This weekend I had the chance to visit two of the most visited attractions in our city–the historic El Paso Municipal Rose Garden and e Scenic Drive, which is an awesome site that provides a panoramic view of the metropolis.
I have been waiting for the past two weeks to make this trip and although the weather was not ideal, I enjoyed the experiences.
The El Paso Municipal Rose Garden is located on the corner of Copia Street and Aurora Avenue. Construction for the garden started in 1957 and was opened to the public in 1959 with 200 rose bushes.
Today, the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department, along with the El Paso Rose Society, help maintain the garden for the public’s enjoyment. The garden is on one and a half acres, which seems to be small, but the many varieties of the roses and colors create a beautiful environment. With the passing of the years, more varieties and bushes have been added.
I like roses and the feeling of being surrounded by them was a wonderful experience. Some of the roses are very big in size, while others are small. All the colors were beautiful even the white ones. My favorite rose bushes were the purple and the yellow ones, since these are my favorite colors.
The sidewalks wind down through the garden and there are some benches for the people to sit and enjoy the view. Also, there are some trees and a fountain. Several plaques have been added to show the recognition from different time periods. There is also a statue of Saint Francis in a little shrine. We stayed in the garden for a little while and took pictures and then we drove to Scenic Drive.
Taking Brown Street and then Rim Road, we got on Scenic Drive. We made a stop at the top and parked to take in the view. I noticed several tourists coming and going and taking pictures. The cars had licenses from different places of the country. Although the wind was blowing hard that did not stop us from admiring the two cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez from our high perch.
Downtown El Paso is easy to spot because of the cluster of tall buildings. The Cerro Bola Mountains in Juárez, which are painted with the saying “La Biblia es la verdad. Leela” (The Bible the truth. Read it) is another easy target to see. If you know Juárez, you know that you are looking at Mexican territory. Also, a new structure that can be seen from Scenic Drive is the gigantic red “The X,” which is a sculpture by Mexican artist Sebastian that is located right across the border.
While I was looking at the scenery I was thinking about how close and how far we are to our neighbors of the south. Two border cultures separated by an imaginary line, and in my opinion, we have so much in common and that is what provides the uniqueness to this region.
This was an awesome experience for me, not only because I got to see parts of El Paso that I had not before. I also enjoyed it because I got to spend the day with my mother and my little baby doll, my dog Luna, who enjoyed the ride on my lap. So go out and explore El Paso and see the natural beauty that it offers!
