The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Explore El Paso
Hike, shop, eat, explore culture in El Paso.
Tour mission churches, hike, shop and discover hip neighborhoods in Texas town,
I forgot my passport, but that didn’t matter. I was in El Paso, technically not Mexico, but close enough.
I knew that Mexico was over there — the country felt like a portrait whose eyes were always following me — but it was also here, on this side of the fence.
Things to do
The National Border Patrol Museum, a nonprofit attraction started by retired agents and open since 1984, is full of “who knew?” moments. For example, did you know that the government created the earliest incarnation of the agency in 1904 to apprehend or deter Chinese and European immigrants who had failed their inspections at Ellis Island? (The BP as we know it arrived two decades later, on May 28, 1924.)
Franklin Mountains State Park, the country’s largest urban park, resembles a rocky mohawk parting El Paso. The nearly 27,000acre sanctuary stretches to the New Mexico state line and incorporates the Wyler Aerial Tramway (one-way ride time: four minutes) and more than 100 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Choose your entrance wisely.
The Tom Mays Unit contains campsites and a diverse network of treks, including the easyon-the-knees Nature Walk and the moderate Aztec Cave Trail, which ends with caverns that once held pottery sherds and yucca mats and sandals.
At McKelligon Canyon, pick up maps and advice, including a reality check on rattlesnakes and the heat, at the small visitors center and gift shop. (The park is building a new headquarters and visitors center at Tom Mays to replace the old facility; ETO is next summer.)
First things first: How to pronounce Hueco Tanks State Historic Site. Repeat after me, “Waco.” The Spanish noun refers to the hollows in the igneous rock that, after a good rain, transform into watery cradles for tadpoles and fairy shrimp. The 860-acre park ranks as one of the world’s best spots for bouldering, so don’t be surprised to see climbers hauling mattresses to cushion their falls. However, you don’t need to leave desert firma to view a sampling of more than 2,000 pictographs, including hundreds of masks; a handful of petroglyphs; and a subway car’s worth of historical graffiti.
The 9-mile El Paso Mission Trail strings together two missions, one chapel and more than 335 years of history as dramatic as a Larry McMurtry novel. Moving from north to south, the silver-domed Ysleta Mission, which the Spaniards and Tigua built in 1682, is the oldest mission in Texas. The adobe structure survived Rio Grande floodings, fires and a transfer of sovereignty from Mexico to the United States. The altar stars the usual suspects, plus a statue of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to receive sainthood from the Catholic Church. At the Socorro Mission, look heavenward to see the oldest relic in the state, painted cottonwood ceiling beams (or vigas) from the original 17th-century church. Finally, the Presidio Chapel at San Elizario (established 18771882) served as a revolving spiritual door for troops stationed at the garrison. Since the Mexican American War, peace has reigned in San Elizario. “Alleluia” to that.
Where to eat
Like Proust, Octavio Zavala taps into the time-machine powers of food. Instead of madeleines, the chef-owner of Valentine’s Kitchen & Bar boards the bone-marrow bus to his El Paso adolescence. “That’s a hardcore childhood memory,” he said of bobbing for the meaty bits in his grandmother’s beef broth.
For his modern take on nostalgia, he pairs a whole femur with tortillas, pico de gallo, sea salt and lime.
Cafe Mayapan’s menu embraces Mexican cuisine. The kitchen staff integrates ingredients — cactus, cilantro, tomatoes, chiles, lettuces, herbs — grown at its nearby garden. Several dishes are vegetarian and all are empowering. The grilled cactus stuffed with asadero cheese and mushrooms with chipotle, for one, can seemingly make the world a better place.
Where to shop
The co-founders of Paradigm Texas could wallpaper Anna Wintour’s closet with their résumés. Robert Lomnicki and John Zimmerman, who opened their lifestyle store two years ago, have worked at Bergdorf Goodman, Armani and Prada, to name a highfashion few. So, when the partners suggest any of their wares — Italian glassware from Vietri, a black resin skull with a crystal mohawk or a pet toy labeled “Chewy Vuitton” — you can trust their taste.
You will need to take a few laps around the artfully stuffed store to uncover all of the surprises and delights, which include reclaimed brass and horn jewelry by Kenyan artisans, hand-loom throws from Colombia and large-scale photographs by Peter Svarzbein, a local politician.
“Boring people don’t want our boots,” said Nevena Christi, owner of Rocketbuster, which has specialized in custom-made cowboy boots for nearly 30 years. Some of the fascinating people who bust rockets include Taylor Swift, Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Spielberg.
Visitors who can’t afford the starting price of $1,000 can take a free tour of the workshop and see the Guinness World Records’ largest pair of boots and a collection of vintage boots, plus new orders in progress. You can even try on a pair and experience the sensation of being a non-boring person.
Where to stay
The two-year-old Hotel Indigo El Paso Downtown is a bed-tobathroom, pool-to-parking-lot tribute to its home city. The nod to El Chuco — the city’s nickname — starts in the garage, site of the “Downtown El Paso” mural painted in part by one of the hotel’s concierges. The streetlevel restaurant, the Downtowner, is named after the previous occupant, a 1960s motor inn. On the fifth-floor lobby, a satellite view of the city cuts the topography out of denim, an ode to the earlier garment industry.
If you dreamed of robbing a bank during your night at the Gardner Hotel and Hostel, don’t worry: You aren’t drifting to the dark side. More likely, you stayed in Room 220, 221 or 222, where John Dillinger and two members of his gang slept shortly before their arrest in Arizona in 1934. The oldest continually operating hotel in El Paso (established 1922) retains much of its old-timey look and feel. The 44 private rooms and six dorms are furnished with original pieces, and an evaporative cooler in the hallway blasts Arctic air through the transoms. The lobby displays artifacts from the early years, including Dillinger’s death mask and wanted poster.
Hip neighborhood
Five Points makes a strong case for retaining authenticity and grit without sacrificing hipster tastes. “The older businesses didn’t want to gentrify,” Adam Bedoya said. “They wanted keep the feeling of Five Points alive while bringing some new life into it.” That new vitality includes the yearold Salt and Honey Bakery and Cafe, where Bedoya, a waiter, serves all-day brunch and breakfast, housemade pastries and coffee drinks, such as a tri-flight of espressos.
Across the street, Joe, Vinny & Bronson’s Bohemian Cafe hydrates patrons with the holy trinity of beverages: coffee, wine and craft beer. JVB’s signature drink is the Golden Milk, a symphony of turmeric, honey, soy milk and cinnamon, with a crescendo of espressos.
Around the corner, Pershing Inn, which opened in 1946, takes its booze and bands outside to an open-air patio with a full bar, stage and picnic tables that encourage family-style drinking. Love Buzz hosts live and loud music — metal, punk and indie rock — three times a week. For a taste of Old Five Points, grab a red plastic tablecloth-covered table at the Italian Kitchen, which recalls the neighborhood from seven decades ago.