Thursday, November 3, 2011

El Paso from Scenic Drive


Mount Franklin (above) is the southernmost of the Rocky Mountains, and divides the city of El Paso in half. The view above looks south, as the tip of the mountain drops down to the pass ("el paso") to the right. Scenic Drive, the 1930-era CCC-built road across the mountain, is visible as the lighter line across the side. The photos below show the view from the observation point, approximately at the leftmost point where the road heads down the far side of the mountain. (For more detail, right click any photo to open in another tab.)

Below is the view from the observation point to the south, along the border. Fort Bliss, the Army base where Ana spent some unhappy time in Distant Cousin, is just out of the picture to the left. Right center, the dark, wide highway is Interstate Highway 10, heading east to San Antonio and Dallas. That too is important in Distant Cousin. The tower in the distance, far right, is at the Chamizal Monument, commemorating a treaty agreement between the United States and Mexico. To the right of that is Mexico.


Turning to the right from the above photo and zooming a bit, we see downtown El Paso with Ciudad Juarez behind it. Left center is one of the international bridges between Mexico and the United States. Somewhere in that maze in the distance is one of the venues in Distant Cousin: Regeneration.



Naturally, if you are at the tip of a mountain range you can see to both sides and straight ahead, but not very far back on either side. Below is about as far to the west as can be seen. The University of Texas at El Paso is barely visible on the right. The mountains opposite are on the other side of the pass, in Mexico. The city of Juarez spreads left to right, on the other side of El Paso. Its population is estimated at three to four times the size of El Paso's, which is 750,000.



See more pictures of West Texas, southern New Mexico, and other venues from the Distant Cousin stories in the column to the right, under the picture of the blue-eyed kitty--->

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