The memorial, which is mostly comprised of a small interpretative visitor center, an art gallery, a large amphitheater, and a outdoor mural adorning one side of the building, is situated in a nice park with some other outdoor features, like ramadas, grills, and some other unidentified concrete structures. It’s actually built on land that was once Mexican territory, but had shifted to US hands as the Rio Grande River – the international boundary – shifted it’s course. And that’s really the point of the national memorial to begin with. The site, whose history and importance was greater than we expected, tells the story of how the US and Mexico surveyed, determined, challenged, challenged again, challenged yet again, and finally resolved, its common boundary along what is Texas. The story is too complicated to detail here, but it’s actually a fascinating tale – and one that has lots of implications for the southwest.

After touring the museum, getting our stamps and buying our requisite pin, we chatted for awhile with the Park Ranger, the lone one on duty at the site. Side note: we couldn’t check out the main gallery because there wasn’t a second ranger on duty to staff that building. We had a good chat about some parks, some annoyances of the park service, and the promise of better days ahead. We then took a few more shots outside and left, pleasantly surprised at the site that had until then been of one the banes of our quest. We headed onward to Fort Bowie National Historic Site, in southeastern Arizona, which was next in line – both on our trip agenda, and in the frustrating way we hadn’t yet visited it.

Just a few minutes into driving, however, we realized that Fort Bowie – which requires a hike just to get to the visitor center and ruins – would take a good three hours. Added to the three hours it would take to get there, plus time for lunch, and we would be hiking back to the car in the dark, not to mention arriving home pretty late and well after the playoff football games were over. We quickly decided to pass by Fort Bowie once again, instead tacking it onto a Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument trip we’re planning for the Presidents Day weekend.

And thus marked the last official stop of our National Parks of Texas roadtrip. We made our way back into Arizona listening to the early NFL game using streaming internet radio on my iPhone. A stop for lunch, and another stop for an afternoon snack at Eeegee’s in Marana, and yet another stop in Casa Grande for Kim to exchange some clothes, and…that 6.5 hour drive from El Paso took a bit longer. However, we finally made it home – and in enough time to watch most of the Colts-Chargers game – a little tired but happy to have completed yet another successful national park roadtrip.

Over the next few days, we’ll work to get the final trip summary and photos posted. Check out the trip summary page for updates.