Break from Winter; Day 6; El Paso to Sierra Vista
Another beautiful day! When we left El Paso at 7:45 it was sunny and 39 degrees. Our route today was 9 west, 80 west, 191 north at Douglas, West Davis Rd west at McNeal, 80 west to Tombstone. East Charleston Rd took us west and south to Sierra Vista, AZ.
Hwy 9 west out of El Paso, TX parallels the border with Mexico. At times the border is a short distance away. I was excited to be able to view the border wall in places. It was still under construction and probably will be for some time.
There was a significant Border Patrol presence along Hwy 9. We saw numerous marked Border Patrol vehicles, some pulling trailers with ATV's on board and one pulling a horse trailer with a horse on board. In two different locations we saw obvious surveillance vehicles set up with cameras atop elevated poles or platforms. The cameras appeared to be pivoting back and forth, scanning the land between Hwy 9 and the border.
Twice we saw Border Patrol vehicles dragging old tires behind, apparently smoothing out the dirt and gravel lanes they patrol parallel to Hwy 9. I wonder if this just to make the lanes smoother or if it makes it easier to spot tracks crossing the dirt and gravel lane. Old tires connected by chains were interspersed along Hwy 9 to be used for this purpose.
At one point along Hwy 9 we saw a Border Patrol agent with his marked patrol vehicle and two young hispanic males sitting on the ground by his vehicle. He appeared to have captured two illegal Mexican immigrants.
We stopped for a bathroom break in Columbus, NM, where they have an ugly black water tower. The public bathrooms in their city park were very nice, however.
In the grungy little town of Hachita, NM we saw signs of local humor; a McDonalds sign at the entrance to a drive off of Hwy 9 and a sign identifying the HACHITA REST AREA along with a men's and a women's toilet.
Also in Hachita, was an old dilapidated church with an impressive stone front.
We stopped for an excellent lunch at Chatita's Steakhouse in Douglas, AZ before driving on to Tombstone, AZ, where we walked around town, did some shopping, and watched a sort of reenactment of the shoot-out at the OK corral.
It was a short drive south and east on East Charleston Road to our hotel in Sierra Vista, AZ, where we arrived at 4:40. We drove 285 miles and the high temperature was 64.
To see all the photos taken today click on the following link: Day 6 Images
Hwy 9 west out of El Paso, TX parallels the border with Mexico. At times the border is a short distance away. I was excited to be able to view the border wall in places. It was still under construction and probably will be for some time.
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| a gap in the wall can be seen here |
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| a closeup of the border wall taken with a telephoto lens from Hwy 9 |
There was a significant Border Patrol presence along Hwy 9. We saw numerous marked Border Patrol vehicles, some pulling trailers with ATV's on board and one pulling a horse trailer with a horse on board. In two different locations we saw obvious surveillance vehicles set up with cameras atop elevated poles or platforms. The cameras appeared to be pivoting back and forth, scanning the land between Hwy 9 and the border.
Twice we saw Border Patrol vehicles dragging old tires behind, apparently smoothing out the dirt and gravel lanes they patrol parallel to Hwy 9. I wonder if this just to make the lanes smoother or if it makes it easier to spot tracks crossing the dirt and gravel lane. Old tires connected by chains were interspersed along Hwy 9 to be used for this purpose.
At one point along Hwy 9 we saw a Border Patrol agent with his marked patrol vehicle and two young hispanic males sitting on the ground by his vehicle. He appeared to have captured two illegal Mexican immigrants.
We stopped for a bathroom break in Columbus, NM, where they have an ugly black water tower. The public bathrooms in their city park were very nice, however.
In the grungy little town of Hachita, NM we saw signs of local humor; a McDonalds sign at the entrance to a drive off of Hwy 9 and a sign identifying the HACHITA REST AREA along with a men's and a women's toilet.
We stopped for an excellent lunch at Chatita's Steakhouse in Douglas, AZ before driving on to Tombstone, AZ, where we walked around town, did some shopping, and watched a sort of reenactment of the shoot-out at the OK corral.
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| Chris with Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers |
It was a short drive south and east on East Charleston Road to our hotel in Sierra Vista, AZ, where we arrived at 4:40. We drove 285 miles and the high temperature was 64.
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