February, 2009 -- My mom, Summer, Bodie and I decided we needed a get-away, and we had a few days off school & work, so we decided to drive south towards warmer weather. Here’s my quick reviews of where we went:
Capulin Volcano National Monument: was worth the hour or so detour off I-25. It does look more like a volcano than lots of other mountains that were volcanoes years and years ago, and the view from the top is amazing, you can see Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Besides Summer had just learned about different types of rocks so she found her very own igneous rock to bring home!
Back country roads in New Mexico: Trust me when I say, if you are in a hurry, stay on I-25. You aren’t missing anything but about 5 million cows. All the roads we took were on the map, and paved, but there was actually grass growing out of the median. We saw lots of farm land, lots of dairy farms, and lots of longhorn steer.
Roswell, NM: Roswell is home of the ~~~aliens~~~ (my kids insist you have to hold your hands out like you are a monster and say it in your spooooooooky voice). It’s a cute little town, the street lamps are little green alien heads, and we found the best Mexican place, Popo’s, for dinner east of Main on McGaffey Street. The best part of Roswell has to be the McDonald’s with a play area shaped like an ~~~alien~~~ spaceship. Other than that, and tons of ~~~alien~~~ stuff, we didn’t find too much to do there, and no “real” aliens.
Carlsbad Caverns: This was supposed to be the highlight of the trip, but honestly, it wasn’t. We didn’t enjoy the caves at all, we found them to be quite dirty inside. We asked a ranger about it and he agreed with us that, yes, after 30+ years of people walking through, the 10 feet closest to the path has turned black from dead skin cells and lint. Kinda gross if you ask me! The caves are so far in the middle of nowhere, it isn’t worth the drive in my opinion. Next time I’ll try Cave of the Winds.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park: beautiful mountains, but unless you are planning to hike, just enjoy them as you sail by at 80mph along HW62/180.
Texas: Summer really, really wanted to go to Texas. Only because Mrs. McKinney, a teacher at her school, is from Texas. She has no idea what is in Texas, but she has huge dreams that it’ll be more exciting than the land of cows we’ve been driving by in New Mexico. Let’s just say she was slightly disappointed. I tried to tell her they are called “Texas Longhorn Steers” for a reason, she didn’t believe me when I said it’s because they were from Texas!
The Mission Trail: We left Clint, Texas early in the morning and drove up the mission trail. I love looking at the churches – they are all unique in their own ways. It was a very enjoyable morning.
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: because we had passed about 100 billboards by now that said “Don’t go to Juarez … Juarez is dangerous … Juarez should be avoided!” Well, if you know me, you know that I can’t resist doing what I’m told not to do. So we parked the car on the El Paso side, loaded our pockets with passports, money, and the camera and walked across the bridge at Mesa Street. It was so easy, just pay 30 cents or 3 pesos per person and you are in, no questions asked. We walked over to Avenida Juarez and down to 16 de Septiembre where the Guadalupe Mission, Zocolo, and Cuauhtemoc Market were. We passed by tons of taxis offering us a ride, and found the walk to be quite enjoyable. I’ll admit aside from one man with a teenage son, we were the only ‘white’ people we saw in Juarez. I wasn’t at all frightened or uncomfortable. We saw one drug deal as we walked down the sidewalk, but with some common sense and street-smarts, Juarez is perfectly safe in my opinion. We met tons of very nice Mexicans, and everyone was helpful and polite towards us. I was surprised that no one spoke and English there. The Guadalupe Mission was nice, much larger than the missions outside El Paso and beautifully restored, especially the paintings inside. The Cuauhtemoc Market was also fun to walk around in. They literally sold everything from socks to used curling irons to lunch. It was Valentine’s Day so the zocolo had vendors selling valentine’s gifts, and the zocolo was full of people – nice looking people, young and old alike. There was a group of, for lack of a better name, Native American Indians, doing a traditional dance. There was also a few men dressed in traditional Aztec headdresses (and very little else) dancing around. It was nice to sit in the zocolo and watch them dance, the kids found it very interesting. There were also two groups of high school kids wearing or carrying signs saying (in spanish of course) God loves us all, open your heart for God, etc., one on each side of the zocolo. They were chanting something back and forth similar to “We’ve got spirit, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how about you!” They would yell this several times, then they’d all dispurse in the zocolo and hand out candy. Now remember, Summer and Bodie were the only blondes around, so the high schoolers descended upon us, giving us more candy than we could hold. Summer was a little intimidated, but both kids did great at smiling and saying “gracias”. We forgot to bring a watch and we were worried it was getting late, I certainly wouldn’t recommend Juarez after dark, so we started the walk back to the bridge to El Paso. Along Avenida Juarez there are tons of nightclubs with signs painted on the side saying “No menores, no armas, no droges” (no kids, guns or drugs). We stopped along the way where there was a crowd of people buying burritos from a man on a modified-bicycle. I got a chicken mole burrito that was delicious. We also stopped at the Gordobus – a converted schoolbus with a kitchen in the back and tables in the middle where we ate a few chili con queso gorditas. I would highly recommend them if you are ever in Juarez and see the Gordobus. The nice man who runs it doesn’t have a vendor liscense, so when the police come by, he just hops up and drives the bus to a new location. Our last stop was la michocana paletaria – a homemade ice cream shop. The ice cream was heavenly, did I mention I love food in Mexico. I had told the kids we’d stay in Juarez until they had to go potty, then we were going back to El Paso, and after all that food I knew it wouldn’t be long. So then we headed back to the bridge and were stopped by a nice man who had just crossed into Mexico. He was talking so fast in Spanish at us that I could only get about half of it, but apparently the bridge we crossed to get into Mexico was a one-way bridge and we couldn’t use it to go home. The correct bridge was about 2 blocks west. He offered us a ride, but I politely declined telling him we liked to walk, even though by now Bodie was getting tired. So, 2 blocks west and we see a line waiting to pay their 3 pesos to cross the bridge to the US. We hopped in line and paid our money. Then we realized the line didn’t end there, it went ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BRIDGE. Can I just tell you we stood on that bridge for about 2 hours trying to get OUT of Juarez. All the meanwhile my kids were telling me they had to potty more and more. Now, we are on a pedestrian bridge, with guards standing on one side of us and a chain-link fence on the other side. There was no way out of the line, there was nothing I could do except tell them, sorry kids 10 more minutes. Finally, when the line was really moving slow, and Bodie was beyond doing the potty-dance. I just yanked his pants down and let him pee right there on the side of the bridge, right over the Rio Grande. What’s a mom supposed to do? Poor Summer had to hold it longer, but I promised her that we’d clear customs at the bottom of the bridge and find her a place to pee. Well we finally got to the bottom of the bridge and then I saw it – the line – it didn’t end there – it cued through a building! Now we have a serious problem, this poor 6-year-old is going to pee her pants. So at a bend in the line, I spotted a trash can, and while my mom held her over-shirt as a sort-of screen, I helped Summer pee in the trash can. Now that both kids were feeling a little better, and I could see an end to the line, it got more interesting. A lady about 10 people in front of us passed out and was rushed off in an ambulance. Then the ICE agents drove up in a big bus, and lead about 50 handcuffed, shackled people back across the border to Mexico. It was very interesting and I believe educational for Summer and Bodie. I don’t think they’ll be trying to sneak into another country anytime!
Highway 28 from Chamberino through Mesilla to Las Cruces: This is a beautiful drive, even in February. The Stahmann Farms is just outside Mesilla, it’s the largest family-owned orchard in the US and I can only imagine that the pecan trees are gorgeous when they have leaves.
McDonald’s in Truth or Consequences and Socorro: these two McDonald’s are so incredibly expensive it’s worth mentioning. Absolutely unbelievable!
Chimayo, NM: This is one of my favorite places. I love El Santuario de Chimayo and the story behind it. If you ever get the chance, go there! My kids love the “magic dirt” and, Bodie especially, believes that it works. It’s cured many scraped knees and tummy aches at our house. Make sure you take your own small container for some dirt.
Truchas, NM: Shouldn’t be missed either, it’s a lovely little town with spectacular mountains all around, even if the people of Truchas aren’t that friendly.
Air Force Academy Chapel: We made great time on the roads home and had a little extra time so we decided to stop, besides Summer and Bodie both needed to run a little. The walk to the Chapel is 1/3 mile easy walk that both kids really liked. The Chapel is beautiful – don’t miss the lower level with the Buddhist and Jewish rooms. Summer really liked it and she had fun finding the menorahs. Bodie wanted to know why the Buddhists had sleepovers (pillows on the floor and no chairs). So there was some things there for the kids to learn aside from the spectacular setting.
So, would I go again – yes and no. I’d skip eastern New Mexico and head straight for El Paso. El Paso would be a great place to stay for 3 or 4 days. I’d definitely recommend the winter because the weather was a beautiful 70 degrees, even better knowing there was snow at home. I would remember sunscreen, we sunburned in Mexico.
If you read all the way to here – congratulations! I know I’m long-winded at times!
