Fall Activities Native El Pasoans Are Unfamiliar With

The rain and cooler temperatures last night and today were so nice, I really wish it would stay this way.

You know the weather around here though, it may well be back in the 100's soon so, enjoy this while you can. We won't get steady fall ... or even winter ... weather for a while yet and even then, it won't be that severe. That's how it goes here in the desert and there are benefits to such mild fall and winter conditions.

Many El Pasoans are from somewhere else and have different memories of fall, many of which involve things that native El Pasoans probably wouldn't understand. Such as:

• Elsewhere: Watching all the leaves change color and raking for hours.
• Here: It happens but, we don't have that many trees so, it's limited to a couple of parks and a few people's yards. (Mostly upper and lower valley peeps.)
• Elsewhere: Using the cool fall weather to chop wood for the winter.
• Here: It barely gets cold enough around here to crank the heater up, let alone sit in front of a blazing hot fire.
• Elsewhere: Winterizing your vehicle. In other places, this requires servicing your heater and air conditioning systems, buying salt or sand to keep in the trunk, getting the tire chains ready, and more.
• Here: It requires moving the ac setting in your car from "high" to "low". In extreme cases, you may need to turn it off.
• Elsewhere: Winterizing your motorcycle. In other places, you drain the fluids, disconnect the battery and forget you even own one for a few months.
• Here: You destroy your house trying to find your leather jacket and heavy socks.

It is possible to enjoy a typical fall setting and a proper winter around here though by simply driving a couple of hours north or northwest. If you're nice, you may even find someone there who will let you chop their wood or do their winterizing chores for them.