El Paso/Sunset Limited, Oct. 2008

After a brief rest from my shopping adventure I took a leisurely stroll around the streets of El Paso, snapping shots as I went about. I wanted to do more of the wall murals that pepper the buildings here but I only came across a relative few. One that I made a point of documenting was dedicated to the history of boxing in El Paso. I took shots, starting from the left, taking five paces, doing another shot, and so on until I captured the whole work [see blog post].

Walking down Stanton I peered through the window of Kansas Bakery and spotted a tasty item to nosh on [see blog post].


I was hoping to take a snapshot of the sign for the shop named Casa Suk, situated next door to Rasputin. Alas, Casa Suk is no more. Now it is some little cell phone shop. Rasputin, however, remains, undoubtedly with the same constitution of its namesake.

Our tax dollars were hard at work at the border. The buildings on the Norte Americano side were in the midst of a rebuild and I could barely recognize the place. For that and the annoyance of coming back I'm glad I didn't make the sojourn over to Juarez.

Things have been dodgy over there for some time with a wave of drug-related murders, over 1000 so far this year. First night I was in El Paso a former policeman drummed out due to corruption was plugged fifty times on a downtown street. The next day a trio of prison guards were taken out while waiting at a bus stop.

I'm sure I would have had no issues had I made the trek to the Kentucky Club, but other than brothels, meds and Cuban cigars what would I have done down there that I could not do in El Paso?
Tired and parched I made my way to The Tap and got a glass of water and a Dos Equis. Amber Bock was out so I had to settle on a small pitcher of Bud to go with the Chile con queso I ordered for supper. The presentation and flavor were pleasing, but the sauce, if it ever was a sauce, was completely broken down into a solid cheese mass where the tomatoes, onions, and chiles were eternally locked, and a watery liquid. It was good and I ate it all, but not at all what I expected. A whiter gringo would have complained, but I took it as a learning experience: next time try the enchiladas.

Next morning I arose at 5:30 and by time I got to cleaning up and packing all my stuff it was shortly after seven. I checked on the train time and was pleased to find it on schedule. I decided to skip a last meal in El Paso and head straight for the station. I was hoping the senora with the burritos would be plying the morning crowd with breakfast burritos, but sadly not.

Once situated aboard the coach, I scarfed a couple of egg and cheese bagels and a Diet Pepsi from the on-board snack bar and settled back for a morning nap.

And here I am deep in the heart of West Texas. We've slowed a few times, but so did the train I took coming out and we still got to our destinations on-time. Nothing more but to relax, maybe watch a movie or spin some tunes.
Fifty minutes late out of Alpine. Had to intervene when someone's little dumpling decided to make the entranceway between cars his play area. I asked him where his mom was and he didn't have a clue. Fortunately he scampered off towards the rear so my immediate concern for him was sated. The last thing I need is for somebody's brat to get their fingers or toes crushed in the pinch point between the floor plates. It would add to the delay.

We had to hold up outside of Alpine to wait for the westbound train to pass through. We can probably make up the time along the way.

Pulling up into Langtry, Texas we came to a stop and were told by the conductor that we would be stuck here for two hours due to track work ahead.

The natives have gotten restless. People seem to want to mosey around when they have no place to go. I am going to assume that the snack bar is going to run out of five dollar beer tonight. I feel bad for not having a set time for Suk to come pick me up and worse yet it'll likely be in the middle of the night. I'd rather stay out here for the night and pull into San Antonio around breakfast time. The smokers would likely kill somebody in the meantime. Last smoke break was at 3pm and it's past seven now. Being stuck where we are, there's likely no chance they'll be opening up and letting people out, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Me? I'm gonna play JFK Reloaded.

Photos from the Picasa Web Album: El Paso