Imagining El Paso, I always pictured an old western town with gun slingers and western saloons… Driving through El Paso, I imagine Los Angeles all over again. With 80 mile per hour speed limits, 4 lane highways, and white knuckles on the steering wheel pushing to get out of the city, this is a city that I hope we wont be going through again.
Once out of El Paso, we travelled on until we reached the little town of Van Horn where we found the Desert Willow RV Park that accepted passport America so we ended up getting 2 days for a whole $12.50 per night. The park has the best internet that we have seen so far on the road, free cable with Show Time and HBO, full hook up, showers, a dog run, and laundry.
The town of Van Horn is a 1 street town that seems close to borderline of becoming a ghost town. With the old gas stations, unique roadside art, and the antiques you find in yards and in front of businesses, its a pickers dream, and a place that reminds you of movies, or a place you would find on Route 66. I love the old towns like this because it shows the history in reality instead of TV or some magazine.
The oldest building in town is the Clark Hotel Museum that was built in 1901 to function as a saloon and post office. The building was later enlarged to function as the courthouse in 1911. 1920 came and Fred Clark transformed the building into a Hotel which also served as a place for high school graduation ceremonies, and theatrical programs for children. Unfortunately they are closed for our stay here, but if you are travelling HWY 10, this should be on the list of places to see… and its FREE!!
You have to have a love for history, and old towns to appreciate this place. It will either be extremely boring, or a gold mine for history bluffs like myself. I loved this town, and is why we spent 2 nights instead of another overnighter. Tomorrow morning we will be back on the road again for another 2 days of boon docking. We were originally going to take HWY 10 all the way to Mississippi, then up into Alabama, but we decided to take a different route of taking HWY 20 to HWY 30 into Arkansas, and Memphis Tennessee. Have an awesome Saturday everyone.
RAT PACK DRIFTERS 