The Aerie
Greetings from beautiful El Paso Texas, deep in the heart of nowhere!
I've never thought much about El Paso before. If anyone had asked, I
would have said I thought it was on the Gulf Coast. As a glance at any
atlas can tell you it's not. Very not. It's farther from any open
water than many places.
It's a dun little town, sprawled across a mindboggling space, and all
of it brown. Low hills jut up here and there, with rocky crests
covered with radio towers. As we were driving back to the hotel last
night one of the hills bore a huge lighted star, possibly half a mile
or a quarter of a mile across. Apparently it was a Christmastime
decoration that the public demanded be lit every day.
It's very clean, and very quiet. Whole multistory office towers stand
empty, and traffic moves smoothly through the streets, testaments to
the economic times. Apparently the city suffers a 9% unemployment
rate.
The city is located on the Mexican border, and where I'm sitting right
now it's just four blocks to the bridge. The pedestrian sides carry a
constant flow of people into and out of Juarez, across the river.
The weather is gorgeous. It won't be this nice in Minnesota for two
more months. Sunny, clear, and mild, with none of the dust storms that
(apparently) plague the city this time of year.
Of course, my net access is limited, so hopefully I can post more
later. I wish my hotel had wireless access!
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Posted by Albatross at April 1, 2003 12:00 AM