In the mountains above El Paso

Last Stop, State Park & National Park in Texas!

We arrived in a dust storm, not quite as bad as the one on the way to Marfa, but not much fun for Mark, towing Lizzy into the Franklin Mountains, outside of El Paso. We camped in a “rustic campsite” in Franklin Mountains State Park for 2 nights, another great Texas State Park. We would come back, to do some hiking. There’s a 3.8 mile loop to a big cave, not to mention some Nature Hikes we’d have done, if we had time. It was clear in the morning, so we made it into El Paso to visit a couple of places and run some errands. It was almost as bad a dust storm by the time we drove back in the late afternoon.

Franklin Mountains SP Campsite-Setting up in a dust storm (Mark in his “covid mask”)
Franklin Mountains SP Campsite-Sunrise next morning
Franklin Mountains SP Campsite-Next afternoon

Visit to 1 new National Park Site (15th of 15 in Texas):

Chamizal National Monument (#283), where the grounds are a reminder of the harmonious settlement of a 100-year boundary dispute between the United States and Mexico. The agreement was made in 1962, actions were completed (i.e. building a cement lined canal for the Rio Grande in the area, moving Americans on the land ceded to Mexico back across the new border, and vice versa) in 1967. There they celebrate the cultures of the borderlands to promote the same mutial respect that helped to diplomatically resolve an international disagreement.

Chamizal National Memorial-Statue of Benito Juarez-Child to Man
Chamizal National Memorial-International Bridge Overlook

National Border Patrol Museum

Where exhibits cover the history of the United States Border patrol, from the old West, Prohibition, and WWII. It was a pretty short stop here, partly because there weren’t all that many exhibits and the day’s dust storm was “heating up”.