That tradition continues today at an array of stores selling boots made by local artisans with craftsmanship unmatched anywhere else in the world. The city has a long tradition of hand-making custom cowboy boots, one that dates back to the days when the small outpost was known as one of the wildest frontier towns in Texas. Rockbuster Boots is a great place to shop for the perfect ones © Erik Pronske / 500px Plus / Getty Images Go boot shoppingĮl Paso is known as the “Boot Capital of the World” for good reason. After your art session, stop by the Three Missions Brewery next door, where you’ll find house-brewed specialties including Churro Stout, Pomegranate Ale and 3MB Blonde.ĭon’t leave the “Boot Capital of the World” without a pair of cowboy boots. In addition to exhibitions, Casa Ortiz hosts events and live music, making it a cultural hub for the creative community. Today, the building shows work by several of the area’s up-and-coming artists, with a room dedicated to each talent. While its exact construction date is unknown, the building became famous as the home of a local salt merchant and buffalo hunter named José Ortiz in the 1840s. Situated along the 400-year-old El Camino Real, Casa Ortiz Gallery is in an adobe building built in the 1700s. Go art shopping at Casa OrtizĮl Paso’s newest art gallery occupies one of the area’s oldest buildings. Here is a sampling of some top activities to do while you are in El Paso. What was once a wild frontier town has grown into a sophisticated city full of vibrant art galleries, world-class recreation activities, swoon-worthy restaurants, and famous shops (one of which may or may not have the trigger finger of an infamous Mexican revolutionary for sale).

Regardless, this Nature Trail was GREAT because it was SHORT, and there was no sudden downpour to soak me through to the bone.Sitting at the intersection of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico proper, El Paso offers an exciting mishmash of cultures and influences. I definitely give this trail my coveted “iWheel of Approval!” Regardless, this Nature Trail was GREAT because it was SHORT, and there was no sudden downpour to soak me through to the bone. The scree & scrub here was just as challenging as the wet grass & timber there!

Interestingly, my staff was the same 6foot/1.8m bamboo stick I had used at “world’s end” and Moved just as slow as back then, though the surrounding was desert-no forest. Access was quite easy, almost full ADA-compliant to the shelter/bird blind, but much more demanding thereafter. However, this Nature Hike was immensely shorter (0.75miles/1.2kms) seemed a much more reasonable short route through/around an arroyo. Since “ageing out” a few years ago and barely able to successfully complete the formidable 9.5kms/5.7miles “World’s End” trail in Sri Lanka with Grasshopper Adventures (February 2019), I have NOT been an eager hiker. Here in El PasoTX-USA, The ongoing monsoon season is bringing sporadic/drenching rainfalls-always welcome and needed in the Northern Chihuahua Desert.Īnyway, with our previous nights reservation of (08:00) today, she confirmed the pass at the visitors center and we parked across from the Nature Trail not much after. Our goal was a nature trail in the Tom Mays Unit, with primary access via Loop 375(TransMountain) on the West side of the mile-high pass. It was a dry Friday, my wife took the day off work, and I was ready to do some gimphiking in the Franklin Mountains State Park, one if the largest urban parks in the USA.

El paso texas scenery