Short trip, Shopping in El Paso, TX Options

[Dutchman]

From Columbus to El Paso highway 9 is a 75 mile, well paved, two lane highway paralleling the Mexican border. For about 70 of those miles no buildings, nor any sign of life. Just endless desert, Chihuahua style. No saguaros, organ pipe, just brush and low shrubs. A rare tree sporting fall colors. This is a lonesome road, beautiful in its own stark way. On a clear day you can see the mountains behind El Paso when leaving Columbus. With the colder air some of the mountains, in early morning, seem to float upside down. An occasional lake ahead turns into a mirage. In places the road parallels the rusty car blocking fence to the south, which looks like a cross between a pipe line and and tank obstacle. Yet this has to be one of the safest roads in the New Mexico. Light traffic, and every third vehicle or so is Border Patrol. Occasional hawks patrol their interests from the air.

Cross border commerce is alive and well. In a big, crowded mall parking lot in El Paso, almost half the cars sport Mexican license plates. More Spanish spoken than English. Bumper to bumper traffic on the bridges between El Paso and Juarez. Xmas shopping has started. Must be, I heard the first store overhead Xmas carols on the 7th. Forty seven more days of Bing Crosby drooling from the speakers.

Avoiding the I-10 downtown bottleneck I take Loop 375 westbound. This reasonably quiet freeway runs right along the Mexican border. Triple fences topped with concertina wire on the left, the high border fence, brown with rust, high intensity lights every 100 ft or so on tall masts, separate two countries here. On the US side (right) I note 4 or 5 soccer fields, in use. On the Mexican side, 4 or 5 soccer fields, also in play on this Sunday.

The contrast of the trip is so notable. From isolated empty desert to crowded malls, from peaceful playing fields a stone throw apart to a border so heavily fenced and guarded; an evergreen next to a palm tree. Folks enjoying a Sunday on either side. A flock of doves flying from Mexico across the fence into the US, unopposed and unchallenged.

Makes you think.