And Then Came The Dust

We had been hearing predictions of strong winds for Saturday in SW Texas and New Mexico, and the forecasts were spot on.

Saturday morning the wind had picked up a little, but it wasn't a problem.  There was a bit of dust in the air, and the temperature was around 80F.

While the boys headed off to rent a car for the day so we could go sightseeing, the girls attended to the mundane chore of keeping the washing up to date. Ho hum but got to be done !

After picking up the girls, we headed for the discount cowboy outfitters - the first one had a good selection of boots, but not in the size we were after.  The second one - "Cowtown", had an advertised 20,000 pairs of boots, and it sure looked like it.  The place was massive, and we managed to find a pair of natural python skin boots with leather tops in just the right colour at just the right price.

Shopping sorted, we headed for the city centre, and the wind picked up another few notches.  Too windy for most activities. We managed to find a parking spot and wandered down El Paso Street.  Lots of shops selling bargain basement priced goods - reminiscent somewhat of Asia or even Fiji, but without the aggression.  We did not find anything which took our fancy, so we headed for lunch.

The event manager of the Mini launch that we attended (crashed) on Friday night had told us that if we wanted great food, to visit her restaurant - Cafe Central - so that is what we did. This is a fine dining restaurant - far removed from the usual American diner or family restaurants that are dotted all over.  The food was excellent, and the service was impeccable.

And still the wind kept increasing outside.

We made the brave decision to once again walk down El Paso Street.  At the end of the street is the bridge that connects USA with Mexico.  We did it.  We carried on past the end of the street, paid our fare of 25c each and crossed into Mexico - just for a look and to say we have been there.

And the wind blew.

If we thought that downtown El Paso was a little seedy, it had nothing on the entry to Mexico at Juarez.  Everthing looked to be falling down or apart, the place was littered with all sorts of rubbish, and the locals were trying to sell anything they could lay their hands on - the deck of the bridge connecting the countries was choked with cars waiting at the border checks, and the Mexicans were in and out of the traffic with all manor of goodies and washing windows.  It was quite comical really.

It was not hard to make the decision to beat a hasty retreat right back to the good old USA.  We paid our 35c entry fee, crossed the bridge, and waited patiently in line at the border control.  Rod was first through and got the third degree from the crossing guard - I don't think he could really believe that we  came all the way from Australia.  And he certainly was confused that we had spent only a few minutes (about 3) in Mexico.  After a couple of minites interrogation, he allowed Rod to enter, and then one by one the rest of the party followed after a few questions and shaking of his head.

And the wind continued to blow, and the visibility dropped even further.

By this stage it was after 4pm, and it was getting darker.  We could only see about 500m, and dust blew in great gusts across the roads as we drove back to the RV park and sanctuary.

And the wind blew.

The RV park is now filling with caravans and rigs trying to avoid the wind and dust.  We heard that the I10 Interstate highway that we travelled over the past few days had been completely closed today, as there is zero visibilty in the desert due to dust.  We at least have a base.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring calmer conditions and a drop in wind speed and dust.  We don't fancy trying to drive this big rig in high winds, but we don't want to lose any time either - so much to see and so little time.  The forecast is for lighter winds, so lets hope they get that right too.

We are now washing the dust from our throats, and a visit to the showers is also high on our priority list so that we can give back some of the dust we have accumulateed in various unnamed places today.

Tomorrow is Carlsbad Caverns - hopefully.

Cheers,