Thu 9 March
Bye to the lovely sand:
Today's drive was the opposite of the day before--instead of making record time, it took us three hours and 45 minutes to make a three hour 5-minute drive. There were two fuel stops, one of them slow; a pee stop/dog walk at a picnic area; and a road construction delay going north on I-10 through El Paso. I'm glad I planned the trip the way I did, with a 6-hour day, a 4-hour day, and then a 3-hour day. It got the hard stuff over with first.
Today's nemesis--other than the stops and delays--was the mountains. After leaving Monahans, we were going uphill pretty much all the way.
Scenic view at rest area
We passed through El Paso--with the delay--and arrived just over the border into New Mexico at El Paso West RV Park. I need to write a glowing review of it--it's a pretty place, for an RV park. The sites are tiny and squished together like sardines, but they're nicely laid out, perfectly long (at least for us, with our 32-foot RV and toad), and have all the utilities set up correctly. It was full according to the sign in the office window, and it sure looked full. When we arrived at about 3pm the office manager was working outside, and she'd placed the only two arrival envelopes nearby so she could just hand me ours. It contained our receipt and an itemized bill, plus the park rules and information.
Although it's small, it has a nice little fenced dog run, with poop bags, and a big dog walking area out at the back where there is some extra parking for trailers and stuff. It's not a fancy place, but basic and perfect for our needs. Not too far off I-10 but nicely placed in a residential/mixed retail neighborhood. If we'd needed stores or restaurants, they'd have been easy to find.
They're working on getting the grass to grow and have little "keep off the grass" signs in some places. Don't blame them. And there are several trees around. It's just nice. I'd stay here again.
The only drawback at all is the traffic backup and delays on I-10. But then, if you're heading through El Paso East to West (or West to East), you're stuck with traveling on I-10 anyway. So why not?
We ate out at L&J Cafe in the old downtown area, I think. It was by a cemetery and they bill themselves as "The Old Place By the Graveyard". The beginning of their online bio goes thus--
Back in the days of “the Great Depression”, Antonio O. Flores established what would then become a well known, respected, and family oriented business. The year 1927 marked the opening of Tony’s Place.
Story has it that bootlegging was popular at Tony’s as well as Juanita G. Flores’ (Antonio’s wife) famous cooking.
Read the rest: https://ljcafe.com/about-us/our-story/
The food was great. I didn't choose well, but that was my issue and I'll not fault the restaurant. They had "potato tacos" on the menu, which turned out to be corn tortillas with mashed potatoes and strips of mild chili inside. The mashed potatoes were great, but the dish didn't go well as a whole. The guac was fine and the refried beans good. I'd love to try the place again. Oh, and the service was lightning fast.
Oops, food gone before picture taken:
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