Once Around on a Bicycle
This is downtown El Paso as seen from the 'Presidential Suite' of the Travelodge Hotel. I stayed here on the top floor for three nights, relaxing before I set out into West Texas. I doubt that I'll see another building taller than three stories before I reach San Antonio.
Everything in Texas is bigger, even the souvenirs. I saw these wooden Indians (and a Cowboy) in front of a truck stop gift shop near Esperanza. It was a strange and remote place. They had a couple of live tigers on view in cages out back. Very strange.
There is so little vertical vegetation in West Texas that I had to take a picture of this tree. I have no idea what it's called, but it looks a little like Cousin It on top. I came across the Cousin It Cactus in suburban Marathon.
This is the bank in downtown Marathon. You would expect Butch and Sundance to come running out the front door, it's so authentically 'old west'. The only concession to modern-day banking is the ATM machine on an outside wall. The architecture throughout the rest of the town is similar.
The bridge over the Pecos River Gorge offers some great scenery. I had to laugh at the sign that forbids diving from the bridge. It you decide to dive off this bridge, I don't think a sign will stop you.
I spent a night here in the refurbished Patton Hall at Fort Clark. This cavalry barracks building was named after George S. Patton who was stationed at Fort Clark in 1938. The fort was founded in 1848 and shut down in 1946. Two of the barracks are now a motel in Fort Clark Springs.
The small town next to the Alamo was called La Villita. It has been restored and now has a lot of art galleries and restaurants. The little plazas with their fountains are great places to 'take a load off' after walking around the Alamo complex.
This is the front of the former Franciscan mission church, that later became part of the fort called the Alamo. In 1836, 189 soldiers died here after holding out for 13 days against Santa Anna's 4000 man Mexican Army. Sam Bowie (of Bowie Knife fame) and Davey Crockett were among the 189 who were fighting to liberate Texas from Mexico. I saw the IMAX presentation next door and listened to a history lesson in the courtyard, so I am now an expert in Texas history.
San Antonio is the ninth largest city in the United States. The St. Paul neighborhood is being 're-vitalized'. It's near the Sunset Train Station, Alamodome, Hemisfair Park, and Tower of the Americas. I never miss an opportunity to go to the top of these types of towers. It's worth $4 to get a view of the city and the surrounding area that I'll soon be cycling through.
While crossing Houston from east to west I managed to avoid most of the beautiful parks and modern skyscrapers. I visited some of the city's "grittier" neighborhoods, instead. At one point, late in the afternoon, I had stopped to study my map. A local policeman stopped his vehicle and asked me if I knew where I was. He said that I was in the most dangerous neighborhood in the city. He gave me some directions, then sped off. He never got out of his car. I picked up my pace after that encounter.
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