Our last visits to El Paso focused primarily on history and nature (see entries from the Mission Trail, Hueco Tanks, Franklin Mountains, White Sands Natl. Monument). We had never really seen much of downtown, never mind crossed the border. El Paso’s downtown has lots of interesting gunslinger history, some neat old buildings, museums and cultural spots. Later, we walked over the Santa Fe Street Bridge into Juárez, Mexico. In some ways similar to another pair of border cities, Tijuana-San Diego, Ciudad Juárez-El Paso creates a binational, bilingual megalopolis. This one is the biggest in North America (twice as many people live on the Juárez side). Juárez is a major player in international business, with plants owned by Lear Corporation, Proctor-Silex and Siemans, among others. The two cities were one until the 1840s, with people being separated only by the Rio Grande. They were separated finally under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. These days, most tourists cross the border here for inexpensive shopping, legendary nightlife and cheap authentic eats. We took a walk, had a look at the Cathedral of the Virgen of Guadalupe and some other buildings, and eventually moseyed on back across the border.