Arizona to Texas

We left Bisbee, AZ the following morning and headed towards El Paso, TX.

Our route took us to within spitting distance of Mexico, through a town called Douglas, which has a border crossing. From Douglas, the road turns NNE up towards New Mexico. At this point things turned weird. For the next 60 miles Border Patrol vehicles outnumbered cars 2 to 1. They would be parked along side the road (sometimes 2 of them) not really doing anything we could tell; but all the occupants eyed us suspiciously as we barreled down the road at 50 MPH.

I began to notice large "things" walking across the road; about the size of a fifty-cent piece. My imagination began to run away with me as I became certain they were tarantulas. I began to slow down (to a crawl) and then realized they were huge grasshoppers or locust's up to 6 inches long! When the kids became excited we slowed to a stop to get a closer look; and off on the shoulder there was a dead snake that was PINK!

Keeping my eyes on the rearview mirrors to ensure we were not rear-ended by a Mexican trucker, I noticed a white truck approaching from the south and began to accelerate to near legal speeds. After a while I noticed that this white truck came right up to our bumper, but did not pass; which was odd, since everyone passes us. Then I realized this white truck was exactly like all the other Border Patrol vehicles we had passed; and began to brace myself to be pulled over and searched for illegals.

Well, after 10 miles or so the Border agent pulled a U-turn and let us be. We were certain he had called in our license plate and determined we were just harmless tourists.

Another 30 miles up the road Mom exclaimed that it was time to pull over due to an overfilled bladder, and we noticed that the front of the trailer and the truck were completely covered with Locust road-kill. The front of both vehicles were plastered with a poop colored thick gelatinous ooze that looked like it would require sandblasting to come off. There were grasshopper body parts intertwined with the radiator, headlights, and bumper (some still squirming).

As we entered Texas the first stop was a visitors center well stocked with brochures of touristy things to do in the Lone Star state. Since our first stop was El Paso (and none of us had been there before) we searched for "things to see" here first. We found very little, and hit the road in search of a park to spend the night.

We entered the Central Business District of El Paso just in time for the evening rush hour (I seem to time this event more often than not). We found nothing of interest as we traveled through the congestion towards our destination RV park.

The following morning we studied the visitors brochures only to discover that the most highly touted excursion in El Paso was a trip across the border to Ciudad Juarez to haggle with the Mexican shop keepers. We decided to move on.

The distance from El Paso to San Antonio is too far to comfortably drive in 1 day, so it became a 2-day jaunt. I have no pictures to share since there was nothing illuminating enough to stop and get out the camera for. Although, we did entertain ourselves with identifying and counting the various species of road-kill. In 300 miles of highway we counted 12 deer, 3 Javelina's (a small pig-like hog about the size of a medium dog), porcupines, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, and the occasional Kitty cat. The speed limit here is 80 MPH and some of the deer were completely decapitated from the impact(s). My apologies to those of you with weak stomachs, however, this was the topic of conversation during this stretch of the highway.



San Antonio, Texas: This is a neat city! Jeanne and I had visited here about 5 years ago and had a great time. Our first evening we toured the Riverwalk district; which is downtown San Antonio where they detoured the San Antonio river through town and created an absolutely beautiful district. There is a wonderful walkway on each side of the river lined with restaurants, nightclubs, and retail. I think of the Seattle waterfront and wonder if we could do something similar there.

McLeod developed a case of shingles a couple of weeks ago. No one really thought too much about it since it was a relatively minor case with only mild itching. However, 10 days later, Erik began to break out in red bumps; very similar to Chicken Pox. This did not make sense because he has had the newest vaccination. Research revealed that this vaccination is far from 100% effective, and the virus that causes shingles is the same virus as Chicken Pox. The boy was quarantined to Edna for the next 5-days as he scratched, whined, and moaned.

Finally, the poor boy was deemed non-contagious by the Mom and we celebrated with a coming out party. Our celebration began at the world renowned Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. http://www.buckhornmuseum.com/

The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum has been in continuous operation since 1881. The history of this world famous establishment is an important part of the story of San Antonio.

1881 - Albert Friedrich opens his own business, Albert's Buckhorn Saloon, on Dolorosa Street. The Buckhorn opens with a standing offer to all patrons - "Bring in your deer antlers and you can trade them for a shot of whiskey or a beer." Albert's father, Wenzel Friedrich, provides handmade horn furniture for the saloon - the world's most unique collection of horns and antlers begins.
1880's - The Buckhorn Saloon collection of horns and trophy mounts grows as cowboys and hunters bring in animals of all kinds.
1891 - Albert marries Emilie Derr. Emilie expands Albert's offer to include rattlesnake rattlers and the tradition continues as thousands of rattlesnake rattlers are brought in as barter. Emilie fashions signs and artwork from the rattlers for display in the saloon.

(This is a diamondback Rattler about 8-9 feet long!)

1896 - The saloon prospers and moves to even larger quarters at Houston and Soledad Streets.
1898 - Teddy Roosevelt frequents the saloon and recruits Roughriders at the bar. Will Rogers visits the saloon as a cowboy and returns often, as does O. Henry.
1899 - The world's record whitetail "78 Point Buck" is acquired for $100 and put on display at the Buckhorn.
1914 - With the outbreak of World War I, many recruits visit San Antonio for training and take the story of the Buckhorn with them all over the world.
1920 - Prohibition becomes law and the Buckhorn Saloon becomes the Buckhorn Curio Museum.
1921 - The Buckhorn's primary competitor, Billy Keilman's Horn Palace, closes and Friedrich acquires the collection of the Horn Palace including "Old Tex", a world record longhorn steer. The Buckhorn becomes the undisputed largest display of horns and antlers.
1922 - The Buckhorn moves to a larger space at the southwest corner of Houston Street and South Flores Street. Friedrich acquires a full size gorilla, which he places in the front window for all to see. The gorilla is known as "The Guard" of the Buckhorn and the front window becomes a favorite meeting place in downtown San Antonio.
1932 - Prohibition is repealed and the Buckhorn Saloon is back in business. Many vaudeville entertainers frequent the Buckhorn since the State Theater rear entrance is across Flores Street.
1941 - World War II breaks out and once again San Antonio becomes the training ground for many soldiers, most of whom visit the Buckhorn and spread the story.
1956 - Lone Star Brewing Company purchases the world-famous Buckhorn Collection and opens the Lone Star Buckhorn Hall of Horns.
1964 - The Hall of Fins is added to the Lone Star Buckhorn Hall of Horns.
1968 - The World's Fair, Hemisfair, is held in San Antonio. At the close of the fair, Lone Star relocates the Hall of Texas History Wax Museum to the grounds of the Buckhorn Hall of Horns.
1973 - Hall of Feathers, exhibits of birds from all over the world, added to the Hall of Horns and Hall of Fins collections. Annual attendance reaches 400,000 as Lone Star's popularity reaches new highs.
1998 - The Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio closes and the new owner, Stroh's Beer, moves brewing of Lone Star to the Stroh's Brewery in Longview, Texas. In order to keep The Buckhorn collection in San Antonio, the granddaughter of Albert Friedrich, Mary Friedrich Rogers and her husband, Wallace Rogers, acquire the collection. On December 22, 1998, the new Buckhorn Saloon & Museum opens on Houston Street - a few blocks from the original 1881 location.

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Erik's Coming out Party: con't.:

From the world famous Buckhorn we make our way back down to the Riverwalk district and stop for crab cakes and a drink. Stroll the river some more, stop again for a pizza, pasta, and another drink, then onto a movie, and back to Edna.

The following day we hit the road for the Gulf and Corpus Christi.

We hope that all of you are healthy and happy. Please drop us an e-mail when you have time: jamescpaton@gmail.com