Tuesday 17th February 2015- El Paso downtown without a town

We had the usual free breakfast at the Hotel, including a selection of three cereals, tea and coffee and a choice of juices. There is also a plastic omelette containing something which looks like tomato but may not be and something they say is sausage but looks suspiciously like a strange hamburger. Anyway we left there around 10 am and headed towards the Interstate 10 but first to the petrol station for a top up. I had hoped that putting in 00000 would enable my Amex card to work but unfortunately it does not and so back to leaving the card with the checker and paying after you have filled up. Only $17.00 this time for just over half a tank full of fuel.

View from our Hotel

The Intersate was really very quiet which is rather surprising but this area can be subject to sand storms as there are signs giving warnings to this effect but we did not see anything at all. We have about 150 miles to travel today and we are heading for El Paso in Texas and during our journey we crossed the Continental Divide and also saw signs for a place with the name of 'Truth and Consequences' but we are not traveling that way. We were travelling at about 5000 feet above sea level but started to descend as we started heading to El Paso and about 30 miles outside we saw many stockyards and cattle no doubt waiting for an obliging lift to the local slaughterhouse.
We had decided to go for a bigger lunch today and to avoid a heavy evening meal and out destination was a restaurant just of the I-10 called Rudy's Texas BBQ, see link http://www.rudysbbq.com/page/home where we arrived at about 1245.
So we enjoyed a lunch of pork loin and turkey with coleslaw and corn on the cob and washed down with warm iced tea, if that makes sense. This went down very well and there is even some left over for a sandwich tonight should we need it.

Old Building mostly empty

We arrived at the Doubletree El Paso Downton Hotel at around 1430 and were able to get in to our room which has a reasonable view over and empty lot (space) and apparently near the centre of the down town area. So having had a cuppa and armed with a useless tourist map we spent slightly less than an hour looking at empty shops and offices and streets and this was meant to be the main shopping area and also the Historical part of town which is all pretty much closed and beginning to fall down in places. There is to be fair some newish Government Offices and Banks nearby with reasonably new building and also a museum and theatre but surrounded by devastation. Not quite what we had expected and not what the tourist web site says.
So tonight we are going to the cinema about 15 minutes by car to see the film called 'The Imitation Game' we have seen it once in the UK but were impressed and as we did not fancy anything else this will be out entertainment for tonight before we leave on our journey East with the next stop being Fort Stockton, Texas which should take us about 4 hours or so.

BUT CLOSED

We are due in Georgetown Austin with our friends to arrive mid-afternoon on Friday the 20^th Feb and so tomorrow we will finalise the last part of our journey and book Hotels etc.
Let's hope we can find the cinema tonight, we should do as it's next door to a massive Walmart. Perhaps the old town has moved to alongside the I-10 near to Walmart?