Today was a day to be outside. Well that's an understatement. Everyday is a day to be outside in El Paso. The temperature is... perfect. The weather is... heavenly. The air is... breatheable.
I started off by visiting the Concordia Cemetery in El Paso. It's a historic landmark due to the fact that it was bought up in sections by Jews, Chinese, Mexicans, and Freemasons. One section of the cemetery is devoted to the Buffalo Soldiers- a Black military regiment from the Civil War who fought bravely. Also buried at Concordia is the infamous gunslinger outlaw and attorney John Wesley Hardin. He killed 30+ people in what he calls "self-defense." After doing his time in prison, he was released. He became an attorney and started his own practice in El Paso, but was killed by the city constable 3 months later. I can't exactly say I was going to pay my respects to the gunslinger. It's an odd feeling to visit the grave of a murderer, even if it is for historic and cultural education.
Later, I checked out the historical Mission Trail in San Elizario. I can't exactly say what the importance of it was, cause I'm not sure. I think it had something to do with some Christians who crossed the border in the 1700 or 1800s and tried to convert people. They built three beautiful, adobe-style churches within six miles of each other. Outside of one church, a Mexican festival was taking place. Teens were dancing to Mariachi music (I think); farmers were selling red, hot, shut-your-screaming-brat-up chile peppers, a man was roasting plantain bananas, and I was eating a chocolate-filled churro. Mmmmm. Good. Me likey.
On my way back to El Paso, I swung a couple of rights and lefts with my trusty rental Totota Camry and ended up at Hueco Tanks State Park. Formed from volcanic lava millions of years ago, the rock formations previously housed a certain tribe of Native Americans. Dammit, I really need to start taking notes. So anyway, they lived there from the B.C. era to the 1100s A.D. The rocks hold the remains of their secret language- pictographs of masks. Much of the land remains untouched and pristine. Enjoy the video-feed from the top of the rocks.
Buenos Dias!
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