Desert Diva

Perched on a cliff on the central California coast fifty miles south of San Francisco, is the 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse is one of the tallest in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 8,000 pounds. It sits in a lantern room that had been constructed at the Lighthouse Service’s general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using a 24 inch Aero Beacon.

On Saturday after returning to Ciudad Juárez from the Samalayuca dune trip, I wasn’t quite ready to return to El Paso. Luckily, my friend Michael wasn’t either so we went to one of the markets and had a cerveza outside. Since we had a burrito for lunch, we were both hungry and decided to go to Frida’s (named after the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo). I had heard great things about the restaurant and was excited we were going there for dinner.

We took one of the local buses (always an adventure) to the area of the restaurant. As we stepped off the bus we noticed a woman who had been pulled over by the police. The policeman was taking her license plate off the rear of her car - not a good sign.

Arriving at the restaurant we were “early” even though it was sometime after 6:00 p.m. In Mexico, apparently dinnertime is much later. The restaurant was excellent - and that’s putting it mildly. The decor, the food, and the waitstaff all were wonderful. We both ordered a margarita and were brought a complimentary plate of crisp sliced carrots, cucumber, and jicama served with ranch dressing.

We then ordered an appetizer plate to share and decided upon our dinner order. What a menu! There were Mexican specialties as well as chicken, steak, and seafood entrees. Michael chose a steak and I decided upon chicken mole. Both dishes were outstanding! After dinner, the waiter brought us both a complimentary “shot” of Kahlúa and cream. It was one of the most wonderful dinners I have ever experienced.

Leaving the restaurant with a “buenas noches” from the maitre d’, we took a bus back to the bridge to cross the border. It was a long, but wonderful day!

Saturday, the Desert Diva went on a field trip to the Samalayuca Dunes which are about fifty kilometers (thirty-two miles) south of Ciudad Juárez. The trip was “hosted” by Dr. Leonel Barraza, a retired animal science professor. Our group was fortunate to have present on the trip Dr. Phillip Goodell, a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with interests in geochemistry, economic geology, mineralogy, and Mexico.

The tour started “bright and early” Saturday morning with the participants meeting at 7:45 a.m. in the parking lot at the foot of the Santa Fe bridge in El Paso. We walked over the Santa Fe bridge into Ciudad Juárez where our bus was waiting to whisk us off on our way.

Since we were traveling outside of the “free zone” into the interior of Mexico, our first stop was at the vehicle checkpoint a few miles south of Ciudad Juárez to obtain a seven-day free permit. The process went quickly and we were soon on our way to the replica of the San Lorenzo mission (and our first view of the Samalayuca dunes). After a brief talk about the geology of the area and a quick look at the replica of the mission, we traveled to our next stop - GCC Cemento (Planta Samalayuca) which depends highly on robotic automation. High automation=lower costs!

At GCC, we were met by a representative and escorted up a private road to the limestone quarry. There were markings on the quarry marking the excavations that indicated how high above sea level we were. Drs. Barraza and Goodell gave an informal talk about the area with altered satellite imagery maps.Our next stop were the spectacular Samalayuca dunes. The dunes are the tallest in North America with some reaching 400 feet in height, and the film location of the 1980’s movie “Dune.” We stayed in the area for approximately an hour as participants explored, hiked, or went “sledding” in the sand. I spent most of the time hiking alone, trying to soak in the history as the ever present wind shifted the dunes into new patterns. The area is believed to have first been settled by the Nahuatl Indians from whom the name “Samalayuca” comes. The dunes are home to various marine fossils, petroglyphs, and pottery. To date there are 210 plant species, 250 species of fauna, and 54 species of birds, some of which are rare and native to Samalayuca.

Hiking in the sand stirs up an appetite, so our next stop was to have a burrito and a soda (compliments of Dr. Barraza) at the Mexican equivalent of a truck stop! However, it was one of the nicest truck stops I’ve ever seen! The burritos were delicious and we were soon ready to board the bus for further exploration of the area!

Our last stop was along the mountains in the area to search for petroglyphs. It’s fascinating to look at rock art and to ponder what the ancients were trying to convey and why. Our trip finished, we boarded the bus for our journey back to Ciudad Juárez to walk back across the bridge to El Paso at approximately 4:00 p.m. The Samalayuca excursion was well-planned, educational, and fun. I learned so much more about the geography of the area and look forward to future offerings from Celebration of Our Mountains.

This little “pixie” was somewhat in her own world “dreaming” as she enjoyed a snowcone at the St. Clair Winery Festival last weekend. (The “adults” got to drink vino!)