"Out In The West Texas Town Of El Paso"...El Paso, Texas

DATE:  March 15, 2017                                     

                                                                             

PLACE:  Rosa's Cantina

LOCATION:  3454 Doniphan Dr., El Paso TX  79922

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS:

Driving through the barren landscape in Texas on Interstate 10 with the border of Mexico just to our left, Dirk and I start singing El Paso by Marty Robbins. Like so many times with us, that leads to discussion and research on the internet. Not sure exactly what was up for discussion but we quickly found that this little song we remember our parents playing when we were growing up is part of a much larger trilogy that started in 1959 and finished in 1976.

The first song, "El Paso", and really the basis of the story, was released in 1959. Robbins says he wrote this in a car while traveling from Texas to Arizona. He's said the song just tumbled out of him and he could see it like a movie in his mind. It was the first time a song longer than 4 minutes became #1 on hit charts and was the first Grammy for a country & western performance. I can't imagine there are people out there who haven't heard this song, but unless we reintroduce it every now and then, the song will become unknown. 

The story being told is about a cowboy who falls in love with a cantina dancing girl, Faleena, and ends up killing someone in a jealous rage. "Music would play and Faleena would swirl". He run's but can't stay away from Faleena even when he knows it is dangerous to go back, but go back he does and he's gunned down. It was a couple of lines that made Dirk and I wonder...was he gunned down for killing that man or for stealing a horse to escape?

"Out where the horses were tied
I caught a good one, it looked like it could run
Up on its back and away I did ride" 

Life, in the Old West, has been presented as cheap, whereas stealing a man's horse...well, that could get you killed.

And so the song ends with "one little kiss and Feleena, goodbye"

Then the story continues in 1966 but from the view of Faleena. This song was about 8 minutes long and was never released as a single but was included in one of Robbins albums. It starts with Faleena's birth to a poor Mexican couple. 

 

But by 17, she was tired of the poverty and hard life and ran away, knowing she'd find something better. She went to Santa Fe and learned about life...and men. She found she could manipulate men into giving her what she wanted with her beauty and attention. But even now, Faleena wasn't happy and moved on to El Paso; sure she could find what she was looking for there.  

"Dancin' and laughter, was what she was after and Rosa's Cantina had lights". Rosa's was a place a nice girl wouldn't be seen and when Rosa saw what attention Faleena was getting, she started paying her to dance. 

A year later, a cowboy wandered into Rosa's...a stranger...who caught Faleena's eye and the two were inseparable. Problem was, the cowboys' jealousy would get the best of him and one night, he shot someone dead. From the original song we know the cowboy took off but couldn't stay away. Returning, he was shot dead. That is reiterated in this song, but then goes on to say that Feleena put the cowboys gun to her chest and telling the bystanders to "Bury us both deep and maybe we'll find peace" pulls the trigger and falls dead across the cowboys chest. The story ends with the west Texas winds being described as the ghosts of the cowboy showing Faleena the town.

And finally, in 1976, the story continues in "El Paso City" with a man aboard a jetliner. He vividly recalls a song he once heard about a jealous cowboy and his Mexican love. Feeling such a connection to the song and the story, the man wonders if he could have been the cowboy in a different lifetime.

"I can't explain why I should know
The very trail he rode back to El Paso
Can it be that man can disappear
From life and live another time"

He wonders if he should go back to El Paso to see if he could be the cowboy but has a strong feeling that "maybe death awaits me in El Paso"

So Dirk and I have dissected the trilogy when we're passing through El Paso and think...I wonder if there really is a Rosa's Cantina. Dirk does a quick check and YES! Key in the address to the GPS and off we go.

 The cantina used to be on a main drag but now, tucked away, you have to search for it because progress has passed it by. The interstate will take you right by one of the most famous bars in the world. I was a little nervous getting out of the car as the area does not seem to be the greatest. Whether that's because of being by-passed or whether that's what the neighborhood has always been, I don't know.

Walking in, there are tables and a horseshoe shaped bar. They have live music here as testified by the walls covered in posters from bands who have played here.

The first bar here, Los Tigres, opened in the early 1940's. In 1957, the owner changed the name to Rosa's Cantina for reasons no one knows or remembers. Of course, there's the rumor of a waitress named Rosa, but who knows. Nothing all that interesting about this bar to this point...just a neighborhood hang out.

According to legend, and I've never seen an article saying so, Marty Robbins supposedly stopped at Rosa's between a drive from Nashville to Phoenix. It was closed...how convenient...but he looked in the windows and the area surrounding...the so-called "badlands of New Mexico" in the lyrics. Marty Robbins got back into his car and the song was completed by the time the band arrived in Phoenix.

Another truth? Research has shown no Rosa's Cantina on El Paso's city directory until 1961; a couple of years after Marty Robbins recorded "El Paso".  There was a beer bar in this location in 1959 under the name of "J & M Club". Is the truth that the song inspired the bar rather the bar inspiring the song? Countering this, it's been said the name was changed in 1957 but the official city records weren't changed until 1961 and that seems plausible. No matter the truth, it seems the owners haven't actively said the Cantina is the one in the song but why not let the imaginative story take on a life of its own?

This place is known all over the world and like us; others have been drawn there by the song. And yet, the locals that drink there could care less...it is their place that some have been going to for years. And looking at the inside, they are right. There is nothing touristy, nothing showy, and certainly nothing saying they are the world famous Rosa's Cantina, but it's definitely a great bucket list stop to eat and maybe have a beer.

Wagon Mound...Wagon Mound, New Mexico

DATE:  04/01/2016

HISTORICAL SITE:  Wagon Mound

LOCATION:  East of Wagon Mound on U.S. 85, Mora County, New Mexico

MARKER #:  66000478

DEDICATED:  October 10, 1966

“This last great landmark on the Santa Fe Trail was named for its resemblance to the top of a covered wagon. At Wagon Mound, travelers could cross from the Cimarron Cutoff to Fort Union, which is located on the Mountain Branch of the Trail. The two branches joined south of here at Watrous.”

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

Traveling north on I-25 from Santa Fe, there really isn’t a lot to look at. The landscape, a glimpse of what was to come for several days, was mainly open grassland.  As I promised myself during my very first trip, my gas gauge showed a quarter tank so it was time to start looking for a gas station. Then here comes this tiny little town called Wagon Mound and, oh, good…gas. In fact, it’s not even legally a “town”  but rather a “village”.

The village of Wagon Mound used to be quite prosperous and then the interstate was put in and traffic just sped by…not unlike the story of Route 66.

In 1900, the town boasted it had 4 saloons, a bank, a livery barn, 3 bakeries, 2 grocery stores, 2 hotels, 2 blacksmith shops, 2 restaurants, and a weekly newspaper in both English and Spanish.

The main line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway went right through the town.

Pulling off the freeway, we see a sign for a historic site…bonus. So, we fill our tank and then come back to the marker.

Wagon Mound, a large hill near the town, so named because it looks like the top of a covered wagon is considered the “last great natural landmark on the Santa Fe Trail” and can be seen at least 60 miles from the North and East.

The Santa Fe Trail, which Wagon Mound is a part of, was one of America’s great trading routes. A total of 1,200 miles from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico, it was a vital trail for trading, the military and emigrants from 1821 to 1880.

The trail had many Way Stations, Trading Posts and military Forts.

Even after the territory was ceded by Mexico after the war, trade between Mexico, south of the trail, and the United States flourished for many years.

All along the trail, travelers used natural landscape features to help them navigate. Places like Pawnee Rock, Rabbit Ears Mountain and Wagon Mound aided the travelers.

As you can imagine, Wagon Mound, being 6,930 feet high, and resembling oxen pulling a wagon, was very easy to see. Care needed to be taken to recognize this site as the area was the Cimarron Cutoff point to Fort Union.

The area quickly became a favored spot for travelers to rest. The abundance of green grass and water was appealing, yet just 2 miles north, the Santa Clara Spring camping spot became the site of many Indian ambushes.

The mound was not only a navigational tool and a promise of a good rest, but became a warning to travelers about the local Indians.

As the number of travelers grew, the relationship with the Indians got worse as their traditional way of life was interrupted more and more. This area had been home to many major tribes including Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Plains Apache, Osage, Kansas (Kaw), Apache, Ute, and Pueblo Indian.

The U.S. Government, along with Mexico, started providing escorts on the trail further enraging the Indians until the “Mail Train Massacre” in May of 1850 where a mail train going west was attacked and all 10 men were killed. The bodies weren’t found for a couple of weeks until the eastern mail train came upon them.

It was estimated there were over 100 Indians and up until this point, a train with 10 men were considered safe. The Government increased its raids and attacks against the Indians; resulting in the Indian population being pushed back and onto reservations.

During the civil war, with the U.S. Army engaged elsewhere, the cutoff was considered too dangerous with Confederate raiders and Indians so traffic basically stopped until the war was over.

And once the railroad made its way through the area, the trail, given time, was abandoned for the new transportation option.

The American International Rattlesnake Museum - Albuquerque, New Mexico

DATE VISITED:  04/28/2015

SITE:  American International Rattlesnake Museum 

 

LOCATION:  202 San Felipe St. NW, Albuquerque, Bernalillo Co., New Mexico 

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

Snakes have always held a strange fascination for me. It’s one of those things where I’m scared but also so interested I normally will go out of my way to see them. While I love the reptile house at zoos, it’s not like I want to walk into a room to face a snake.

When Daniel appeared to become allergic to pet dander, we had to consider other “pets” and a snake was the easy choice. We ended up with a Corn Snake. When we got it, I had told the pet store I didn’t want anything that would grow taller than me. At last check “Nake” was about 3 inches taller than me.

I remember when a name was being considered. David wanted the name “Viper” and as I wandered through the room, I said the snake would probably end up being called “Nake” because Danny couldn’t really say his “S’s” yet. And sure enough…the name stuck.

This picture doesn't do justice but Nake grew to be a beautiful orange. If you’ve never touched a snake, you might be surprised to find they are incredibly soft. I love touching Nake…as long as someone is facing his head away from me. I’ve seen him bite the hand…and tummy…of the one that feeds him. Comical as it was listening to the “ouch, ouch, ouch”…I certainly never want to experience it myself.

I was quite excited to go to the National Rattlesnake Museum which was the opposite of Dana although she definitely warmed up to the place and was even sending SnapChats to her family.

The museum claims to have more live rattlesnakes, combined, than 6 of the largest zoos in the U.S. and have 30 or so out of the 100 on exhibit at all times with a plan on expanding soon.

The entrance fee of $5.00 is well worth what you will see during your visit. Their front area, with gift shop, doesn’t give you a clue as to how extensive the collection and exhibits are.

Rattlesnakes are native to the Americas with a majority of the species living in the American Southwest and Mexico while four are found east of the Mississippi and two in South America

It is believed that the ancestral area for the rattlesnake is probably in the Sierra Madre Occidental area of Mexico, a mountainous area in western Mexico.

While many snakes and other reptiles are oviparous (lays eggs), the rattlesnake is ovoviviparous (gives birth to live young after carrying eggs inside).

We all know that snakes can hibernate but I found out they can also “aestivate”.  Hibernation is basically going dormant if the temperature gets too cold. Aestivation is the opposite…going dormant when the temperature is too hot.

Humans experience about 8,000 bites from venomous snakes and rattlesnakes are the leading cause of snakebite injuries in North America. That being said, less than 1% result in death.

Antivenom is developed by “milking” rattlesnakes and injecting the venom into horses, sheep or goats who naturally produce antibodies. The red blood cells are separated and the serum is made into a powder to be used later by humans. Because it comes from animal antibodies, humans generally display an allergic reaction during the infusion.

While their museum is devoted mainly to rattlesnakes, they did have a couple of other interesting residents…

I had never seen anything like this…an alligator snapping turtle but but when I started asking around, lots of people grew up with them.

They are mainly in the Southeastern U.S. but can also be found in Kansas, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky and as far north as South Dakota. All I know is that I never want to run into one.

They will eat just about anything they can get their mouths on. When younger, they tend to hang around on the bottom with their mouths hanging open and their tongues hanging loosly…their tongues look like little worms and so entice fish to come closer.

They can bite hard enough to amputate fingers and after being found in the Czech Republic and Germany, are on the EU’s list of invasive species.

Some of their reptiles have names, like “Mollie”, the resident Gila Monster.

Gila Monsters are only 1 of 2 venomous lizards in the entire world and these are native to the Southwestern U.S. and the Mexican state of Sonora

The Apache and Pima believed Gila Monsters could kill or cause sickness while the Seri and Yaqui believed the skin had healing properties.

But one undisputed fact is that they are so slow, they are rarely dangerous to humans. In fact, a Dr. Ward wrote in 1899 that “I have never been called to attend a case of Gila Monster bite and I don’t want to be. I think a man fool enough to get bitten by a Gila Monster ought to die. The creature is so sluggish and slow of movement that the victim of its bite is compelled to help largely in order to get bitten”

“Marilyn” is an albino Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake. Albino’s normally don’t last long in the wild as they definitely stand out and easily become prey.

 

A normal colored Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake

A Paniment Speckled Rattlesnake that calls Nevada & California home.

 

I wish they showed this snake on their website as I would love to know exactly what it was. What I do remember was that it is definitely not an albino.

Rattlesnakes are born with a tail called “pre-button” but within 7 days of birth they have their first shedding and then it becomes the “button”. After that, each shedding, will add another “rattle”. The noise (listen here) is made when one rattle vibrates against another.

Dana and I were given “certificates of bravery” for completing a tour of the museum. It was very interesting and well work the visit.