Segundo Barrio 1: Paseo de Los Heroes Linear Park

Armijo Park at the corner of S. Campbell and Olivas V. Aoly Avenue

The Park’s website calls it “Paseo de Los Heros” - no “e”. In other places it is spelled with the e. Hero in Spanish is “heroe”. No matter, this short walk from Florence and Olivas V. Aoy (the corner of the Armijo Swimming Pool) to just passed Park is a pleasant and almost all tree covered walk. I began at Armijo Park on the corner of S. Campbell and Olivas V. Aoy Avenue across the street from Aoy Elementary. A timely fact about Aoy is that during the 1918 Spanish Flu, it was converted to a hospital for those living in the neighborhood plus the many that crossed the river seeking help in El Paso.

The actual linear trail begins at Ochoa and Olivas V. Aoy across the street from the Armijo Swimming Pool.

Rodriquez Mural

Close-up of mural

The path ends behind Hart Elementary and Guillen Middle School complexes. At that end (what would be S. Cotton if extended) is a beautiful mural.

Bowie Bakery

You can’t return to Armijo Park without taking a slight detour. Go north one block on Park and 7th to the historic Bowie Bakery. I could not resist the temptation to pick out some pastries inside and eat one as I returned to my car.

Before leaving I took this picture of an historic marker about Olivas V. Aoy:

Austin Terrace 1: Raynolds Median Linear Trail

Looking south from Hastings along Raynolds Ave.

Raynolds Median Linear Trail is an easy stroll from Hastings to La Luz. There is no real trail. The entire median except for a short stretch before La Luz, is not really a trail but a well-groomed “lawn” with trees old and new. It’s an example of just how good our El Paso Parks Dept. is. You can elect to walk the sidewalks along Raynolds. I chose to walk on the grass. Only at Trowbridge did I cross to the sidewalk in order to pass safely across the busy and wide street.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

The linear median park is on the eastern edge of the beautiful and historic Austin Terrace neighborhood. This neighborhood has been defined by the construction of Loretto Academy and its history in El Paso.

Loretta Academy. A common yucca found in El Paso, Yucca elata, is shown in the foreground.

In the park I saw a very old Chinese Elm tree and an equally old Mulberry Tree. A swift darted about. I took the picture below of a Western Kingbird with my quite inadequate smart phone.