I tried to access the Internet at
three libraries but was unsuccessful. On my walk back to the motel I
once again stopped by the UTEP campus and completed a scketch and
small watercolor, to try to capture the unique character of the
buildings. Date(s): Oct. 11, 1999
Layover day in El Paso
The original plan on the layover day was for the group to rent cars
and visit Carlsbad Caverns. Once people realized that the drive was 6
hours round trip, it didn't seem as appealing as it had
originally. Only 5 ended up going; Lynne, Janet, Todd, Jimmy, and
Oliver. Oliver said it was well worth the trip. I slept in and decided
to explore El Paso on foot, as we were staying about 3 or 4 miles from
downtown. The campus of the University of Texas at El Paso was on the
way and I spent some time trying to visit the museum and galleries,
most of which were closed on Mondays. It is a beautiful campus. Most
of the buildings are built in the style of those in the country of
Bhutan, with characteristic nearly flat roofs, red brick borders near
the tops, light-colored walls, and the base slightly larger than the
top.
While walking in the downtown area it felt like I was in Mexico. It looked very much like Tijuana, a characteristic border town. I used my limited Spanish (mostly because people I talked to didn't speak English) to ask about nearby restuarants, and found a good local cafe, the Tejas Cafe.
I tried to access the Internet at
three libraries but was unsuccessful. On my walk back to the motel I
once again stopped by the UTEP campus and completed a scketch and
small watercolor, to try to capture the unique character of the
buildings.
It felt good to be on my own sechedule, and I took my time returning to the room, having a light dinner at a good small restaurant, Kern's Market, buying a pair of long-fingered bike gloves at a bike shop, and losing my hat in the process. The kind man at the Crazy Cat bike shop agreed to look for it and send it to Austin if it turns up.
Several of the group went to Mexico for dinner in a restaurant which turned out to be like any sports bar in the U.S. It sounds like Juarez is very similar to El Paso, only a bit more run down. Oliver was one of the group going to dinner, having returned from the caverns and catching a cab with Todd and Jimmy to the restaurant, not a very restful rest day. In three days we'll have another rest day at Ft. Davis and he says he plans to rest that day. The rest of the group went to a Chines restaurant; now we've visited our quota of restaurants for a while; it's back to camp cooking.