El Paso, Texas

      El Paso is located in the Chihuahuan Desert of western Texas, along the Rio Grande River. It adjoins both the state of New Mexico and the country of Mexico with the Franklin Mountains, the southern tip of the Rockies, slicing El Paso nearly in two. It is the nation's third fastest growing metropolitan area. El Paso is midway between Los Angeles and Houston. El Paso is in the Mountain Time Zone.

Located in southeast New Mexico, Las Cruces' location encompasses the true feel of the Southwest through it's Adobe constructed buildings and local cattle and dairy farms. The landscape of the Chihuahuan desert offers varying climates, cool in the winter and very hot in the summers, with a limited amount of rainfall.

All the traits distinctively characteristic to the Southwest are part of it's appeal. Landscaped by many different types of cacti, occupied by wild animals like coyotes and rattlesnakes, the most distinct characteristic of the Southwest would be the culture. A melting pot of many cultures, Mexican, Native American and Anglo-American, the region manages to shape all who inhabit it with it's distinct Southwestern flare.

The number of national treasures in this region are a testament to the extraordinary landscape and scenery found here, from the Organ Mountains to White Sands National Monument. Over the years, climate and weather have carved this region into a mix of magnificent valleys, grand mountain ranges, deep canyons and gorges, lush forests and majestic plateaus, making the Southwest the complete embodiment of the "Wild West."