After leaving Terlingua (Big Bend NP area) we rambled around west Texas for a day or so on our way to Carlsbad Caverns NP in New Mexico.
We spent a day driving north and west to Van Horn, a town of about 5,000 on the main highway through these parts, I-10. The point of this was to visit another local town, Fort Hancock, along the US-Mexico border. Beth had lived here when she was 5 and 6. Her dad was with the Border Patrol and things were very different in the 50s compared with now. Here's what the border looks like now, with a 6 mile fence. We did NOT drive into Mexico.
It was something of a bittersweet time for Beth. We drove up and down the streets (population about 1,700 so there aren't that many streets) and she remembered where her house, the school, and their church had been but all had been replaced over the years. There was one establishment, however, that remained, a place her family had spent quite a bit of time....
No, that is NOT her family in the picture. Actually, this building is still a restaurant and general merchandise store. We chatted with the owner and he was able to update Beth on what happened to the school and church.
We still own some pieces of a dining set that Beth's family purchased there 50 or so years ago.
On the way back to Van Horn we experienced some of the impact of being close to the border. We didn't have to show proof of citizenship (I think that's only required in Arizona...) but every vehicle was stopped and someone from the Border Patrol talked with each person in the car. Fortunately, we were not suspicious and they let us continue on.
Back in Van Horn we decided to dine in one of the local establishments that was made famous by John Madden. Apparently he didn't like to fly with his football team and so would drive from city to city and lots of experiences with local restaurants from coast to coast. I guess he would share these experiences with news people and then his favorite places got their 15 minutes of fame. In Van Horn it's Chuy's, a Mexican restaurant. They were so grateful to Madden that they have a room dedicated to him, with his own personal chair! The food was great!
Even though there are great gas stations and restaurants in Van Horn, it was only an over night stop for us. We left the next day for Carlsbad New Mexico, home of the famous Carlsbad Caverns. I'll blog about that next time around.
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