El Paso, Texas like I said above is a decent sized city right on the Mexican border of Juarez. If you read the newspaper you'll know that Juarez is currently engaged in super major drug wars resulting in at least 20 deaths a week (sometimes upwards to 100). It used to be really easy to cross the border into Juarez and do some shopping. My uncle always thought it was really fun to try and sneak fruit back into the country, it's not that much fun and it draws a lot of attention to your chevy astrovan as you block all traffic trying to reenter the country. Anyway Juarez is totally sealed off now as in if any white blonde girl tries to cross the border she doesn't come back. However the violence has not spilled into El Paso so we felt pretty safe the entire time we were there.
The first two days in the west were spent in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. It's a small town up in the mountains in New Mexico that makes you feel like you're in Colorado. You drive through about an hour and a half of desert to get to the mountain and then you watch as the terrain literally just morphs before your eyes. A classic example of this is you drive through White Sands, New Mexico 30 minutes before you reach Cloudcroft. White Sands is miles of pure white sand dunes surrounded by desert bush. I'll put pictures below.
White Sands
Cloudcroft
It was a wonderful little 2 day stay. We ate waaay too much food, did a little shopping at a the local arts fair, and played a ton of spades (a card game I enjoy but suck at).
Dedication
The school dedication was scheduled for the day after Memorial Day. That morning we met up with my great aunt and uncle who drove in from Globe, Arizona. My great aunt and uncle are pushing 80, they shouldn't drive...ever. But anyway they arrived and reminded me why my Uncle Jim is the best guy ever. My Great Uncle Jim, my great grandmothers son, was the supervisor of the Inspiration Mine in his hay day (largest copper mine in US). He's old, kinda racist/sexist, and wicked funny. My fondest memory is when he took me, my uncle, and two male cousins to the country club for 18 holes. I'm a God awful golfer and have no business on a course but when I connect with the ball I can make it go pretty far. Anyway after about 9 holes of super suckage I outdrove my Uncle Jim. At the end of the hole he turned to me and said, completely serious I might add, "Kid, you're tired, go home". The only thing you can say when Uncle Jim puts you in that situation is, "alright Uncle Jim...you're probably right".
Well Uncle Jim was on a roll when we met up with him. We went out for lunch and on the way there he was being his usual cocky self. He pulled a correct turn out of his ass and muttered "It's hard to be humble when you're practically perfect in every way". Ah good man. When we were driving back to the hotel he talked about how difficult it had been to find the hotel. He said "Now the directions were confusing but as a typical male chauvinist I blame Jacque (his wife)". It's a shame I only get to see him once a year at most.
At the dedication I sat next to my mother and younger sister. I was introduced to many people that worked with my great grandmother and most people thought I was my mothers son. Now, yes I've got a butchy haircut now and if I had been in cargo shorts and an old t-shirt I'd have expected it...but I was in dress pants, a button up, and flipping heels! I can't catch a break. One woman, after my mother corrected her on my sex, pulled me towards her and said "you may not want to cut your hair so darn short". Thanks, I'll consider it.
My uncle Jim gave a speech and apologized that he wouldn't be able to get to all his points because it was so damn hot. Yes, he said damn in front of 400 elementary school kids. It was hot though. I had to keep my arms glued to my sides after about 15 minutes because my pit stains were so obnoxious. Note to self, never wear a dress shirt without an undershirt in El Paso in June. Alright this post is really long, longer than I anticipated. I'll leave yall with a picture of the school, beautiful school.
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