El Paso, Texas
March 27, 2009
Our day in El Paso actually started out in Houston. We had a connecting flight in Houston that we missed because our plane circled Houston for almost two hours. It was very late, Kellisa was passed out in her wheelchair and we learned that the next flight was in the morning. After a short night at a hotel, we were on our way to El Paso.
We arrived around noon and enjoyed some authentic Mexican food. Then it was off to the Wyler Aerial Tramway in Franklin Mountains State Park. We learned a couple of years ago while on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN that Kellisa loves trams and ski lifts.
The tramway is a four minute, 2,600 foot ride up Ranger Peak (5,632 feet above sea level) on a 1 3/8 inch diameter steel cable suspended 240 feet above the mountain walls.
Kellisa enjoyed the ride as it was bumpy, which to her, is more important than the views. The tram was small and driven by a Park Ranger who narrates the ride.
Below is the view from the summit looking out over El Paso, the Rio Grande River and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Kellisa wheeling around the cold, windy, accessible summit platform.
As one tram goes up, the other heads down the mountain. They slow as they pass to limit the bumps.
