Dad finished a couple days earlier than expected on Tuesday, 10/4/2005. As I wouldn't be arriving until Saturday morning, he got a ride part way towards Antelope Wells with some of the Minuteman volunteers who have decided they want to assist the government in patrolling the border..
I arrive in El Paso at 11:30pm and reach Antelope Wells around 3:30am where I sleep in the rental car. Antelope Wells no longer has a bar, grocery store, or cafe; all have closed in the last year. The new industry seems to be Minuteman volunteers who are active all hours of the day and night in the Community Center. Around 7:15 I drive south toward the border and find Dad walking on the road near this abandoned shack (pictured). Dad found cover in this shack during some hard rain storms that happened in the three days he waited for me in this area.
The windmills near the border are mostly broken and the pumps have been switched to electric. This pump where Dad got most of his water for the last four days works similar to a toilet where it automatically starts when the water evaporates below a given level. Dad demonstrates how it works. Dad is especially proud his shirt held out for the entire hike (well sort-of held out).
These are the mountains Dad hiked in while waiting for me to show up.
An old adobe hut near the electric pump. Most everything around the boarder is abandoned. However there are some silos to the south east and three large trucks kept busy hauling hay up the road from the silos several times a day. Dad only saw one cow in the three days he was in the area. The cow had plenty of water to drink :).
Dad and I drive back to El Paso along the border route. On the way back we are stopped by border patrol (as are all cars). We stop in the small border town of Columbus where many CDT hikers choose to end their hike, because it is not as remote as Antelope Wells where Dad ended. The route to Columbus is slightly longer and further away from the divide. We then drive to El Paso where we clean up in the hotel, Dad cuts his hair, we mail back his things that aren't allowed on an airplane, and eat at the Golden Coral Buffet. El Paso seems to be 80-90% Hispanic from what I saw (although I'm sure it is not really that high and just seemed like it on a weekend for two guys who frequent discount establishments).
Dad leaves early Sunday morning and will be back home Sunday night, taking a rental car to the airport, airplane to Seattle, city bus to the ferry terminal, ferry to Bainbridge, county bus to Poulsbo, county bus to Port Townsend and finally a walk to his home. He makes it fine. I sleep in, and then view the three Mission's in the area that are pictured.
I end my Day by walking around the downtown area. My watch is off and I don't think I have enough time to cross the border to Ciudad Juárez but it likely wouldn't be much different from downtown El Paso. Downtown El Paso on this Sunday is 99% Hispanic and most every establishment is a discount or factory seconds store. Tons of people. The border is a continuous crossing of people walking between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. My flight back goes well and Thank You Seth for meeting me at the airport at 12:30.
