As we spotted this gigantic sculpture of a roadrunner, we knew we were getting somewhere! And that somewhere was (finally) Texas. ⭐
We crossed from New Mexico into El Paso, a city where you could feel the desert all around you. With Ciudad Juárez on the other side of the border, this region is often called the Borderplex, with a population of over 2.7 million people. Our first stop ended up taking us to a military base, Fort Bliss. We wanted to check out the Fort Bliss and Old Ironsides Museum, but we kind of gave up on the idea once we got there. Looks cool if you're a history buff or really interested in the military, but we noped out of there to go check out some lighter stuff instead.
One of those lighter things is this little roadside curiosity, la Casa de Azucar (the Sugar House). The owner decorated his house as an homage to the city of El Paso and out of love for his wife, and you can definitely witness the incredible amount of time it took him to create all of this: 25 years! It is reminiscent of old Mexican catholic churches, and there's a huge altar in front of the house. This did not please our aesthetic tastes, but it was a nice (and free) little stop.
Because El Paso is such a historic place, we had to visit the Chamizal National Memorial. Originally, the border between the U.S. and Mexico was the Rio Grande, but as years passed, the river changed course, so the location of the border became unclear. In the 60's, an agreement was finally reached (the Chamizal Treaty), and a permanent location for the border was established. The monument you see below shows the location of the original border, where the first treaty was signed and before the river shifted.
As we drove further into Texas, we got the opportunity to visit the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland. It was such great fun! I didn't think we'd be treated to such nice exhibits and surprisingly non-biased information. You can visit a recreation of an oil boom town, see what the Permian reef looked like, get a picture in a race car, and check out a beautiful collection of minerals. There were several game-like exhibits, too, so Joel and I competed drilling for oil. Joel just wasn't cut out for it, it seems! 🤷
Finally, we went through Eastland to see Old Rip, the miracle horned toad that was supposedly alive in a time capsule after 31 years. 🦎 Definitely a hoax, but the perpetrators were never caught, and the little lizard went around the U.S. to be adored. It even met a president! It died about a year after it was saved, and then it was embalmed and displayed in a velvet casket at the Eastland County Courthouse. As if it couldn't get any weirder, Old Rip was stolen at some point, and the kidnapper eventually returned it, but now people aren't convinced this is the original lizard. We think it's hilarious. Make sure you go inside to say hi and get an information leaflet with the story of the little rascal!
If you've been following the itinerary on a map, you know which cities are coming next... that's right, Dallas and Fort Worth! Yeehaw! Stay tuned, folks! 💜
TL;DR: El Paso is the epitome of the Western, desert city. You could check out Fort Bliss and Old Ironsides Museum on a military base, stop by la Casa de Azucar (the Sugar House), and learn a bit of history at the Chamizal National Memorial. We were pleasantly surprised by the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, and we paid our respects to Old Rip, the miracle hoax lizard in Eastland.
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