberta”. As difficult as it was for us, for the first week, we spent most of our days driving with few stops in between - many interesting places just beckoning us to stop and visit.
We did an overnight in Billing’s Montana and a quick stop at Al’s Bootery to see Robert Wadlow the tallest man in the world’s shoe. Robert was born in 1918 in Alton Illinois. He was the oldest of five children and by the age of 8 he was taller than his father at 6 ft. He grew to be 8 ft 11 inch and weighed 439 lbs. He became a celebrity after his 1936 USA tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Robert did need leg braces to walk and he had very little feeling in his legs but he never used a wheelchair. In 1938 he began a promotional tour for the International Show Company which provided him with free shoes. His shoe size was 32. Robert died in his sleep after surgery and a blood transfusion for an infection to his ankle caused from a faulty brace at the age of 22 on July 15, 1940. How Al’s Bootery acquired the shoe or why, we never did find out but an interesting story nevertheless. The shoe is also famous for being said to be large enough for a newborn child to lay in.
Next stop Wyoming, is where we saw the Cubism Buffalo, a life-size metal sculpture of a buffalo in front of the bank of Buffalo Wyoming. This town was founded in 1879 and was built to protect travellers on the Bozeman Trail. The name "Buffalo" was chosen by drawing names from a hat - Will Hart put the name of his hometown of Buffalo, New York, into the hat and won the draw. Thus, Buffalo Wyoming.
We travelled to Douglas Wyoming to see the legendary Jackalope Statue (which also happens to be the world’s largest). The Jackalope is a legendary mix between a jackrabbit and an antelope, basically a big rabbit with antlers. In Douglas some people believe in its existence while others do not. Back in 1934, brothers Ralph Hedrick who was a taxidermist and his brother Doug created the jackalope. What they did is take a recently killed rabbit and a pair of antelope antlers, they mounted the antlers on the rabbit head, et voilà, the birth of the jackalope. Ralph’s taxidermy business took off from there as they continued making more jackalopes. Thousands of tourists and hunters came to the area in search of the illusive animal. Hunters would purchase the hunting permit but would then be surprised to learn they could only hunt the jackalope “on the 31st day of June between midnight and 2 am”. There were even signs on the roads warning drivers to “watch out for the jackalope”. The original stuffed jackalope was sold over 43 years ago to Mr. Ball who put it on display in his hotel. This was stolen and the thieves, apparently, are still at large. There are many more legends regarding the jackalope such as its ability to imitate the human voice, and also that the first sighting was by a trapper named Roy Ball in 1829. Believe it or not…? Either way it was another one of our fun quirky stops along the way.
Colorado, our last state before we cross into Texas. The Colorado Rockies are a beautiful sight making us a little homesick for our beloved Canadian Rockies. There was warning of a winter storm approaching but we did have to make at least one sightseeing stop. We stopped at The Tuberculosis Huts of Colorado Springs. This is such an interesting story its worth mentioning even though we spent only a little time here since the TB sanatorium and the huts no longer exist. The sanatorium has been turned into a long term care facility run by nuns. There are many deer lazily and freely grazing on the lawns - no concerns whatsoever for the humans walking by. If you buy a home in Colorado Springs today, it may come with a little teepee-like hut in the backyard. These days most of these huts are used as storage sheds but back in the day they were considered the perfect place to recover from tuberculosis. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, tuberculosis was the dominant disease in the U.S. Thousands flocked to Colorado for treatment. According to the Colorado history, TB was a primary driver of Colorado growth - at one point a third of the state’s population were residents because of the disease, either as patients, patients’ families, or workers in the health and supporting industries. The “cure” for tuberculosis, before antibiotics, was believed to be dry air and sunshine, and sanatoriums sprang up all around Colorado Springs. Each of these facilities was accompanied by dozens of small huts for the patients to live in. These huts were designed by Charles Fox Gardiner, and each hut had two windows (ventilation was an important factor for recovery), a closet, drawers, shelves, a bed, chairs, a washstand, electric lights, and a system for calling nurses, if need be. The huts were heated with a steam system, and were kept as open as possible, except during the colder months. Once antibiotics began being used as treatment, the sanatoriums and their huts became obsolete. The huts were sold off, and many found their way into backyards, as tool sheds, toy houses, even art studios.
Driving through Colorado just before Texas we saw 5 semi trucks lying on their sides in the ditch. The winds that day were reported to gust to as much as 90 kms per hour - we took the hint and found shelter at a Love’s truck stop for the night.
We entered Texas at the Panhandle and it felt like the winds have followed us and are not wanting us here - they want to rock our Roadtrek right off the highway, it seems. Sometimes it seriously feels as if we may topple over. As I glance over, Guy is fighting with the steering wheel, at times the wheel is so far to the left or to the right, it’s hard to believe we are actually driving straight. We entertained ourselves by watching tumble weeds blowing across the highways and fields only to get caught up in the never ending barb wired fences bordering these highways. These Texan winds are relentless.
Our first stop in Texas was Adrian, a little town located at the midway point of the old Route 66, 1139 miles West to Los Angeles and 1139 miles East to Chicago. We read the signs, took a few pictures, and left saying “we will come back”. Travelling the famous Route 66 is still for another trip.
Vega, our second stop, in Texas. We must say here that for our short time in this little Texas town, this place is a gem for friendliness, uniqueness, and downright good hospitality. Much more welcoming than the winds are. At the Milburn-Price Culture Museum is where we stayed for the night as Harvest Host Guest. This museum is full of interesting artifacts from past years. In the front yard there are unique sculptures including Hank the dinosaur, and the World’s Largest Branding Iron. The branding iron has an interesting story: Vega has a long history of ranching and the XIT Ranch was at one time the largest ranch in the world with three million acres of fenced-in land and 150,000 head of cattle. The story goes that Abner “Ab” Blocker came up with the Ranch’s Branding Iron design by drawing the XIT with his boot in the dirt when he was challenged to come up with a brand that could not be easily burned over. Also outside the museum, is a large modern electric windmill blade that we could actually walk into standing up. Inside the museum there are all kinds of displays ranging from an unusual array of Barbie dolls positioned in different dioramas to old preserved antique cars.
Another important stop on the list in Vega was the delicious pie at Mama Jo’s. We arrived there just before closing time so we said we would come back in the morning and have coffee and pie for breakfast. After a few talks, Joann the owner suggested we stop by Deborah Sue’s house down the street as we mentioned to her we were on our way to see Dot’s Mini Museum. While walking the sidewalk to Dot’s, Deborah Sue ran out of her house to greet us. She invited us into her back yard which is full of whimsical, and “magical happiness”. We chatted with her for awhile, what an absolute delight. There are so many artistic creations scattered all around her yard. Her backyard fence is interestingly constructed using old colourful doors. She also proudly showed us her beautiful and immaculate 1956 Chevrolet sedan which she uses every year to drive Santa around in the Christmas parade. We left Deborah Sue’s and continued our walk to Dot’s Mini Museum which, as it turned out, was very small but yet full of interesting artifacts from far off days.
The following morning, as promised, we headed back to Mama Jo’s for pie. Joann was so happy and surprised that we came back as promised. We were greeted by the “Morning Coffee Lady’s Group of Vega”. We were treated with smiles, laughters, and great conversations. We sat at a small table on soft saddle stools drinking complimentary coffee and eating delicious complimentary pies. We must say that Mama Jo’s pie crust is the best we have ever eaten. The recipe is Joann’s grandmother's and it is well worth the stop.
We did drive some of the Old Route 66, or “Mother Road” as it is known here in the Texas Panhandle. But, as previously said, that trip, Route 66, will be another adventure entirely in the future. Quick stops in Groom to see the Leaning Tower of Texas. Back when the Route 66 was at its peak Ralph Britten wanted to start up a truck stop and restaurant just off the Mother Road. He devised a plan. He bought an old Water Tower from the town of Lefors, had it towed 34 miles to Groom. To make it an attraction piece, he used a bulldozer to elevate two of the tower’s legs off the ground so it would tilt at an 80 degree angle. Many motorist driving down Route 66 would stop at Ralph’s truck stop to ask what happened to the water-tower. Of course Ralph would invite people into his truck-stop, tell his story, and customers would purchase items, a great marketing strategy! Unfortunately, after many years of prosperity the truck-stop burned down. To this day, the water tower is still standing or should we say leaning at the old site.
We did a quick overnight stop in Pampa to see a 150 foot musical fence which displays the notes of Woody Guthries’ “This Land Is Your Land”. We had another wonderful nights sleep at the friendly neighbourhood Walmart. We have become quite the experts now with these Walmart boondocking stops and find them to be a bit noisy but quite safe. I think when we get back to Calgary I will never look at our Walmart Parking lots the same way again.
I have heard the song “Amarillo by Morning” many times since I was a kid, and I have been singing it since. We stopped in Amarillo for three days - a planned stop for us in the Panhandle. A few interesting facts about Amarillo is that it has the 3rd largest airport runway in the world and is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle. They say that during the Amarillo sunrise and sunset you can see the curvature of the earth due to the wide open spaces of the Great Plains. We saw a few sunsets here and they have been spectacular. Also, worth mentioning here, is that still this far south we have not yet escaped the cold northern front.
We went to the Big Texan Ranch & Brewery for breakfast. This place is famous for the 72 ounces Steak Challenge. Eat the whole 72 ounce steak, shrimps, potato, bun, and salad within one hour and it’s yours for free. If you can’t do it you pay the $72 charge. While we sat there for breakfast, one guy tried his luck but could not eat it all. He had to quit after 32 minutes, paid his dues, and took the leftovers home. Not a bad deal?
We also visited the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum which is full of interesting facts about the quarter horse, and also has an owners hall of fame section. There was a very interesting section about horses in the Movie Industry. The museum tells that the very first action movie made actually featured a horse: back in 1878 Eadweard Muy-bridge rapidly photographed a racehorse named Sallie Gardner. He was able to slow down the exposure and settle a long-standing debate about a horse's stride. This started the development of live-action and animated film. In 1917 Fritz and William S. Hart became the first on-screen horse and cowboy pair. Fritz was the first horse trained to fall voluntarily. It is said that the Quarter Horse is Hollywood’s favourite breed ."I like Quarter Horses because they've got the temperament, that mindset that they can handle fire, smoke, cables on the street; so many different things on a movie set can blow a horse's mind." - John Scott, wrangler and stunt coordinator. The American Quarter Horse was the first breed of horse native to North America. Early settlers brought over Galloway and Hobby horses from Ireland and Scotland. These horses were bred with horses from the Chickasaw tribe producing a new breed of horse we now know as the American Quarter horse. The Quarter Horse began with racing and it was the fastest horse in the world at the Quarter Mile race which is how it got its name. The Quarter horse has a keen cow sense - the ability to quickly judge the movements of a cow when herding cattle as well - which makes him a favourite for ranchers. The Quarter horse is extremely versatile and can preform in English show jumping as easily as barrel racing.
Just outside Amarillo is The Cadillac Ranch-Interstate 40, an art installation funded by millionaire Stanley Marsh. There are 10 graffiti-covered Cadillacs partly buried and standing on end in the field. The cars all face west at the same angle as the Cheops pyramids in Egypt, for no specific reason it seems. People are encouraged to come and spray paint the cars so they are ever changing. Now Stanley Marsh did encourage people to come and spray paint and release their artistic talents but he did not take kindly to people adding graffiti to any of the surrounding signs. He was even known to jail these culprits in a nearby chicken coop.
Also just outside of Amarillo, is the Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the USA. It’s a busy place made busier by the fact we were there during the American thanksgiving so we were unable to reserve a campsite but we still enjoyed the day there. The locals call this place the “Grand Canyon of Texas’. Although definitely not as deep or large as the Grand Canyon, it is stunning with it beautiful rock formations and red rocks. At the bottom of the canyon we could feel the deep silence and majesty of the place. We did a few interesting small hikes and scrabbles over rocks, and stood inside a cave.
The visitor center at the canyon is full of interesting history of this area. In 1493 the Spanish explorers brought the first long-horned cattle to the new world. After the English settlers arrived they brought the Northern European cattle which was bred with the Spanish herds, thus the Texan Longhorn was born. The Texan longhorn can live more than 30 years and still produce calves after the age of 20 years old. Their massive horns can be as long as 8 feet from tip to tip. Because of these massive horns this narrows their face and gives them a “mean expression”. As cattle trails began to close and new cattle breeds were being introduced the longhorn numbers began to decline. In 1936 Texas businessman Sid Richardson and Texan historian J. Frank Dobie began discussing the possibility of establishing a state herd of Texan Longhorns. They began with a herd in Lake Corpus Christi State Park and eventually moved the herd to Fort Griffin State Park where they remain today. Since 1950 several steers from the official herd have lived in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park as well. On May 17, 1969 the herd became the official State of Texas Longhorn herd and in 1995 the Texas Longhorn became the official large mammal of Texas.
Interesting fact about the Palo Duro Canyon’s road is in the 1930’s, President Roosevelt developed a new program to provide jobs to the unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a program originally created for young men and eventually extended to include World War I Veterans - this program was what was needed for the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The 15,000 acres had recently been purchased by the State of Texas to develop into the state park. The first four companies of CCC (the Civilian Conservation Corps) who arrive in Amarillo via train between July and December of 1933 consisted of World War I Veterans. The first project was to construct a road from the rim to the floor of the canyon. The final group to work in the canyon was made up of Youth Members in 1937. The project in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park was one of the few to include all three of the special groups - Veterans, African Americans, and Juveniles. In total the CCC (the Civilian Conservation Corps) sent seven companies of young men and army veterans between 1933 to 1937 to build road access to the canyon, bridges, trails, cabins and lodges some which are still in use today. Although there was still lots of work to be done, the canyon officially opened on July 4, 1934.
From the canyon, on our way to Floydada there is a place called “Happy Texas”. Of course we needed to stop and check this place out. Who would bypass a place with that name. Unfortunately, Happy is not as happy as its name implies. The town turned out to be mostly abandoned with boarded up buildings with a railroad track running on its outer edge. Happy may have been a happy place at one time, but not so much today. We happily continued down the road.
Floydada is another small town Texas gem. Our mission here was to checkout the Boston Terrier museum. Since arriving in Texas, we found out, to our dismay, that we are a bit off season to visit certain places - many are already shut down for the season. Moreover, we also found out that museums are closed Sundays and Mondays which created a few more mishaps. So arriving in Floydada, we decided to call ahead to check if the doors would be open when we arrived. Bob the owner and curator of the museum answered the phone and said he would be more then happy to meet us in the morning and open up for us. We arrived at 9am the next morning as planned and a tall friendly elderly gentleman greeted us. Bob is 90 years old, he began this museum when he was 72, five years after his wife passed, he told us he needed something to fill his days. Bob and his wife have had five Boston Terriers of their own over the years together. They named them Arnold, Sam, AJ, Harley, and Spike (not sure the exact order). Inside the museum, on a shelf, there are five miniature dog houses each with the names of their five dogs. Bob and his wife have been collecting anything and everything Boston Terrier for many years. Bob told us that people from all over the world have sent him unique and wonderful items to add to his collection. He proudly walked us through his museum and told us many wonderful memories and stories of his treasures. There are collections of walking sticks with Boston Terrier’s heads for handles; there are many Christmas ornaments, porcelain figurines, clocks, a bowling ball, bathroom toilet paper holder, vintage carnival prize dolls, everything and anything Boston Terrier. There is even a photograph of a young Mike Tyson with a Boston Terrier puppy. After spending well over one hour walking back and forth from room to room following Bob and admiring his beautiful collection, Bob gifted us a few items to take on our journey. He said he was happy that these items were going to a good place. We will cherish these and be reminded of Bob and his smile and his museum each time we look at these Boston Terrier artifacts in the future. This visit will stay with us for a long time to come.
Lubbock Texas, the Cotton Capital of the USA, one of the windiest cities in the USA and the home town of Buddy Holly. But also here is The Prairie Dog Town. The Prairie Dog Town was developed by K.N. Clapp in 1935. It is a seven-acre field that has a low wall built around it. Within the safety of the wall we observed hundreds of black-tailed prairie dogs. While we were there we saw people bring bread and cheerios to feed these already chubby looking things. Back in the 1930’s the American Government’s poisoning program of the prairie dog was starting, Mr. Clapp became concerned that the black-tailed prairie dog would become extinct. So along with his friend Ross Edwards, they designed this enclosure and trapped two pairs of black-tailed prairie dogs. He oversaw his project until his death in 1969. There are now hundreds, if not more, prairie dogs within the walls, and many many more running around outside the inclosure in the surrounding park grounds.
Also located in Lubbock is the American Windmill Museum. Very interesting place to visit. This museum is full of over 150 wooden and metal windmills and wind turbines. Anything you ever wanted to know about windmills you will find here. Lucky for us there was a gentleman volunteer there who was more then willing to share with us his vast knowledge about windmills. Also lucky for us was the day we visited was the last day for a Model Train Exhibit and a Miniature House Exhibit. These two exhibits displayed many intricate and detailed furnished houses and miniature trains. One train display was fabricated entirely of Lego blocks.
The museum also has a permanent train display that went from ground floor level, climbed a thirteen foot spiral incline, and ran all around the building at thirteen feet overhead, chugging and tooting. The reason for this permanent train display is to demonstrate the intricate, beneficial, and historical relationship between windmills and the railway system across Texas. This model train system has approximalty 3,400 feet of stainless steel track, 5 turnout (switch’s), 3 bridges, and 1 tunnel. There is also 12 custom built homes, 34 buildings, 36 windmills, 5 railway wind mills and a 1940 Lubbock town. This train system took 3 years to design and 1 year to build. When we first walked into this museum, we felt a bit of a sensory overload, with these railways continually operating all around.
The complex relationship between the railways and windmills is very interesting. During the construction of the first railroad in these part of the USA, trains were steam powered and needed a constant supply of water to run. Trains, we were told could only advance approximately 35 miles with the water they were able to carry. This meant that when building the track itself they needed a permanent water source at each 35 miles. We were told that these were called “whistle stops”. This part of Texas is desert dry, not much water around. The only water available is a water table below ground. It was decided then that a windmill would be erected every 35 miles of the railway construction to access the water table. They would drill for an underground water source, erect a windmill, fill the train with fresh water, construct 35 more miles of railroad, and repeat until the railway was eventually completed. Another part of this relationship between trains and windmills is that farmers got on board and bought their own windmills for water supply on their farms. Needless to say that the windmill companies were now making a fortune and the train companies were also making money delivering the windmills across the country. It was then a win-win relationship for all parties. The gentleman who gave us all this information also told us that the underground water table is disappearing in some part of Texas. The water supply is not replenishing fast enough to keep up with the farmers need for irrigating their fields. Therefore the farmers, he says, are under strict water irrigation regulations by the government.
The Museum does have a replica of the one and only Flowerdew Hundred Post Mill in North America. The original was built in 1621. It weighs 50,000 pounds and has a wheel that is 60 feet in diameter. The Post Mill was the earliest type of windmill to be built in Europe. The name comes from the fact that the body of the mill containing the machinery and sails was mounted on a huge wooden post which allowed the sails to turn around with the wind.
Another interesting story is about the Stinson Tower. These towers were wooden and stood between 12 to 16 feet and were similar to the ECLIPSE windmills (which was one of the most successful designs of windmills used to pump water). J.R. Stinson and his partner Mr. Herring numbered their windmills according to heights and shapes, and they became prominent landmarks for the homesteaders. Eventually these became the unofficial mailbox locations for the area. An example of an address might read: John Doe % Stinson #11, Springfield, Colorado.
Now, away from the water pumping mills, to the oil pumping rigs. In the middle of the Texas oil fields is a town called Wink, home to the Roy Orbison Museum. Roy Orbison wasn’t born in Wink, but moved here with his family when he was 6 years old. His father was an oilfield worker. This museum is another which we decided to call ahead to check if they were open. This museum is entirely run by volunteers. The first number I called, the lady told me she had Bible Study that day but she did text me a few other volunteers to check with. Lucky for us the second volunteer I called, Debbie, was more than pleased to meet us in town and open up the doors for us. Debbie was another Texan delight full of interesting stories. Now Wink is not a big town, 915 people live here, and the Roy Orbison Museum is teeny (not much more than 400 square feet of space) but full of interesting items and facts. The Carl Perkins Fan Club sent the museum a framed piece of paper autographed by all four of the Beatles. We saw Roys school and family photos, concert posters, records, his bowling ball, even a cheque for $100 he had procured to travel to Nashville to continue his music career. According to Debbie, after leaving Wink, Roy never came back. The most honoured part of this visit was having our picture taken wearing Roy Orbison’s actual glasses. Unbelievable, awesome, what a privilege!!! Debbie just handed them to us and said “here try them on and take a picture”. Of course we did. Debbie told us that Roy did not normally wear his sunglasses on stage, this started when he one time forgot his glasses and wore his dark glasses. That became his signature. And of course we each got a T-shirt.
These Texas cool nights have taken us a bit by surprise, we have used the furnace in the Roadtrek in the morning to get the chill out and are even doubling up on our blankets. Guy is wearing pretty much his entire wardrobe to bed but I have just added on socks and a hat. As Guy says, “it’s minus 3 degrees in this tin can”.
We drove to El Paso which is on the border of New Mexico and Mexico, hoping to find the warmer weather we seeked. Wandering around El Paso felt much more like being in Mexico, not so much Texas or the USA for that matter. This is a big city and the sights, sounds, and traffic gave us a bit of a jolt after our experiencing of small town Texas we had just journeyed through. First stop Dave’s Pawn Shop in downtown El Paso to get a glimpse of Pancho Villa’s “Trigger Finger”. It is displayed at the bottom left hand corner of the store window in a small box filled with cotton. Pancho Villa was a famous Mexican Bandit and Revolutionary. He died by gunfire in 1923. As the legend goes his corpse was dug up and dismembered with his body parts being sold to relic collectors in the USA and Pancho Villa fans in Mexico. Larry Brown the owner of Dave’s Pawn Shop said .“We’ve had it maybe five years, I don’t remember. A guy came in off the street and sold it to us.” It is now for sale for $9,500 usd. The finger is black and crooked. Is it real? Who knows, but makes for an interesting conversation piece.
We visited the Casa do Azucar or “The Sugar House” as it is known as. Ruffini Loya was a retired Levi Strauss employee from El Paso who had always promised his wife that he would build her something beautiful. So in 1973 he began to sculpt and create detailed cement decorations around his house. He continued to create for 25 years spending hundreds of hours sculpting and painting his creations and the result is “The Sugar House”. The house is just off the highway but even with the background of traffic noise the house really is beautiful. The details of the sculptures and the colours he chose to paint really does make the house and surroundings feel like a sculptured sugar house.
Nearby the Sugar House is the Concordia Cemetery where John Wesley Hardin’s Grave is located. Now I must admit cemeteries do intrigue me and I do find it fascinating to walk through graveyards reading the headstones: names, birth, death dates of the people in the area and discovering stories. John Wesley Hardin grave does have an interesting story. John was one of the Wild West’s most reckless gunslingers. It is said he shot and killed his first victim when he was 15 years old. He became a fugitive and wreaked havoc killing at least 27 more people throughout Texas until he was captured in 1877. He was sent to prison for 25 years. In prison he began studying law, reading theological literature, and eventually became the superintendent of the prison’s Sunday school. He was released 8 years early and continued to study law, passed the bar, and opened up a law practice. Unfortunately three months later he was shot and killed in a saloon in El Paso. His grave is in a stone and iron bar structure that looks a lot like a jail cell.
The National Border Patrol Museum was another interesting stop for us in El Paso. This museum covers the history of the Border Patrol from its beginning in 1924, through Prohibition, World War II, up until present day. There is so much interesting information here it would be too long to include everything, but here are a few of the highlights.
Starting way back in 1904 due to pressure to control Chinese aliens from trying to enter the USA illegally the Bureau of Commerce and Labor founded a group of 75 men to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Acts along its border. In 1913 the new Department of Labor took over the responsibility of all Immigration Laws and formed the Chinese Division they were renamed Mounted Inspectors until 1924 when the Border Patrol was founded. These patrols consisted of a variety of men from different backgrounds including cowboys, local police, and former Texas Rangers. The first area the Border patrol were responsible for was the southern border of the United States and Mexico. This border is more than 2000 miles long and crosses through four states.
On August 4, 1942 the USA and Mexico signed a bilateral agreement called The Bracero Program. This program allowed the USA government to contract Mexican Labours to work in the USA mostly on farms. Although this was supposed to be a war effort only, the program lasted from 1942 to 1964. During that time over 2 millions Mexican labourers worked in the USA. Unfortunately when it became apparent that there were more applicants for the Bracero Program then there were jobs and some employers refused to participate in the program, especially in South Texas, there was an increase of illegal immigrants from Mexico which created huge problems for the Border Patrol that continued well into the next decade and beyond.
Other responsibilities for the border patrol started when in between May and August 1961, there were four hijackings of commercial airlines. Following an attempted highjacking at the El Paso International Airport on August 3, 1961, President Kennedy announced that the Border Patrol Officers would be assigned to protect commercial airlines during flights to prevent any further highjacking. These were the first of what would become known as Sky Marshals.
The Mariel Boatlift of 1980. This was when a large amount of Cubans fled Cuba’s Mariel Harbour to the USA between April 15 and October 31, 1980. This was caused by the decline of the Cuban economy and many Cubans seeking political asylum. Fidel Castro and Jimmy Carter reached an agreement that allowed anyone who wanted to leave Cuba for the USA could do so. In the beginning, things went smoothly but soon there was concern that the agreement would end so people began stealing vessels and finding any way they could to cross the water to the USA. It is said that Castro took this opportunity and released a large number of dissidents, criminals, and mentally ill people from prisons in Cuba and sent them to the United States. It is also believed that anywhere from 7,500 and up to 40,000 “undesirables”arrived to the USA from Cuba. Approximately 125,000 Cubans arrived in the USA on 1,700 boats. The Border Patrol was assigned to assist the Coast Guard and Immigration Services.
There is also history to the North, the border between Canada and the United States. In June 1924 the first Border Patrol Station was established in Detroit Michigan to stop the smuggling of illegal liquor from Canada. During this time there was more focus for the Border Patrol to control illegal liquor smuggling during prohibition then illegal immigrants. There are eight sectors along the Canada USA border. In 2001 there was only 340 agents but since 9/11 the agents increased to 2,093 as of 2014. There has also been an increase in cameras and surveillance systems.
There is so much information and history at this museum. The above mentioned is just the very tip of the iceberg. What’s so amazing is that this museum is free and tucked away off the highway, a hidden secret. We love finding interesting places like these on our travels.
The Chamizal National Memorial is in El Paso. When standing in this park, we could look just over a busy street to the south and see the border wall that divides Mexico from the USA - just a stone throw away. The history of this park is pretty much because of the role of the Rio Grande River as a border between USA and Mexico. In this region, the Rio Grande river is the “official “ border between the United States and Mexico. Back in the 1850s gradual erosion and severe flooding changed the course of the river and made it unclear as to which country owned certain land along the banks of the river. Eventually the Rio Grande flowed south of a piece of Mexican Land known as El Chamizal, American citizens from El Paso Texas moved onto this land. This began a border dispute that lasted for the next 100 years. Eventually Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lopez Mateo negotiated for over a year and signed the Chamizal Convention on August 29, 1963. As we know John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22,1963 so President Lyndon Johnson implemented the Chamizal Settlement. Nearly 5,600 American residents of El Paso had to leave their homes and relocate. They did receive payment for their homes as well as moving expenses. October 28, 1967 marked the official exchange of lands that ended the Chamizal dispute. There are many pictures, even a statue showing the hand shake between the two presidents over the actual border marker. A part of the final agreement is that if the river is changed due to normal over time erosion, the border would follow the river. On the other hand, if the change is due to a torrent and fast flooding, the border would again have to be negotiated.
Our last thing to do in El Paso was to see the three Catholic Missions of El Paso. We drove the 9 mile road along the USA - Mexico border, it is really surreal to drive and see the tall border wall, its quite the sight. The first mission we stopped at was The Ysleta Mission, the closest to El Paso and the first permanent mission in Texas. This mission has been operating continuously since 1682. Second stop was the Socorro Mission which has a beautifuly restored wood beamed ceiling. The third and last one is the Presidio Chapel of San Elizario which originally started as a military fortress in the 1700’s. Eventually a chapel was built at the site near the end of the 19th century and it became a religious site. All three of these missions were very calming and comforting to walk into. We usually find Catholic churches have so much, for lack of better word, bling, and glitz, and extravaganza to them. These missions, on the other hand, although Catholic, are simple and there is a real sense of calmness, peacefulness inside.
We did stay at a Harvest Host in Socorro called the Three Missions Brewery. The brewery itself is located in a building over a hundred years old, the owner and the workers were from the area and are very involved in the historical restoration of the area. Great conversation, delicious beer, and a quiet night. We left in the morning heading toward Marfa.
Our stop in Marfa Texas was mainly to experience the famous mysterious lights that appear in a field after sunset. And they did not disappoint. First though on our drive to Marfa we stopped at the famous art installation “Prada Marfa”. This piece is basically a Prada Store front with shoes and hand bags from their 2005 fall collection displayed in the window. The door is always locked so no one can shop here. It’s along the highway literally in the middle of nowhere among fields.
Also before we arrived in Marfa there was another quirky stop along the highway. Just west of Martha the Ryan Ranch where some of the scenes for the movie Giant were filmed. Marfa was the location where the movie Giant back in 1956 was filmed. Now, you might not think this is too quirky - basically huge cut outs of James Dean, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and a scene from the movie Giant. The quirkiness is that when you approach these cutouts along the highway are two “rocks” which actually have speakers in them blasting old time Country music - what a fun stop!
In Marfa we stopped at Angels Restaurant and had tacos and enchiladas - delicious. Then it was off to drive the 10 minutes out of Marfa for the Marfa Lights Viewing Area where we boondocked for the night and experienced these mysterious moving orbs. The history of these lights date back to 1883 when a cowhand named Robert Reed Ellison saw a flickering light while he was driving cattle through the Paisano Pass. At first he thought it might be campfires of the Apache Indians. He was told by other settlers that they too often saw these flickering lights but when they went to investigate they could find no evidence of campfire, no ashes. Over the years there have been many more sightings but still when the people went to check they could find nothing. During World War I, it was feared these lights were intended to guide an invasion. There have been many explanations from UFO’s, to distant car lights, to simple magic, but to date the mystery of these lights remains unsolved. At the viewing station along the highway, quite a few people had gathered for the viewing. We were told to be here looking at the Chinati Mountains in Presidio County at dusk, this is when the lights will first start to appear. While waiting we met a couple who came from Corpus Christi Texas to see the lights also. This couple, we found out, had been following the International Space Shuttle. As we were talking, the gentleman points to the sky and says “in approximately 7 minutes the Shuttle will be passing right overhead above us in the sky. Now, no word of a lie, 7 minutes later, low and behold, the space shuttle flies directly above our heads across the sky. We watched it for at least 10 minutes before it disappeared in the distance. Really amazing. We were also treated by an almost full moon coupled with Venus shining brightly side by side directly in front of us.
Not long after the shuttle flew by and darkness came, the Marfa lights started to appear in the distance. It’s really hard to explain this phenomenon. At first we doubted ourselves that we were actually seeing what we were seeing. The lights would dance back and forth, appeared and disappeared at different heights in the distant mountain, jumped up and down and at other times seem to approach very close. These lights would split off into groups of two and three. The colours were mostly white but there were splashes of lights with green. It was an eerie feeling as we were completely surrounded by darkness. But then, this may be our imagination, we both could see shadows of what appeared to be people walking by in the field. We have no idea as to what this was all about. No matter, real or not, we do know what we both felt and saw and experienced and for us this was real. An amazing experience we shared together. We don’t know if other people saw the shadows in the field, definitely, judging by their exclamations and comments, they, like us, saw the lights moving in the distance. After an hour of watching these lights, we returned to the Roadtrek and off to bed. From our window we could still see the lights across the field.
Well after nearly 8 months on the road the cold and flu bug has finally caught up with us. First it was Guy and then me. Travelling is hard at times and when we are weakened by the cold bug it certainly makes it harder. We filled ourselves with over the counter cold medications and onward we went, coughing, sneezing, and more. But no whining allowed….
Big Bend National Park what a masterpiece of nature, non stop spectacular scenery, a treat to the eyes. Our first stop here was to head down to The Chisos Basin. This area is surrounded by the Chisos Mountains, a great lunch stop. Next we journeyed along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. This is a 50 kms drive that took us along the western slopes of the Chisos Mountains with stops at the Sotol Vista Overlook which gave us wonderful views of the Big Bend National Park. Next stop was the Mules Ears viewpoint where we met a french couple from Quebec travelling in a van similar to ours. And finally, the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook. Here we glimpsed at the Rio Grande River and saw a mountain valley split between USA and Mexico.
We stayed at the Rio Grande Village Campground for a few nights to relax and take advantage of the hot sun during the day, and hopefully recover from our colds. We did do a short hike from our campsite that took us up on a rocky ridge that allowed wonderful views of the surrounding area, the Rio Grande River, and a small village on the Mexico side. Three miles from our campground is the only border crossing in Big Bend into Mexico. Many people come here and cross the river into Mexico for the day for lunch.
At night we could hear the coyotes yapping as they wander through our campsite as if they owned it. There is also an array of wandering Mexican donkeys and cows crossing the Rio Grande that come to visit. We’ve also sighted a few roadrunners but it is difficult to capture them on film as they are very fast and skittish, and blend well into the surrounding grass and bushes. The quietness here is wonderful and this is just the place we needed to be.
It was hard to leave Big Bend for all its majestic beauty and natural quietness but onward we went to San Antonio. Of course, we had to do a few detours along the way. First stop is historic Fort Stockton; but before that, a quick visit to see Paisano Pete. Now Pete used to be the largest Roadrunner, but a newer and bigger Roadrunner in New Mexico now holds that title. Paisano Pete stands 11 feet tall and 22 feet long and was all decked out in his holiday attire waiting to welcome us to his hometown. He is the towns mascot and is the most photographed resident. He may no longer be the World’s Largest but he is the World’s First, so he was definitely worth a visit.
Fort Stockton’s historic district includes a small but interesting museum with information about the famed “Buffalo Soldiers”. Buffalo Soldiers were the Afro American men who joined the army seeking security after the civil war. On July 28, 1866 the U.S. Congress passed an act which created six regiments of African American Troops. There were 2 Calvary (horse soldiers) and 4 Infantry (foot soldiers). In the beginning most of these men were former slaves recruited from many states including Louisiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Kansas. This was their opportunity to receive wages, food, clothing, and housing. They would spend many years protecting settlers, mail coaches, and emigrants from Native America Tribes including the Comanche and Apache in West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. There has been a few theories as to where their name derived from. It is believed the name comes from when the Plains Natives first saw these men with their dark skin, curly hair, wearing fur overcoats in the winter it reminded them of Buffalos. Another theory is the Cheyenne Native called them this for their ability and fearlessness as soldiers. Overtime all African American Soldiers became known as Buffalo Soldiers. Even thought they were given second-class treatment they were still first rate divisions of the Army. They had the lowest desertion rate in the Army, were awarded numerous Medals of Honour and had the pride of a “Job Well Done”.
The Caverns of Sonora stop was a gem. These caves were discovered by accident in 1905 on a ranch that was owned by the Mayfield family when a dog chased a raccoon into a 20-inch opening in the rocks on the southern part of their ranch. Locals began to explore the caves in the early 1920’s and they could venture about 500 feet from the entrance to a fifty-foot deep pit. In 1955, three speleologists (people who study caves), Bob Crisman, Bart Crisman, and James Estes from Abilene Texas were exploring another well-known cave nearby. Afterwards they headed to the Mayfield Ranch to take a look at the cave now known as The Mayfield Cave. They entered the cave and eventually made their way to a large room with a deep pit that blocked any further access. On the other side of this pit they could see many inaccessible passages that continued on. They ran out of time and had to leave the cave but their story was told to other cavers. A few weeks later, Danny Sheffield, Jack Allen, Claude Head, and Jack Prince arrived at the cave. They crossed a narrow, sloping ledge, high on top of the big pit, and reached the passages on the other side. They discovered unique and beautiful formations and soon members of the caving community began to come to the caves. In 1956 Jack Burch a caver from Oklahoma noticed that visitors to the caves had been damaging some of the formations. He started building stairs and railings so visitors could enjoy these caverns without damaging them. Today no one is even allow to touch the walls, we were strictly reminded a few times. The caverns were officially opened to the public in 1960. These caverns are magnificent, our photos can hardly do them justice. We did the tour venturing on a two miles maze of stalactites, stalagmites, and mineral formations. The mineral nodes that develop on the caves surface are called “Popcorn”. “Soda straws” are the hollow mineral formations that hang from up above. Every inch of these caves from above to the floors to the walls are covered in spectacular colourful sights. We walked to the bottom of the caverns at a depth of 155 feet where the Crystal Palace is located. These caverns are home to blind crickets, spiders, and a few other creepy critters. Because the caves are air tight the temperature stays the same hot, hot, hot with a 98% humidity.
“Alright, alright, alright” famous words from a famous Texan, in my books anyways. Matthew McConaughey and a side-trip to Uvalde Texas. Matthews place of birth and to pose with his 17 foot cut out on the side of the road.
It seems like this blog is becoming more like a book so we have decided to end here. We will be travelling onwards to San Antonio next so will start our Texas Blog Part 2 shortly.
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