Thats why I love living near the U.S.Texas/ Mexican border, plenty dust devils, cats, chihuahuas, chickens, cactus, lonely communities and nights are sacred and silent. Excellent content!
@@robertspringer3555 I'm curious about what you said. I'm from El Paso. I know Baja is somewhat popular with nomads enjoying beaches and food. But when you go to Mexico with your RV where do you enjoy going?
Except he is so boring wiith the exact same info everytime-never talks to anyone either,just him droning on,these videos are best watched with the sound off as he basically adds nothing to what you can see.
I love the border town videos. The churches are lovely. The desert is beautiful. The cemetery was unlike any I’ve ever seen. Thank you for going in. I hope the constipated dog is feeling better! The last two towns have nice homes. Appreciate you and your videos so much! ❤
I love that you get off the beaten path and have that sense of adventure. You are blessed to have a wife who supports you and goes along on your travels.
Fort Hancock, eh? I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
It is amazing that we have so much empty space in America. I love these videos when you show a different way of life. I've been all over America. I saw old slave shacks in the south that were still lived in by poor people. I've seen Indian Reservations with starving Americans living there. Thank you
I grew up in El Paso, my Pops and I used to ride in his MG through those small towns as we traveled for football, wrestling,and basketball tournaments.
Those adobe homes are one of my favorite architecture styles very efficient homes if done right. My favorites are the stone adobe fusions they just have that look i tend to gravitate too.
One of my favorite videos. When living in El Paso I got out and explored the area. The people were so friendly and helpful and nice. It was so different from anything I had ever seen before. Thanks for bringing back fond memories!
I've been in Ft. Hancock quite a few times. It's small of course, but it's also quiet, nearly crimeless, historically famous, has solid citizens who are very friendly and great nights to view the Milky Way and sit outside and enjoy nature. All basic services are present and it's a short drive to anywhere else you'd chose to go. That ditch with water running after Acala is an irrigation canal for farmers. Tornillo is pretty nice. As for the low high School graduation rate it's typical and related to future traditional thinking within the traditional Hispanic culture of continuing to have young people take over farms by each generation. You don't need a high school diploma to do what you've grown up learning and doing.
These border town videos are one of my favorites! Glad you mentioned Shawshank redemption scene in Ft Hancock. Also Morgan Freeman also mentions the location of the letter mailed as Ft Hancock Tx "Right on the border" Another awesome video! Thanks!
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip have you been too Plainview tx,I seen your video where you were in tulia tx,and Happy Texas,I used to live there,but my hometown is Plainview Texas!!
I enjoy your videos so much. I find these old towns endlessly fascinating, even though circumstances can be sad. I love old churches and cathedrals, too, they are so beautiful and special. The desert landscape is beautiful, and it's always lovely when the kitty cats come out to say "hello" !! Thank you so much for all your wonderful videos. 😊
What most consider uninteresting and boring comes from the inability to sit quietly, observe, think and enjoy serenity. You know almost the entire human race.
I used to paint old churches at one time by myself. Inside and outside. Hard work but it made me feel good to bring them back to their glory. I did them by hand.
My wife and myself had a opportunity to visit friends in Texas about 6 years ago, we loved our visit we travelled around Texas for about six weeks exploring as I’ve always enjoyed the American western history, but we had so many places we didn’t have the time to explore, so my favourite video you are doing are these ones on the small towns , thank you for your time and passion. Ash from New Zealand
I can hardly believe West Texas had a couple from the awesome country of New Zealand and we didn't give you a parade. We messed up. You must have sneaked over the border. Please return. And bring a forlorn hobbit with you. 😅😊
@@ashmurdoch5470 Well, if you come back to Texas we'll consider giving you a Texican citizenship application. It's much easier than a US form to be an American citizen and Texans don't pay personal income tax. Texas government thinks if you earned wages you should be able to keep them. We also have lots of hills for hobbits to live in, no earthquakes like your country and sadly not even a good dormant volcano. Otherwise we got about everything else.
Another good video! I think the desert is pretty in some areas, but keeping things clean with all the dirt and no grass must be a nightmare, especially when the wind blows LOL
It has been almost 20 years...but I visited El Paso by accident. I was in the Southwest for my brother's wedding, and took the scenic route home. I absolutely loved that part of Texas and New Mexico. The barren landscapes were fascinating. I visited the actual border back in Arizona at a cool town called Douglas. And my high school Spanish got the best workout it's had until this year. I remember getting pulled over due to my North Dakota plates. The officer ended up apologizing and admitting he expected something else when he saw my plates. I probably should have been angry, but it was my first time ever being pulled over, so that freaked me out quite a lot! You've definitely reminded me that I want to go back. Such a beautiful part of the country. I wish I'd had a dashcam and a digital camera back then!
It's not everybody up of tea. Unless you're British. But some of us west Texans would rather live in the grandeur of this wild, rugged, beautiful part of the world than anywhere else. We just visit other places. 😮😅😂
"So quiet, so desolate."...Sounds like "Heaven on Earth" to me and EXACTLY why I retired in Hudspeth County. Only difference from where you shot this video, an area called "the lower valley," my home on two acres is located in the far northwest corner of the county, an area called "The Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains," just south of the New Mexico state line. Due to my substantially higher elevation at approximately 5300 feet, the temperatures are notably cooler than down on the Rio Grande, especially in Summer. After living most of my life in congested mega-millions populated urban metro areas, I do so love the quiet and the solitude of being in "the middle of nowhere."
I know that county, your living area very well. I used to be a park ranger at Hueco Tanks State Park. Now that's a very interesting place that very few have seen. I bet this channel host hasn't been there.
Thank you for the video. It brought back memories of the early 70's where I would visit my dad on weekends on a farm south of Tornillo. Activities included chasing cattle and climbing hay bales. One character of note in Fabens was a cowboy who put rattlesnakes in the cab of his truck to protect his tools. We called him rattle snake Charlie. Thanks again for the video.
I love your videos! They are so educational, but fun. It's so interesting to see how other towns and cities live. Thank you for taking the time to do these videos 😊
Thanks for sharing the backroads. The area is on my bucket list for this year's travel, but probably not so close to the border. Cemeteries are among the most fascinating places along the way, each with stories to tell if you stop to listen. Stay safe and off the interstate.
@ 25:35 On the cross for Mr. Nicolas Sierra, the left date should be the date he was born: 5-25-1903; died 4-26-1975. The vertical inscription simple says: descansa en paz --> rest in peace. I've lived in this area for the last 45 years and still love it. Like your videos. Thanks.
My aunt and uncle were the postmasters there for many years and you drove by Miller farms. You missed the cafe and the old merchantile (now closed) name Arturo's in Ft. Hancock. They also had a nice school there. My grandmother's old house is right next door. That's where I spent many Christmases and summer vacations. I've been in both of those churches and my family is most of the congregation of the Baptist church. I Catholic girlfriend and I attended the mission church there.
These Videos really gives a relaxed Fealings, out of all the Chaos and disturbance going on in this World, great Job, here I come to find my Peace, they are perfectly done. Relaxing me.
It's nice to see the bike path. Especially in lower income areas being able to safely bike around town is such a positive. It's good to see small communities like this getting some kind of quality of life improvements rather than just being abandoned.
I love how you give the info on each town/city. And you and Nicole giving the hotel ratings is very informing. Again thank you and look forward to many more videos to xome
Mr. Spoda, I don't know if I may ba of any help but tornillo means Screw, I love your videos and so all of the old towns. Thanks pilgrim from Del Rio, TX.
IDK if it is possible but I would love to see a nighttime drone flight over some of the abandoned or semi- abandoned towns. A daytime flight in those types of towns would be cool to see also. Watch out for the Air Force though they are shooting balloons like at a carnival these days. ;)
Old cemeteries are my favorite to visit. Perhaps you could show a bit more of them from time to time? Thanks for the walk through of La Isla Cemetery. As always, great video. Much appreciated.
I am so glad that you are doing this type of video exploring off the beaten path. I really like the way you explore and do a little research on the places you visit. It's a pleasure traveling with you thank you very much.
If you really wanna visit some remote places take us 54 through Kansas towards New Mexico, hop on 40 west for 65 miles and hop back on us 54 south. You’ll go through a town called Vaughn New Mexico, stay on 54 once you go through Vaughn (it’ll be a left turn a couple miles past Vaughn). Now start looking at your map and head towards Roswell. Beautiful desert with some seriously remote places.
Its amazing how 1000 people in a town in your country and the place still looks terrible, and here where i am small towns of like 500-600 people are bustling places.
I totally enjoy the videos. Its sad that so much of our ways of life are abandoned and left to be reclaimed by nature.i enjoy all the research that you do to give us an informative and fun video. I have truly learned alot from your videos.
I was driving through this place on Highway 20-10 El Paso, TX, twenty years ago from East to West, back and forth a few times. I also on the Amtrak route from Los Angles to Jacksonville, Floria May 2005… Thanks for share this video.
Glad you highlighted the Sonic Ranch. There's really no place like it and most people would be surprised at the amount of big names that have recorded there! It's on an absolutely beautiful property.
Those were not drainage ditches. That's the water they use for irrigation. And all those pecan farms. I live in San Elizario Tx about 18 miles west of Tornillo. Enjoy your videos.
The dog reminded me of an episode from WKRP in Cincinnatti where Less Nessman was reading the news: "A man was bitten downtown today by a Chai-HUa-HUa. For those unfamiliar with it, the Chai-HUa-HUa is a vicious breed from Mexico bred to inflict grievous wounds about the ankle area". Excellent video, thanks man.
Very interesting. In 1996 I did a two-week tour of these border towns. I will be looking to move from Houston soon and will start to looking at these locations. Thank you so much for going down memory lane.
love the content as always Lord. Could you update us every now and then with a map of what you've covered so far, like just a line (maybe with stops) similar to the way you did it awhile back? I'd love to see it
Super cool trivia bit about Shawshank Redemption!! One of my favorite movies ever! Another small bit of movie trivia is the movie No Country For Old Men was predominantly filmed on location in far west Texas, in and around El Paso!
Interesting tour along the border. I also appreciate the beauty of the desert, but for the most part driving through that area of West Texas for me is more boring than I-5 in central California. Having said that, one of my favorite spots in Texas is Balmorhea State Park, not too far from where you filmed this episode. Happy trails!
Thank you for your wonderful videos, love them. especially on a wet dreary day in the west of Ireland. Wonderful to see Fort Hancock as The Shawshank is my all time favourite movie. I was in Texas but never got to see the Rio Grande.
My college buds and I once RV-ed from Phoenix to South Padre via these roads. We accidently left one of use at a Fort Hancock pit stop. We drove about 45mins before we realized he was missing. This was in 1990 -- no cell phones. It was quite the experience for a group of MN stoner boys.
Im so glad that you are spotlighting the far west Texas area. Some of best honey I purchased was in Fabens. I also fished at a local dam in the east parts of Fabens. Im not sure if that place still exists. You will certainly see ghost towns on your trek to El Paso and points west.
That would be Ceballos honey. It is the best. We buy Some every time we go and visit family in Fabens. I am from Fabens. It’s not the same as it was when I lived there. Don’t recognize a lot of the people anymore. I left in 87.
Thanks for the video/tour...like you (and perhaps others commenting here), I Iove the desert, too - the quietness, the simplicity...I've lived in the Philly (PA) region all my life, and having recently retired, I've been considering moving to New Mexico or Arizona for the desert environment - but you have given me another option location-wise...blessings...😊
Not sure why this vid popped up, but glad it did! At first I was thinking this might be boring, then I reset my stupid judgmental mind and pretended I was you. Curious, as I have not seen this part of the borderlands. Grateful I watched all the way through. Thankyou
Since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated with watching old western movies, and want to visit some ghost towns out there. They need to fix the border situation, but it would actually make sense to repopulate that area because of those dying towns and populations. For some reason they’re being moved everywhere inside the country besides right there. New immigrants could actually rebuild that area.
The "new immigrants" aren't going to rebuild anything. They've come here to sponge off of the taxpaying founding stock. The majority of them end up on government handouts.
Apparently you know nothing of Texas. Yes, Texas has open spaces but there is little public land in the state and a vast majority of land is privately owned so unless property is taken from landowners, I doubt Texas will be populated. The Federal Government (BLM) owns 80% of Nevada. There is plenty of public land there.....
We love your videos!!! Thank you and they are a highlight of our week here, in tiny Tubac, AZ. Maybe y'all will come through here. We just had an arts festival with hordes of people. It's actually ending today. Town will revert to normal (without detours and no automobile zones). 😉😁 🌵
As a Kiwi from down under I find what you are doing fascinating. I would be interested in you talking about the main industries and key employers of these towns where possible
Also, the cross with Nicolas Sierra 1903-1975 is my ancestor! This family is in my tree. My great grandmother had step siblings who were Sierra and these gravesites are their relatives.
Did an over 8,000 mile trip last Fall to visit family and visit old military buddies. I saw countless old towns through New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona that I wanted to stop and check out but was always heading to my next destination. Your channel helps me see what I missed for better or for worse and it makes me happy sometimes and other times it makes me sad but I always appreciate your visits into a forgotten America and I thank you for your own personal journey
My great grandfather and his brothers were born in Ft Hancock in the 1890’s. His family was from San Ignacio, Porvenir and San Elizario before we had a border. He raised his children in Tornillo, migrated to California. Our ancestors come from New Mexico’s Spaniards who settled in Paseo del Norte due to the 1680 native revolt in NM.
I just want to say I absolutely love what you are doing. I am actually jealous of you and your wife. We would love to do what you do. I have watched a ton of your videos but just today saw you what I assume was your first one. Where you show selling the house. Awesome!!! Keep up the great work.
G'day Joe. Another great small town vid. I did a rough conversion of fuel prices. In my part of AUS, if we had gallons, we'd be looking at about $6.40 a gallon. Keep up the great small town videos mate.
Dry hot weather, sparse vegetation, much sun - this is beautiful location perfect to health and stable healthy mood. Though the vast majority of contemporary folks appreciate heavily urbanized areas which lure them with easy, loud and vibrant living. That's why these beautiful places lack population. Borders of any countries must be heavily populated, otherwise one day they may become contested by adjacent folks on the other side of the border. The same was and is in my country which lost 1/3rd of its area to adjacent countries, because people scornfully denied opportunity living in distant, sparsely populated border proximity areas which were subsequently seized by folks of adjacent countries.
Watching from Wales. UK. I love your content. I’ll almost definitely never get chance to visit these places so it’s good to see that they exist. I’ve only ever been to Florida, Disney with the kids, but would love to see the real US. One day hopefully I’ll get chance to take a proper look around….🤞
A lot of the Shawshank movie was filmed a few miles from me. They used the County court house and some of the old warehouses in Upper Sandusky,Ohio for a lot of the movie.
I was just about to comment on that Shawshank Redemption scene but then you mentioned it. Beautiful church! I thought of the movie instantly but didn't know it was a real place. Way cool!
Fabens has one of the best steak houses in Texas! It's on the other side of the freeway about 6 miles in on a ranch. It's called Cattlemens Steak House.
