Two days off in El Paso

After a successful Albuquerque show we boarded the buses and headed for El Paso. Angie joined me safely there after a day full of airport delays caused by foul weather. The remnants of the storm were still present today with 20 to 30 mile an hour winds making it unpleasant to walk outside. We decided to rent a car and head for the mountains. The Franklin Mountain range is just outside of El Paso so it was a short ride to some interesting desert scenery. Check out my Photographs link for a few snapshots.

We drove to a height of around five thousand feet and saw lots of cactus, Yucca, sand and clay colored rock. It was so windy that Angie didn't even get out of the car but I hiked off the road a bit to take a few pictures. I learned the this mountain range was the site of a U.S. Department of Agriculture experiment in rainmaking in 1891. After observing that it often rains after intense battles, the agency tried to produce the same effect in an effort to end a drought. On September 18, Some 370 charges of dynamite and other explosives were fired from the heights of Mt. Franklin, but no rain resulted.

From the Wyler Observatory at 5632 feet, you can see the Hueco Mountains, New Mexico's white sands and Mexico. Tomorrow, in addition to making sure I have clean laundry again, we plan to drive to a couple of nearby national parks. The weather is supposed to be a bit warmer. Hopefully the winds will be calmer as well.

¶ 11:37 PM