Logs for Desert_Warrior 

Stumbled on this one while returning from dog training in Las Cruces New Mexico. This tractor is at the entrance to the Triple-B Cattle Company - The Bowen Ranch. I do not know any of the history of it, as it appears to be used as a part of the sign marking the Bowen owned Edge of Texas restaurant just across the highway. The tractor is just a few feet inside the New Mexico Border - the restaurant is just a few feet inside the Texas border, hence the "Edge of Texas" name.

Thanks for the cache.

Desert_Warrior.
El Paso, Texas.
 

This one is so new they are not done installing it yet. But it is finished enough to see what it is. And what it is - is a cell tower along the Border Highway, just north of the Rio Grande on the American side of the United States / Mexican border, near Midway road.

T4TC
Desert_Warrior
El Paso, TX. 

The history of this station includes the Pony Express riders, but this station pre-dates the Pony Express. The Pony Express began in April of 1860. This station was built for the Butterfield Overland Mail system in 1858. In fact, the Butterfield Overland Route is often considered to be “The Roots of the Pony Expressâ€.

On the afternoon of September 28, 1858 the conductor of the first westbound Butterfield Overland Mail Coach sounded his bugle to announce the coach’s arrival at the Pinery. The station was named so for the nearby stands of pine trees. With abundant water from the nearby Pine Springs and good grazing, it was one of the most favorably situated stations on the original 2,800 mile Butterfield Route. Located at 5,534 foot Guadalupe Pass, it was also the highest station.

When the conductor, his driver, and their sole passenger made their first call at the Pinery, there was little to see; a stout corral built of pine hauled from the mountain above, and the tents that housed the station keeper and his men. But two months later, the station consisted of a high walled rock enclosure protecting a wagon repair shop, a blacksmith shop, and the essential replacement teams of fresh horses. Three mud-roofed rooms with limestone walls offered a double fireplace, a warm meal, and a welcome retreat from the dusty trail of the plains below.

Imagine the feeling of isolation experienced by the station masters and their crews, and the sense of excitement and companionship brought by the stage coaches. Between Fort Chadbourn and El Paso, a distance of 458 miles, there was no sign of habitation other than the outpost stage stations. The stage route between Fort Smith Arkansas and San Francisco California passed through only two real towns; El Paso Texas and Tucson Arizona. One stretch of the route had no settlements for 900 miles; another had no water for 75 miles.

There was more activity about this station than one might suspect. The station keeper was Henry Ramstein, a surveyor from El Paso. He supervised 6-8 men who worked as cooks, blacksmiths and herders. Four times a week the distant sound of the conductor’s horn announced the arrival of the mail coach with up to 9 passengers. (PONY) Express riders dashed through at all hours. Road crews stopped off, and tank-wagons filled up at Pine Springs, rolling on to fill water tanks along the dry stretches of the route. Freighters and mule-trains added to the passing traffic.

There is much more history, but space here is limited. Learn more at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park here, http://www.nps.gov/gumo/ The Pinery here, http://www.nps.gov/gumo/gumo/pinery.htm John Butterfield here, http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/dec/papr/butter.html and here, http://history.missouristate.edu/FTMiller/LocalHistory/Bios/butterfield.htm The ROOTS of the Pony Express – here, http://www.nps.gov/poex/hrs/hrs1b.htm and here, http://www.over-land.com/mail.html.

I hope this history lesson is worthy of inclusion in this cache. Thanks.

Desert_Warrior.
El Paso, Texas.
 

Desert_Warrior - travelling with Dane_Lady and 3 Texas Chihuahuas. Going from El Paso to Roswell for the Dog Shows, and doing some caching on the way. Stopped at this TEE-PEE at White's City near Carlsbad NM. What a lucky find. And - was a good place to let the dogs out a bit too.

T4TC.

Desert_Warrior, with Dane_Lady and 3 Great Danes.
 

141 finds so far, including my wife Dane_Lady below. But mine will be the best yet. Why? Because this is the birthplace of the NIKE program. White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in Southern New Mexico.

There were two missiles in the NIKE program. The more well known and as shown in Dane_Lady's log is the NIKE Hercules. The lesser known was also the first. The NIKE AJAX, America's first guided anti-aircraft missile.

NIKE AJAX, the world's first super-sonic guided missile to become operational. In 1952 a NIKE AJAX knocked a drone B-17 out of the sky for the first time from Launch Complex 33 (LC-33) on White Sands Proving Grounds (now WSMR).

LC-33 is still active and productive in the space and defense fields. Think of a missile in the U.S inventory, and it probably flew from LC-33 sometime. Obviously, photos on the base are not allowed EXCEPT at the missile museum.

T4TC.

Desert_Warrior - El Paso, Texas.