We didn't stop in El Paso but IF we had...
At Dave's Pawn Shop in downtown El Paso you can find what is purported to be the severed, mummified index finger of Pancho Villa - on sale for $9,500.
I'm intrigued, and $9,500 seems pretty reasonable for such a rare digit, but I'm really not in the market, and we had other plans...
Knowing what towns we would be passing through the next day, Aaron spent some time Wednesday evening playing with the app and looking for offbeat, quirky things to see along our route. He came up with six must-sees in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
But first...
We were all out of bed and dressed by 7:30 am. There is a cafe at Van Horn RV Park where they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at reasonable prices. After walking and feeding Travis, the three of us strolled over to the cafe for breakfast. The couple at the next table overheard us talking about Roadside America and our plans for the day and said they "Love Roadside America and use it all the time!".
Validation.
Sunrise in Van Horn, Texas
We ended up leaving VH RV Park right behind my new friends, Guy & Sue and they served as our escort all the way to Las Cruces. Here's a shot of them clearing a path for me through El Paso...
Las Cruces is about 170 miles from Van Horn and with the change in time zones (Central to Mountain) we were there by 11:30. Our destination was the Las Cruces Walmart where we would park the coach and embark on the afternoon's adventure in the car, leaving Travis to guard the home front... and after being escorted to the designated Walmart RV parking area by a very nice parking lot security woman, we did just that.
Adventures such as this are best done on a full stomach, so our first stop was La Nueva Casita, the best Mexican restaurant in town according to Yelp.
Was the food good?
Yes.
Was it as good as the place in San Antonio where we saw Hispanic Elvis?
No. The place in San Antonio served some of the best Mexican food I've ever had.
On with the adventure...
After finishing lunch, our first stop would be what Roadside America said was (deep breath) a yard-full of metal sculptures done by an eccentric woman who had, at some juncture, been asked by the city to remove them - but refused.
I don't blame the city for the request. We all agreed...it just looked like a yard-full of sh*t.
Next stop, a big wooden carving of an Indian head...
This one was actually pretty cool. It was done in 1987 and the artist has carved and erected similar pieces in all 50 States! You can read more about it here.
Ever wonder where you can find the world's largest chili pepper?
Me neither. But it turns out it's right here in Las Cruces...
Who knew?
At 47 feet in length, made with 2.5 tons of concrete, it is indeed the world's largest chili pepper.
Read more about it here.
I give this one a thumbs up.
Sheriff Pat Garrett, the guy who shot and killed Billie The Kid...buried here in Las Cruces. I know because I saw the grave...
Being a fan of all things Old West, I'll definitely give this one a big thumbs up!
And last, but not least... okay, maybe least. No, the yard-full of sh*t was least. But this was a close second.
(drum roll)
The propane tank made to look like a rocket!...
...eh.
Wait, that wasn't the last oddity. There was one more about six miles out of town over on the east bound side of I-10.
The Recycled Road Runner...
... a 20 foot tall, 40 foot long road runner made of junk.
I'm okay with that.
It seems like Las Cruces, NM has more than it's share of goofy sh*t.
Right?
Other highlights of today's journey...
A view of the border fence between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico (look just over the hood of the red & white truck)...
And passing through the border patrol checkpoint on I-10, 22 miles west of of Las Cruces...
All things considered, a pretty fun filled day.
The journey continues...
Thanks for checking out my blog.
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