Las Palomas, Mexico

Ole!" We are about to head out on an adventure. Columbus, New Mexico is a port of entry into Mexico. It is possible to take your car , park it in the US  lot and walk across the border.The Park we are in, Pancho Villa State Park, is about 2 miles from the border and if you go they give you get a coupon for free Marguritas at the Pink Store. Well, what do you think, that we would say no thank you? Mmmmmmm No! 

We had our passports and drove down.

 

The crossing was a little intimidating at first. We just watched what others were doing and did the same.

 

Wow

 

We were able to walk right through, no questions.

Thank God they didn't say alcohol

The only people that got stopped were people with suitcases, returning Mexicans it looked like.  

 We decided to stay within the two or three blocks that seemed touristy. There were plenty of drug stores, bars, some shops, and dental clinics . I remember patients at Dr Magsoudi's office would come down here for dental work sometimes. Too scary for me. There was even a dollar store and a bakery. It was very weird to go in somewhere and not be able to chat with the person behind the counter. At the bakery we bought some pastries to take home, a whole bag for 4 dollars.

 

Dollar store

 

The Local Market

 

Guess!

 

Shoes

 

Ice cream, thank goodness for the pictures on the building

 

Even Chinese food

 

This little birds decided to make his nest in the L of the motel

 

Parking must be around back

 

The town square has a statue of their hero Pancho Villa.

But my favorite place was..........drum roll......

 

The Pink Store.  So Fun!

 

So much to look at

 

Peg, we need to come back!

 

Crazy what they can do with corn husks

They are happy to get you a free Margarita to drink while you shop. Thirsty business shopping!

 

This little lady has been here way too long.

 

Wanted to get this for Patricia

 

More free Margaritas 

 

American dollars than Pesos

 

Selections of Beverages

 

Tableside serenade

 

Of course an accordion, this was a blast.

 

I had to get this picture of Bill and his new best friend Jose Luis. Bill thought he was very good looking. No argument from me!

Well after we ate we both decided it was the best Mexican food ever. As good as ours is, it kind of all tastes the same. But honestly this was sooooo good. Or was it the margaritas?

 

Pancho Villa

We had a great day and crossed back to the United States with no trouble and barely a question at the border. 

It was a lovely day.

God Bless America.

Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico

 

In the early hours of March 9, 1916, Mexican Revolutionaries under the leadership of General Francisco Pancho Villa raided the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico. Remembrance of this attack, and the Americans who gave their lives defending their town are memorialized in the park and throughout the city.

 

All that was left of the bank, the safe.

 

The Commercial Hotel

 

This is the school where the towns people retreated  and hunkered down  during the attack and after as city blocks burned.

 

A cute theater and cafe  opening soon!

 

Well, that's all I have about Columbus, New Mexico

Pancho Villa and his band of men were roaming around northern Mexico in the winter of 1915. They were in need of ammunition, arms, food, clothing and other supplies to revitalize their revolutionary goals. Villa's lack of resources forced him to begin preying on American mining companies and ranches in northern Mexico, robbing payroll and taking supplies. It became obvious to him that he would have to take drastic measures to get weapons.

There was an army camp and small town in Columbus, just north of him. Villa was misinformed that 30 to 50 soldiers was garrisoned in the camp but in reality there were 350 soldiers here and the result was disastrous for him. He expected to get horses, supplies , machine guns, and small arms.  He also felt it would boost morale in his soldiers who were discouraged.

As the attack progressed the raiders were forced to retreat but not before the town burned, 10 Americans civilians, 8 U.S.Soldiers and  70-75 raiders were killed.

After the raid President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John Pershing  to capture Villa in the Punitive Expedition. Pershing pursued Villas raiders back into Mexico but were called back after eleven months because of the start of World War I. Pershing kept his army under strict military exercises and they were trained for battle like no other because of the conditions they were trained in while in Mexico. They trained in parching heat and bone chilling cold as they roamed around the desert and hiked the mountains chasing the raiders.  It was the first U.S military operation to employ mechanized vehicles and airplanes.

The punitive expedition would prove to be a valuable preparation for the soldiers called back to serve in WWI. They had been using automobiles, trucks and airplanes even though the fuel needed to be carried in by mules.

 

Oil and lube please

 

Quick firing field gun

 

Armored Quad Truck called the Jeffery

 

From the top of Cootes  Hill you could get a clear view of approaching raiders, and now our campground.

 

The Customs House

 

The Train Depot

 

Camp Furlong. The original name of the camp. After the attack 10,000 troops were sent to Mexico with Pershing.

 

Pershing's Car

 

We knew we were close to Mexico when we saw this plate in the lot by the Visitors center.

"Adios!"

Davis Mountain State Park, Texas

 

Can't get enough of the sunsets.

We left the Big Bend National Park area after many days with a greater appreciation of how large and diverse the area is. 

Fort Davis is north and the elevation lets us see more green bushes and the flowers along the road are are blooming. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, cattle and horses dot the landscape.

 

Our new home

It is a little cooler here and after we checked in we had a bit of housekeeping to do as well as some grocery shopping. We hit the local market and were impressed at the selection there was in the store. We were able to replenish our craft beer selection with local beers so life is good.

To find mountains in Texas you have to travel to the western part of the state, called the Trans-Pecos region. This region is dotted with mountains, mostly small with desert plants. The three highest ranges are the Guadalupe,Davis, and Chisos ranges. These are tall enough to create their own weather. As the winds blow over the mountains the air rises, cools and condenses out rain. These areas receive about 10 more inches of rain than the surrounding desert does. This cooler temperature and more precipitation to foster the growth of forests on the mountain slopes. Davis Mountain State Park lies in this  lush area. The Davis Mountains are the second highest range in Texas. They are named after Jefferson Davis the Secretary of War who ordered the construction of Fort Davis, a frontier military installation. The mountains were formed some 35-39 million years ago by a volcanic eruption spewing ash and lava to form them.

 

Believe it or not I do not have any pictures of the Mountain or the campground we were in except for the sign. This picture give you an idea where the mountains are by Fort Davis.

We did go to town to have lunch one day and went to the nut house. Pecans were their thing. They did get their pistachio nuts from Alamogordo, New Mexico which we visited last year. You may recall the worlds largest Pistachio picture in my blog from there.

Fort Davis Natural Historical Site is the best preserved frontier fort in the southwest. Honestly it was an informative and a delightful day. It is too bad it is so far off the beaten path and too far for field trip for schools in the area. There aren't to many schools and the distance between schools make it an unlikely choice for a day trip. 

The Fort was established in 1854 to protect travelers and settlers in West Texas from attacks by Apache and Comanche Indians. It also was garrisoned  by black troops called Buffalo Soldiers by the Indians. Except for interruptions during the Civil War the fort was occupied until 1891. After that, some of the buildings were private residences until it was taken over by the National Park System.

 

Officer Quarters

 

Remains of walls of some of the other buildings

 

Typical camp site of the soldiers. A lot of the exhibits were covered in plastic to protect the during roof repairs.

 

Beds inside, heat system, gun racks. Bill chatting with volunteer.

 

Uniforms

 

Actual walls remaining in some buildings.

 

Bill got to visit with a volunteer about the rifles they used in the day.

 

It was very interesting and just a fluke the young man was there that day. 

 

Two specialty bullets. Notice the difference in the shapes. You will have to check with Bill about them, I was visiting with the roofer in the truck!

 

A statue commenerating the Buffalo Soldiers

 

The hospital 

 

Hospital Tools

 

Enough Said

 

 

Talk about a headache.

 

Lieutenants Quarters

 

Children's room. Check out the fox.

 

Sitting Room, Not to shabby.

 

Remains of another building 

 

Stables, Spectacular view, why would you want to leave here.

 

To the west of the fort rises another high wooded peak called Mount Locke. It is crowned with the white and silver domes of the McDonald Observatory.

Every day you can take guided tours of the facility, see a Twilight program discussing the moon and its phases and look at constellations that will be appearing in that nights sky. After dark you can return for the Star Party and look in the massive telescopes to see the craters on the moon, stars and planets in the night sky. Amazing. The night we went it was so cloudy we moved indoors and went to a series of chats about the moon and the new planets discovered. I think there are seven. By the time that was done the sky had cleared and we could go back outside and look through the giant telescopes. Volunteers were on hand to tell us what we were looking at. 

We saw Venus, Taurus the bull, the seven sisters and the moon. So very cool.

 

The Big Boys

 

 

The Observatory. The silver one by the building is the one we saw the moon in. The roofs open up and the whole Roof rotates as the earth turns and the view needs to adjust. 

Well, I want to get this posted so we can move on to Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico 

See you all pretty soon. Hope you are all smiling! Love you.