We drove from Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona for 315 miles to the Fort Bliss Army Post Family Camp in El Paso, Texas. The drive was uneventful and the day was a beautiful one. No Issues on the drive.

We have contacted Sergeant-Major Elmer Feick who has become a close friend to coordinate some bicycle rides and dinner engagements before we leave the El Paso area. We plan to ride on Fort Bliss in the morning.

Friday, May 14, 2021 - Elmer was tied up with masons working on the front façade of his home, so he was not able to ride with us on our first day there. Lisa and I drove out to the Fort Bliss Army Post to ride the "tank trails." We had a beautiful day and put in 42 miles of riding. Lisa was very strong on the ride with her Trek EBike. After the ride, we went to Subway for a healthy lunch.

Saturday, May 15, 2021 - I went on a bike ride with Elmer, Luis, and Ruth, all current and former members of the US Army. All three are very good bicyclists who put me to work out there on the road. We rode along the Rio Grande River flood plain with farms and trees throughout the area. We completed 37 miles and had a great time. Luis has great equipment and has only been riding for about a year. He pulled away from me on the top end while we were pace-lining. Great to see him doing so well. Ruth is considering getting involved in racing. She is super strong and fast. If Lisa and I were to remain in the area for a while, I would certainly get into a better level of fitness.

Elmer and his wife, Karen, invited us to go to dinner at a very famous steakhouse restaurant called, "Cattlemans." This restaurant is located near the town of Fabens about 20 miles east of El Paso. It has no tie at all to the Cattleman's restaurants that we see in California. This is an actual cattle ranch that raises its own cattle. They have a very unique facility with all sorts of animals and critters in pens and holding areas. They have buffalo, peacocks, goats, and more. They even have a pit full of large rattlesnakes. The place was super crowded. We actually had to wait for two hours to get seated. When we did, it was well worth it. The brisket, ribs, and steaks were awesome. We had a great dinner and a great time visiting with Elmer and Karen.

Sunday, May 16, 2021, - We went on a seven mile hike with Elmer to one of only two tin mines left in the United States. It is located in the Franklin mountains just to the north of El Paso. The hike was pretty easy over moderate terrain with a gentle gradient all the way up and an easy return on the downhill. Once we arrived at the tin mine, we were able to go inside and explore a little. There are two entrances. We went in the one that allows you to look down on the mine shaft, but skipped the one that explores the bottom of the mine since were would have had to crawl in on our knees for some distance on rocks to get to the shaft. We aborted. It was a beautiful day with about a 10 to 15 knot wind that helped cool us down. After the hike, we followed Elmer to a place called Chico's Tacos. We had lunch there and found that this is one of the "go-to" places in El Paso if you are looking for tacos.

Elmer and Karen are planning to drive to the Carlsbad Caverns to spend the day with us there. We hope that they are able to make the trip. Tomorrow, we depart El Paso for Alamogordo, New Mexico and Hollowman AFB. It is only about an hour and a half to the north of us.