This day was book ended by two wonderful places to stay, with the plains of Texas in the middle.
The 7am sunrise in Sonora Caves, Texas is spectacular, and the roosters began marketing that fact promptly at 4:30 in the morning, making sure that the two tourists that were there, were well aware of the message.
They were not wrong. A sliver at the horizon in the mostly overcast skies opened up to reveal a line of ever changing reds and ambers as if the edge of the world was on fire.
Once the show was over and roosters went on a well earned break, the cows took over, coming down from the hills to serenade us at the fence line where we were camped. For a spot in the middle of nowhere, with not a soul around, this one rivaled the hustle and bustle of times square at New Year’s Eve.
We backtracked to the city of Sonora to get some gas. In Sonora, you can have your choice of gasoline as long as it’s Sunoco. Much like at peak Starbucks expansion, there is always a Sunoco across the street from another one, and you’re never far away from several more in any direction.
The goal for the day was to get beyond Las Cruces, NM, and it was achieved without a whole lot of drama, though leave it to the border town of El Paso, Texas to leave us with a parting memory.
El Paso borders not only New Mexico, but also Old Mexico. As you look out from the top of the hill at the edge of town, you can see Mexicos as far as the eye can see.
This mish-mash of cultures is the epicenter of the quintessential Tex-Mex culinary experience.
You would think that Fajitas are already the embodiment of the food fusion of these cultures, but El Paso takes this to a whole new level. Your Fajitas here are not only served with your usual rice and beans, loaded with cumin, but they also come with the spiciest roast green chili pepper, as well as Texas toast and a giant baked potato.
Why is this take out container so heavy? Oh, there is a giant potato shaped rock in here.
Expected, no. Delicious, yes.
Our stop for the night is City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico. This is another gem, off the beaten path, and my favorite so far, if I was picking favorites. Sitting at 5,200 feet above sea level, in the Chihuahuan desert, the park is a concentration of volcanic pinnacles and boulders, as if to form a city.
The camp sites dispersed throughout the rocks are all named after planets in the order of their distance from the sun, or in this case the visitor’s center.
Ours was the seventh in the row, meaning it would be called Uranus.
30 minutes of butt jokes later the camp was all set up and we tucked in for the night.
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