Traveling LA -> Phx -> El Paso & back: route & Hotel reccomendations?

[911Freak]

Hey Pelicans

Once again I'm looking to the Pelican brain trust for some input on the following:

I'll be taking the wifey to visit family in El Paso next week stopping for a night in Phx.

I know a couple of you guys make the trip from LA to AZ frequently (RickLee?).

Any route suggestions other then just taking the 10 straight over?

Any places to watch out for or avoid, I'll have the V-1 with me in the rental?

Affordable, nice and clean Hotel (<$150) in
Phx to stay for the night?

This will be the first big trip with the baby boy so want to be careful and plan ahead etc.


As usual thanks in advance guys!

[sammyg2]

There's a really, really good (new)mexican restaurant in Las Cruces (actually it's in old Mesilla) right off the 10. It's called La Posta and has been there a long time.
I've been eating there since I was a todler and I make a point to stop there every time I go through those parts.

Here's some history from their website:
La Posta Restaurant Old Mesilla New Mexico

Earliest records indicate the La Posta Compound was originally constructed in the 1840's. Sam Bean and his brother Roy Bean, operated a freight and passenger service line to Pinos Altos from this building in the 1850's. After the Civil War, The La Posta Compound became an important stop on the Butterfield Stagecoach Line.
During the 1870's and 1880's, the Corn Exchange Hotel, one of the finest lodges in the Southwest, operated from the building. John Davis, the proprietor of the hotel, died in the late 1870's, however, his wife Augustina continued to operate the hotel, a restaurant and other businesses in the building until the early 1900's.

La Posta de Mesilla Restaurant originated in the northwest corner of the building in 1939 by Katy Griggs Camunez. The business has grown to become one of the most famous restaurants in the Southwest, occupying 10,000 square feet of the La Posta Compound which now included several shops. After Katy passed away, the property and business was acquired by a great niece, Jerean Camunez Hutchinson and her husband Tom, a.k.a. "Hutch", who continue to offer the same quality food and great service in the unique dining environment Katy created.

[126coupe]

Crap, I just drove right past that a few weeks back

[BlueSkyJaunte]

My first recommendation would be to skip the part where you go to El Paso.

[Rick Lee]

The part of I-10 where you'll need the radar detector is around Blythe, CA. You'll be fine in AZ. The stationary cameras run on vascar and your RD won't pick them up, but they're well noted by signage 1/2 mile and 300 ft. in advance. The mobile units run on Ka band, but it's weak and you'll be warned kind of late. But again, the signs tell you to watch out. For the most scenic drive, I'd head down to San Diego and take I-8 to where it picks up I-10 around Casa Grande, AZ. El Paso blows. I was very happy I had brought a .45 with me when walking around there.

[911Freak]

Excellent!

Thanks for the good eats tip Sammy!

Rick: that's what I needed, thanks very much!

BlueSky- I know, almost wrote that in my orginal post oh well I married into it. At least the other 'family' trip we have to take is in Ohau! Makes up for EP...

Thanks for that guys!

[vash]

love the el paso talk. i grew up there. the place is the planet's armpit.

no go on la posta. my second bout with food poisoning was served up there. it was served up with a side of chicken mole. put me in the hospital. there are some great eats in las crusas, but none of them are in old mesilla. (altho, the margaritas at the double eagle are decent). you want good mexican food, you will find it closer to el paso.

hands down, the best gorditas are at LITTLE DINER, west of EP in canutillo, texas. best chili rellenos, are at KRAP the name slips my mind...nestle in pecan orchards, beer in a bucket, killer margaritas..CHOPES! i remembered. it's CHOPES! (pronounced, "cho-pees"), steak is a no brainer, TEXAS LAND AND CATTLE COMPANY, CATTLEMAN'S, the best $1.50 burrito, is at LA COLONIA. it is a tortilla factory. they pull a hot tortilla out of the line. order the picadilla burrito. it is slathered with cheap cheese, and a spicy hot beef mix. it is like a full bodied hug for your tongue.

PM me if the kids want great fajitas, next to a historic cemetery. fun stuff.

DONT GO TO JUAREZ MEXICO.

[vash]

jezus..order the machacha plate at LUCY'S DINER.

the drive from LA to EP is simply a carbon copy of mile after mile of exactness. desert? yup...hum go a few hundred miles..yup still desert. best to put your head down, and motor thru on I-10. AZ is speeding ticket hell. they have unmanned cars that take down you speed, snap a picture of you..and mail it to you. sneaky AZ-nians!

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by vash

AZ is speeding ticket hell. they have unmanned cars that take down you speed, snap a picture of you..and mail it to you. sneaky AZ-nians!

What are you talking about? Camera tix are not enforceable against non-AZ residents. They don't report to MVD and the only way they can get you is when they send a process server to your house. They don't do this out of state. As a non-AZ resident, you are immune from a lot of the BS I have to find more creative ways to get around. If I were a CA resident, I'd find AZ particularly fun to drive through. The cameras are soooo easy to defeat and they mean there are a lot fewer real cops out there, who probably wouldn't let you out of a ticket. Our speed limits are higher than in CA, gas is cheaper, less traffic and you can speed with near impunity. What's the problem?

[vash]

[QUOTE=Rick Lee;5319255] Camera tix are not enforceable against non-AZ residents. [QUOTE]

i did not know this! good info.

[sammyg2]

Oh yeah, one other thing:
On I-10 about 1/4 mile east of Quartsite they usually have cop cars parked in the median pulling over people from California.

I was telling someone about it several years ago and did a google earth search, and sure enough there was a cop car parking in the median on google earth!

I've been pulled over at that spot twice.
The first time was about 20 years ago and I got a ticket. The second time was about 5 years ago and I got away with a written warning (actually got a piece of paper with a warning written on it).
the reason I only got a warning? I hadn't broken any laws and Johny law admitted that. I was going 1 mph below the speed limit and still got pulled over. I asked why he pulled me over if I hadn't done anything wrong, he said it was his job and if I only wanted a warning I should move on, which I did.
So I suggest you click it down below the speed limit near quartsite and stay in the right lane.

[Joeaksa]

Problem with El Paso is that some of the violence has come North and now is on the American side of the border. I lived there for two years in the '80's and loved it. I do not go there now.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Oh yeah, one other thing:
On I-10 about 1/4 mile east of Quartsite they usually have cop cars parked in the median pulling over people from California.

I take that route a lot and I've not seen any cops on the AZ side in over a year. Now it's cameras and they have signs warning you in advance. In Sept. I did over 100mph for a good hour once I crossed into AZ from Blythe (always get gas at that Texaco in Ehrenberg). I only slowed down once traffic forced me to around Rt. 85, where everyone from San Diego cuts up from I-8 to I-10.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by vash

love the el paso talk. i grew up there. the place is the planet's armpit.

no go on la posta. my second bout with food poisoning was served up there. it was served up with a side of chicken mole. put me in the hospital. there are some great eats in las crusas, but none of them are in old mesilla. (altho, the margaritas at the double eagle are decent). you want good mexican food, you will find it closer to el paso.

hands down, the best gorditas are at LITTLE DINER, west of EP in canutillo, texas. best chili rellenos, are at KRAP the name slips my mind...nestle in pecan orchards, beer in a bucket, killer margaritas..CHOPES! i remembered. it's CHOPES! (pronounced, "cho-pees"), steak is a no brainer, TEXAS LAND AND CATTLE COMPANY, CATTLEMAN'S, the best $1.50 burrito, is at LA COLONIA. it is a tortilla factory. they pull a hot tortilla out of the line. order the picadilla burrito. it is slathered with cheap cheese, and a spicy hot beef mix. it is like a full bodied hug for your tongue.

PM me if the kids want great fajitas, next to a historic cemetery. fun stuff.

DONT GO TO JUAREZ MEXICO.

Weird. My mother crew up in Cruces, my father went to the university there, my grandparents lived there most of their lives, my uncle still lives in Douglas, and they all rave about la Posta. I spent most of my summers in Cruces when I was a kid and I've eaten there dozens of times and never got sick and always loved it. It's not true mexican food, that's why I called it (new)mexican food. it's a bit Americanized. Different people have different tastes.
The last time I ate there was probably about 10 years ago and it was just like I remembered except the surrounding village had grown into kind of a tourist trap.

There'as also a really, really good New Mexican restaurant I can think of in Santa Fe but that's a little bit of a detour off I-10

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I take that route a lot and I've not seen any cops on the AZ side in over a year. Now it's cameras and they have signs warning you in advance. In Sept. I did over 100mph for a good hour once I crossed into AZ from Blythe (always get gas at that Texaco in Ehrenberg). I only slowed down once traffic forced me to around Rt. 85, where everyone from San Diego cuts up from I-8 to I-10.

Cool, maybe they stopped doing that. It used to be blatent.
The last time I was through there was about a year and a half ago on the way to and from wickenburg and I don't recall seeing them then.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

my uncle still lives in Douglas

How long has he lived in Douglas? My family ran the drug store there for 40 years or so...

Was a nice area before all the druggies and illegals flooded the area.

[vash]

sammy. honestly, my mom loves La Posta. so does my stepdad. they take me there all the time. i hear those birds screaming in the waiting area, and my stomach gets nervous. but the food is pretty good.

i can't go over into NM, without stopping at a Blake's lotaburger