Lajitas 2/03
Three day weekends. I love 'em. Even if you don't use the whole three days for stuff, it gives a sense of freedom.
For many many years I have heard and read, repeatedly, that the best Chile Cheeseburgers in the universe are only to be had at the Owl Bar, in San Antonio, NM, my own state. I decided this weekend was the time to check it out. San Antonio is a village of maybe 200 or so people, south of Soccoro, which is south of Albuquerque. Unfortunately, there is no airport, of any kind, there. Time to fire up my personally owned vehicle.
I got up early to make the very pretty drive. There were upslope conditions, which meant the higher peaks were obscured and there was fog in the passes. After Capitan, New Mexico I started losing elevation, down to El Malpais. I got out here to try to walk around a bit. Walking in lava flows makes one realize that the covered wagons must have had real problems here. In fact they must have had to go completely around. To use a technical geological term, the terrain here is jumbledy. Erosion seems to have had no effect, and things are just sticking up everywhere.
I arrived at the Owl right around 1:00PM and sat at the bar that was in Conrad Hilton's original hotel, which was in this small village. The green chile cheeseburger was $3.00 on the menu and arrived in about one minute. It was on a saucer with a napkin under it to absorb the grease. It was excellent. Maybe not the best hamburger I have ever had, but it was the best green chile cheeseburger. When it comes to taste, grease is not a liability.
After lunch I drove the few miles down to Bosque del Apache, on the Rio Grande River, where I saw 10's of thousands of Snow Geese along with thousands of Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes. The highlight was certainly seeing a mature Bald Eagle thermal soaring at about 200 feet over the parking lot of one of the traiheads.
It was a very nice day, but I had to drive around 600 miles and didn't get home till around 10PM. Just the kind of trip to make one appreciate owning an RV.
The Rio Grande in Bosque del Apache was barely running and was bounded by levees. This got me to thinking about how the river is further south, down on the Mexican border.
Sunday morning I wandered out to the airport with the idea of heading down to Big Bend country in Texas. As often happens there were delays. In this case the major holdup was having to hang around as a factory pilot worked on the beautiful Waco he was ferrying.
By the time I got going it was close to lunch, New Mexico time, but it only took about an hour and a quarter to get to Lajitas (la-HEE-tas).
This is Texas, but it ain't Dallas
The terrain of the Big Bend area, from about Marfa, south, is pretty astounding. I always think it is about as close as we can get to what it would be like to fly over the roughest parts of the moon. It is remote and sparsely settled and very rugged.
One of my most memorable flights was in my Mini-Nimbus glider flying along with Fred Cuny, in his ASW-19. We flew out of Marfa, in the spring of 1993, west to the Rio Grande, then southeast along the river for a hundred miles or so before returning to Marfa. It was the kind of windy day many people believe breaks the thermals up, but the soaring and the scenery was spectacular.
That weekend was the last time I saw Fred. Two years later he was dead, executed in Chechnya. I knew Fred only through flying and had no idea how well known he was around the world. Whenever I would see him he would tell these stories, that to me, sounded a bit windy. I never dreamed what a remarkable person he really was. Harrison Ford is supposed to start production in March 2003 of a movie about Fred's life.
More Jumbledy Terrain
Approaching Lajitas things get more and more unearthly. There is very little vegetation and there are many different and vivid rock and soil colors. About ten or so miles north of the airport there is an extensive network of little winding roads and clearings, that are the remnants of mercury mining.
Lajitas is just west of Big Bend National Park and is adjacent to Big Bend Ranch State Park on the Rio Grande at an historic ford of the river. Gen. "Black Jack" Pershing was stationed here at an army fort.
The Lajitas International Airport is only about 8 months old and is a remarkable facility, considering it serves a community of about 50 people. The runway is 7,500 feet long and there are sheds, hangars, fire fighting equipment and a terminal under construction. Very adequate for the Lear that was parked near us.
Terminal Under Construction
Originally I was planning to cycle the short distance into the village, but before I even landed, I was being offered a ride into town. With my fuel fill-up of 10 gallons, the ride into town, as well as parking and landing, were free. In fact the driver absolutely refused my offer of a $5 tip. Unheard of behavior, for me. The airport attendant told me that with no purchases there is a $15 landing fee and a $15 tie down fee. Fuel was $2.70.
Lajitas Restaurant
We were here a little after lunch, Texas time, and were taken to a restaurant that turned out to be a bit out of my league. Later, while walking around, we found a cafe, that would have been more my speed.
At the restaurant, my right seater George West had salad and I had soup of the day. The prices were at a level I am not accustomed to and the quality, in my opinion, was not really up to the standards of the Owl Bar.
For the money, you would think they could insulate the wires and paint the ceiling?
After lunch, we walked around. The place is a kind of strange mixture of really historic, and somewhat cheesey and expensive stuff. I have read that the current owner has put over $100 million into the resort, since he recently bought it. That is fine, but the juxtaposition of the opulence and old and poor stuff is a bit odd.
Not fancy, but it has been in continuous operation for over 100 years.
Yes, these Banos are open, and were doing good business.
The village, and the neighboring Mexican community of Paso Lajitas has been severely impacted by post 9/11 events. Previously there were many, informal, border crossings each day. Mexicans attended school in the US and shopped there. There are even wires across the Rio Grande, that have been supplying power to Paso Lajitas. The transborder interactions have stopped now, causing many hardships and family disruptions.
I was particularly struck by how friendly and open everyone, we came into contact with, was. The terrain is spectacular, and if one wants to ride horses or play golf in a really removed area, this is the place. In fact the golf course seemed little used, even though the weather was absolutely perfect. As for a kind of cheap guy, it probably doesn't suit me very well as a place to stay. $200 a night for a room an $9 for a salad is not really my thing. Next time I may visit Terlingua, which is in the same general area.
The hotel is designed to resemble old fort and mining structures.
