Finally caught up in Grants, NM

Devlin getting ready to stage his coup

Aunt Lynn as the Car VIP



We've finally left Texas behind on our way home. We drove through the city of El Paso (because we all know the song and wanted to see it, of course) and because it put us on a new route home. West Texas from Pecos to El Paso looks more dry and bleak than you can imagine. I'm sure that if you are out there walking around in the desert, there is hidden beauty, though. I've learned in my time in the Tri-Cities not to judge the landscape too quickly.

Having said that, I found El Paso depressing. I've read enough about border issues, immigration politics, the maquiladoras, etc., to know that life along the border is rough for those who are struggling to make a living. And the continuous exporting of jobs off this continent and into China and Southeast Asia makes it even worse. The tenuous circumstances of the majority of those who must live in El Paso and in Ciudad Juarez (and neighboring places) is evident in the kinds of stores you see along the freeway--topless bars, tourist traps, pawn shops, check-cashing stores, etc., etc. I hope I don't ever go to El Paso again, not because it has nothing to offer, but because it was such a stark reminder to me of how unfair the world can be--all depending sometimes on where you were born.

The drive itself after El Paso, continuing into New Mexico was great. The landscape changes constantly as you drive from southern New Mexico toward Albuquerque. It's been awhile since we've seen any wildlife, and today was no exception. But what I did see was changing color, cloud shadows, stark mountains, and clear evidence that this part of the world was once submerged by a sea. It's surreal to imagine. I think New Mexico is one of my top 3 favorite states I've visited. I've been here a few times, primarily to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Those aren't on the list this time, but I'm enjoying it just as much to see new places and to get outside the postcard cities. Grants came to be as a railroad logging town in the late 1800s. After this activity declined, it became famous as the carrot capital of the world. But what really put Grants on the map was the discovery of uranium here by a shepherd named Paddy Martinez. Uranium mining continued into the 1980s. I've seen billboards here about settlement activity directed toward those who worked in those mines. Once the mining gave out, the area's economy collapsed, but it is apparently able to pull off some of the tourism directed toward Albuquerque and environs, so they're experiencing a bit of a recovery. The hotel we're staying in, a Best Western, looks like it was probably built rather lavishly during the uranium days. It feels oddly empty and out of place now in a way. It's very clean and comfortable, but the meeting spaces and empty event venues seem ghostlike.

It's late, and we're all tired. We did a lot of laundry tonight, watched a little of E.T. with Lynn and Terry, and ate some great New Mexico-style Mexican food for dinner: Sopapillas(one of my favorite foods in the world), rice, beans, and cheese enchiladas with red chile sauce. Excellent. It's time for bed now because we have an early start on the road on our way to Moab, UT and a quick visit to Arches National Park. Love you and miss you all.