El Paso, a geographical oddity......
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6/4/2006
While El Paso lies across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez, a large Mexican city noted for recent crime woes, there is a great deal of alternate culture on the American side. One of the primary resources to this conglomeration of culture is the fact that Fort Bliss, one of the largest army installations, lies literally in the heart of the city's northeast. There are soldiers from several nations stationed here while attending the army's only academy for the command sergeant majors. Soldiers from the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere attend right alongside our own. It is interesting to realize that there is a vast array of choices in cuisine here- it's not all refried beans and tortillas like one might expect(although we do have some of the best doggone Mexican food around!).... There is great local influence from local Native American Tribes, including the Tigua Indians and the Mescalero Apache. There are several museums in the area, several focusing on military history. Other local historical references include Billy the Kid, General Lew Wallace(Ben Hur author and once territorial governor of New Mexico), and the famed outlaw John Wesley Hardin. There are countless golf courses- many of them rating very high in the Golf Digest magazine's "Bang for Buck" criteria- and endless opportunities for higher education. UT-El Paso is also home to the annual Sun Bowl, which continues to draw big name schools. UTEP athletics also recently went to Conference USA, and has landed some potentially lucrative opponents in both football and basketball. The local university fan base is overwhelmingly loyal, with a very personal air. Several movies have been filmed in the immediate area, White Sands, Lone Wolf McQuade, and Courage Under Fire just to name a few. Physical activities include hiking in the Franklin Mountains State Park, which divides the city in east-west halves, minor league professional baseball(the El Paso Diablos), professional soccer(the Patriots), a mediocre zoo, ice skating, and amusement parks. People seem to know one another here, and are willing to go out of the way to make visitors feel welcome. A very popular and familiar name in retirement choices, Las Cruces(City of the Crosses), New Mexico, is just 35 minutes north.
Robert | El Paso, TX