When I last left you – we had done 7 courthouses (plus a revisit to another). Well, the next day, we headed into Odessa to capture their less than outstanding courthouse. We then headed out to see the Odessa Crater site. A bit underwhelming. But if you’re visiting Odessa – you may find this to be a highlight.
Next came Winkler County Courthouse – man can you skip this courthouse. Did have lots of high school decorations for ??? Please note the crane out front if you decide to look at these photos. The county seat is Crane – get it? While there, we noticed how quiet it was (we saw no one in the courthouse) – I’m thinking that the girl’s volleyball team was playing somewhere in the playoffs?
And finally we headed into Midland. The courthouse is basically an office tower. We did get to the George W. Bush boyhood home. While I’m not the biggest Bush fan, I did enjoy the trip back to the 50’s. Very well done!
The next morning (yesterday), we left Odessa for Van Horn. Small town in the middle of no where – but there is life here, and if you enjoy the quiet desert life – you might think about this town. Van Horn is the county seat for Culberson County. What a let down. This courthouse ranks right up there on the bottom list with Crane, the one in Rockport – and other nondescript 50’s style courthouses.
On the way to Van Horn, we had a tire blowout! Does this never end?! Called AAA, and within an hour we were back on the road to Van Horn – where we stayed overnight.
Today – we headed west – far west! We visited Sierra Blanca and the Hudspeth Courthouse there. The courthouse had some interest. The town bordered on being a ghost town. I don’t mean it is a ghost town – but there are some many abandoned buildings it has that feel.
The final leg of this trip was El Paso, and I have to say – their courthouse was little more than I expected. True – it is an office building sitting downtown. But – there have been pains taken to ensure the building has some reflection of the area’s history. And the view from the 12th floor is awesome.
End of day – back to Van Horn. A little storm started brewing near town and we say rolling tumbleweed, lighting, and lots of dust – but no rain.
We only have 5 courthouses left!!!!!