Fort Bliss and SENTRI

Waiting to cross Zaragoza bridge.  I haven't even gotten
on the bridge at this point.

I went to El Paso this morning for some administrative things.  It took me an hour to get across the bridge.  It was pretty frustrating.  But once I got through the Mexican side, paid my 24 pesos, and got to where the lanes split off, it was pretty fast.  Since I already have my SENTRI card, I was able to go through the ready lanes which are on the far right of the bridge, on the U.S. side.
From there, I drove to Fort Bliss.  I was able to find the main entrance, but from there, my directions weren't very helpful in finding the ID Office.  I ended up stopping at a gas station and asking there.  With help from the manager, I was able to find the ID office.  There I went through the process of getting a military ID.  I was impressed by how well the picture turned out.  Too bad that lady didn't take the picture for my SENTRI card, which is horrible.

This is hard to see, but all along the drive to the bridge,
there are vendors selling food, drinks, and pretty much
anything else you can imagine.  There are also people
begging along this route.

Half-way across!  This is the border between the U.S. and
Mexico.

I also got a little lost on my way out of the base.  My GPS tried to take me through a locked gate.  But I eventually made it out.  By that time, it was just around 10:40.  I needed to get gas and I also wanted to stop at PetSmart while I was in El Paso to get some litter for Gizmo.  I'm going out of town this weekend, and I don't want to run out before I can get back to El Paso.  It took me about 15 minutes to run into PetSmart, get some litter (and a scratching post for Gizmo), pay, and get out to my car.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
Next I went straight to the bridge.  I made it just after 11:00.  I stood in line waiting to talk to someone about having my vehicle inspected.  About 20 minutes or so later, I was able to talk to someone at the window.  They were very quick to help me, but I ended up waiting another half-hour before someone was able to go out to my car.  From there, the inspection was just a minute, the officer put a sticker on my windshield, gave me a paper to show on the Mexican side and sent me on my way.  I wanted to prepay for the trip in to Mexico, so I was allowed to park in the employee parking lot.  Then I walked across the road to the office where you can buy an AVI pass.  That makes it so you don't have to carry cash to cross the bridge in to Mexico.  It doesn't affect the crossing from Mexico in to the U.S.

From El Paso, you can see Juarez.  The writing on the mountain
says Ciudad Juarez, The Bible is the truth, read it.  Down
below you can see houses and communities in Juarez.

After I got my AVI, I walked back, and quickly crossed back in to Mexico.  It is quite amazing the huge difference in crossing from the U.S. to Mexico and vice versa.  The afternoon crossing was a piece of cake.  However, after I passed my Mexican Customs, without being stopped, the military pulled me over.  I told them I was a diplomat, and that was the end of it.  But, if that continues to happen in the future, it may be worth the hassle and the headache of getting diplomatic plates.
Next I stopped at the Mexican office for the express lane (the equivalent of the SENTRI, but for the Mexican side of the bridge).  That didn't take too long, but I have to go tomorrow for them to actually put the pass on my car.  Still, tomorrow isn't too long to wait.
I made it to work in time to do some interviews.  Despite the fact that I didn't do many interviews, today was exhausting.  Running around El Paso and Juarez was very tiring.

Driving back along the fence between the U.S. and Mexico.

On a happy note, Gizmo already loves his scratching post.  As soon as I showed it to him, he started scratching it.  He also likes the tunnel, and the toy, though I think the toy won't last for long.  He's already pulled two feathers out of it.
Also, I've been doing some more experimentation based on the limited supply of food I have in my house.  I've been eating pasta and putting a little mustard in it (since that is the only sauce I have), but it wasn't really good.  I figured there MUST be a pasta sauce that uses mustard, so I did a little research.  I found a few recipes online, but all of them use ingredients that I don't have, so I improvised my own.  I used equal parts extra-virgin olive oil, prepared mustard, and sugar.  Add to that salt, pepper, and basil, and I really liked it!  In fact, thinking about it right now is making me wish that I had some more.  Maybe I should make some of that sauce and cook some pasta for lunch tomorrow.  Of course, I hate reheated pasta . . . but I could always eat it cold.  I'll have to think about it some more.

My mustard-sauce pasta dish.  I added tuna (the only meat I
have in my house right now), broccoli (YUM!), and
colby-jack cheese to the pasta and sauce.

Gizmo enjoying his new play thing.