A Weekend In El Paso
City view from one of the highest points in El Paso
El Paso is a hidden gem. There it has been said, openly and proudly. This is saying a lot coming from me. I was of the critics who thought El Paso and West Texas in general had nothing to offer except being Texas’ westernmost city and a hat to the major Mexican city of Juarez. El Paso is in fact the westernmost Texas city as well as a popular entry point into Mexico, however, after putting boots on the ground, I quickly realized it has much more to offer. El Paso was recommended for it’s rich history, picturesque views of the Franklin mountain range and good friend of mine had not explored much of the city, so this was my perfect excuse to get on the road and make the 7 hour drive.
“What do I have to lose?”
Here’s my initial take for anyone spending a weekend or planning a short trip to El Paso, TX.
The City
On the side of the iconic Franklin Mountain overlooking a high school graduation ceremony on my right with the Sierra Madre (MX) mountain range on my left
When anyone mentions Texas, they need to make sure they mention the actual region. Texas is VAST and I’ve made the mistake of categorizing the entire state based on my experience in San Antonio in the central and relatively flat part of the state. To put this in perspective, Texas has the following land types:
Coastal
Plains
Mountains
Desert
Hill Country
To say that El Paso’s terrain is a much different than much of the rest of Texas, would depend on what parts of the state you are most familiar with. El Paso’s geography adds to its uniqueness, the Franklin mountain range (shown above) separate the northeast and northwest sides of town, effectively making north central, their downtown area or simply non-existent. Located in the desert, I had to come to terms with the fact that there are no natural bodies of water nearby, this was after already having been in the city for a day. El Paso makes up for this by having many epic mountain ranges within hours of its city borders:
Hueco Tanks - Historic Native American site and state park with artwork from natives dating back to the 19th century
Guadalupe Mountain Range - The highest peak in Texas by elevvation
Chinati Mountains - Thought to be the site of an old erupted volcano
Davis Mountains - Home to civilization dating back ~10,000 years ago
Based on its proximity to other iconic parks and sightseeing in nearby New Mexico, Mexico and West Texas, it’s easy to see why I wasn’t concerned about the lack of natural flowing water.
Vibes
Unbeknownst to most out-of-towners, El Paso has its own vibe and really doesn’t care about the rest of the state. This is what makes the town unique. There is art, public parks, excellent bars and free or affordable events. For example, after checking into my hotel and dropping off my things, I spoke to the hotel for local events and places of interest, they were very kind but a few of the things they recommended I had already searched on Google; I had to venture out and find out for myself.
While walking around the Art District, I ran into a couple who invited my friend and I to walk with them to a public concert at the convention center. I watched a fusion rock/mariachi band, while eating tacos and drinking chamoy lemonade. The concert itself was absolutely free, which is a consistent theme in El Paso, they pride themselves on having easily accessible events for families…their museum is completely free to the public, for example.
As with most downtown areas, El Paso also offered a little bit of everything in terms of nightlife. After speaking to a few people the first night, I had a list of highly recommended places to venture out to on the next night. This came in handy due to how crowded many of the same downtown bars I visited on Friday became on Saturday, it was time to hit the neighborhoods. One such place recommended to me was called “Love Buzz” and featured live neo-soul, jazz and spoken word. I was in heaven. Also I was no longer downtown and the atmosphere was much more relaxed, this was a neighborhood bar in every sense of the phrase. I spoke to a few band members of “De La Luna” after the show and they explained the musical vibe of El Paso, “eclectic and exciting” and I couldn’t agree more.
