On the Edge of Texas

Greetings from the Edge of Texas.  We are in Anthony at Exit 0 of I-10 in Texas. Tomorrow we will be heading out of the state, but more on that later. First, I will catch you up from when I last wrote.

We completed our stay at Peach Country RV Park in Stonewall, TX. Many thanks to Mark and Linda Miller, friends from Pasadena, who was very helpful in making our decision about life on the road. During our four nights in the park, they shared their favorite places in and around Stonewall and Fredericksburg. 

Texas Wine Cooperative

We enjoyed a Potluck Dinner at the park with great food and warm fellowship among the other RVers. These folks are serious cooks, and their food challenged even the best church fellowship dinners. It was not a night to watch the diet, and I, not so grudgingly, obliged. Thanks, Peach Country, for the invite.

 

I put a half brisket on our traveling smoker the day before we left. I used a retro recipe, a mop sauce that Marlene's Dad taught me nearly fifty years ago. He learned his version of the Washington County Mop Sauce from his Dad. It has been many years since I made it. Every trip is a mixture of where we are and where we are going. But it is good to acknowledge and celebrate how our past experiences also add joy to our wandering. Some memories ask to be rediscovered. Others beg to be avoided. Most, however, invite us to open our eyes to new adventures. The aroma of the brisket on the smoker teased my senses with remembering the unknown tastes that await us.

We made a four-and-a-half-hour drive to Fort Stockton for a couple of nights. We have often stayed in Fort Stockton RV Park in Fort Stockton, TX. It is a good stopover when traveling through the state. Fort Stockton is an old community that grew up around a 19^th-century fort placed here to protect settlers' and travelers’ access to the nearby springs. Today, the springs have become a municipal pool for a friendly community sustained by people traveling through. From my conversations, many of these year-round residents would not live anywhere else.

While in Fort Stockton, Marlene and I celebrated our 49^th anniversary with a fine dinner at Mi Casita. My sister-in-law pointed out that only a few couples get to follow their life's passion together in retirement. You are right, Julie. We feel more than fortunate. We will respect and enjoy this opportunity for as long as our health and interest allow. 

We did our laundry on our one full day in Fort Stockton. It was a few days early, but we wanted to leave time to explore and wander in El Paso and Willcox. Otherwise, it was a relaxing day of enjoying. Along with chores, it included a little writing, a little reading, and a nap. Wandering is not all sightseeing and picture-taking. Most days are just the quiet joy of being together on the road.

 

We arrived at El Paso Road Host RV Park in Anthony, TX, after a windy drive from Fort Stockton. Our site is nestled between the Organ Mountains of New Mexico and the Franklin Mountains of Texas. We are on the edge of Texas and in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert. The sky is a deep blue, and the wind is a constant companion. Mexico is less than a mile away, while Texas reaches over 850 miles to the east. It is the only part of Texas not in the Central Time Zone. We are 150 miles closer to San Diego, CA, than we are to Beaumont, TX. 

 

This part of Texas is like nowhere else in the state. It has more in common with Brownville than Dallas. It is part of the Borderlands that stretch the length of the Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo del Norte as it is known in Mexico.) These lands have a transnational outlook and embrace their family and friends on both sides of the river.  

El Centro of El Paso is the old shopping area on the South side of Downtown, adjacent to the border. While the times have been hard on many of these old buildings, many surviving buildings are historical examples of Art Deco from the 1920s and 1930s. Some have been repurposed. The old theater now serves as a shop for people selling their wares. We walked from San Jacinto Plaza down and around several blocks of El Centro. Not touristy at all. Just authentic Borderlands Urban. El Paso has done well in preserving many buildings and sharing their story on plaques and storyboards scattered throughout the area. We later drove through the area around UTEP. It was nice but did not have the gritty character of El Centro. Thank you, El Paso, for remaining true to your heritage and place in our lives.

Pondering Our Wandering

We have picked up a few of our Tastes of Texas. As many of you know, we enjoy adventure eating. We have enjoyed the green chili sauces in New Mexico, and Colorado, exotic wild game burgers, bison stew, and Indian tacos made with Fry Bread, along with every sandwich combo imaginable across the country. But along with these new tastes, we enjoy the familiar flavors of Texas. We stocked up on Wolf Brand Chili (without beans, thank you), San Marcos pickled jalapenos, Gebhardt’s Chili Powder, Wick Fowler’s Two Alarm Chili Mix, our favorite Texas wines, and assorted other items. Our palates need to remember the wonderful comfort foods that have us sustained through good and bad times. (I know that Robin's Eggs are not specifically Texan, but Marlene loves the large ones, and we have only been able to find them at Target Stores.) A few tastes of Texas make the adventure of eating on the road much more enjoyable.

This week we will be leaving Texas behind! We will return on October 13^th. I first left the state for an extended period in 1982 when we moved to Missouri. Tears welled up in my eyes as we crossed the Red River. There was no quick trip across the state line when I was growing up in Central Texas. I could not imagine life without the Lone Star flying overhead. The land beyond the Sabine, the Red River, and the Rio Grande was full of mystery and wonder. My tears were sadness, anxiety, and wonderment, which is a magical mix regardless of your age. Tomorrow we will crossover into New Mexico. El Paso will be in my rearview mirror. And I will look ahead to the unknowns of the West Coast and all the points in between over the next seven months! I hope those tears return!

 

We have one more full day in El Paso. We hope to drive The Mission Trail (including the Tigua Indians' homeland) and the Franklin Mountains. Then we pack up and push through New Mexico, where I hope to pick up some Green Chili Sauce. Our next stop is in Willcox, AZ, where we will explore part of the Chiricahua Apache Homelands for four days. 

 

Glad to have you along for the ride. Hope to see you along the road!

 

Bob