Today We're Off to El Paso, Texas; Tomorrow New Mexico - Tuesday, April 11, 2023

So much has been going on, "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get." [For the quote investigation and possible attribution, see this Quote Investigator® website.] Anyhow, I am going to write today's blog TODAY for a change (not a catch-up blog).

Susan Medlin and I left San Antonio at 5:45 am for today's destination of El Paso, Texas. We took turns driving and stopped for lunch and gas in Fort Stockton, Texas. The beautiful James Rooney Memorial Park, home of the Comanche Springs Swimming Pool, is where we ate lunch at a picnic table under the trees. The weather was lovely, 78 degrees, and no breeze. 

Some day, I'd love to stay in Fort Stockton and swim here. The pool wasn't open today. And the springs no longer flow here, except occasionally. This pool is not actually fed by springs. They dried up years ago. This Olympic-sized pool was built over the top of the original springs.

With a little research, I was able to find out what happened to the real Comanche Springs. Here is a link to an article from NewsWest9, "Groups on a mission to have Comanche Springs to flow year-round." 

We continued on our way and gained an hour when we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone. One of the rest areas we stopped at had a pretty tile mural.

When we arrived at our hotel in El Paso at 1:15 pm, we were told we couldn't check in until 3 pm. Down the street from the hotel was a Cinemark Theater. We got there just in time to see "Air," the movie about Michael Jordan signing with Nike (starring Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck, Phil Knight, Jason Bateman, and Chris Tucker. Michael Jordan does not appear in the movie except in historical footage clips.) The movie was fantastic and funny. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 92%. I don't always agree with their ratings, but on this movie I do agree wholeheartedly.

When the movie was over, we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a couple of hours. Then we went to dinner next door at Cracker Barrel. I had Lemon Pepper Trout, a sweet potato, steamed broccoli, and a biscuit. There was enough left over for dinner tomorrow night.

In the morning, we'll have breakfast at the hotel and then drive about two hours to City of Rocks State Park, where we'll do the first Volksmarch of our New Mexico walking weekend.

Good night, all.