Presidio
It looked like an invasion in Presidio Saturday morning with more than 200 big-tire off-road vehicles rumbling through the streets, some adorned with glitter paint and flashing lights. The vehicles—most known as side-by-sides (SXS), for their having side-by-side bucket seats—lined up near the Activities Center in a 2-mile stretch that curved around the block.
Lively music filled the air as the vehicles readied for a parade through town with plenty of candy on hand to throw to families along the route. The event—Ruta Santa Teresa—was an opportunity for drivers, and sometimes their whole family, to showcase the uniqueness of their customized creations while also making contributions to Santa Teresa de Jesus Catholic Church in honor of its annual festival and fundraiser.
After the parade, the off-roaders hit the “trail,” a long route that headed into the desert on rough roads before returning to the church for more festivities, food and fellowship. Most of the participants were from the Odessa, Texas, area, although other West Texas towns, New Mexico residents were also in attendance, along with many who crossed the Rio Grande from Ojinaga, Mexico.
Ruta was the brainchild of Alex Armendaris, a Presidio High School graduate now living in Odessa. “I remember last year’s church festival, and there were hardly any people out there,” he said. “I mentioned to my wife that we needed to do something to make it bigger so the church could raise more funds. So, we came up with the idea of making a trail ride, and it seemed to work perfectly.”
Indeed, Armendariz and other organizers estimated the event brought 800 people to Presidio—some of whom were given free camping at the baseball fields, since U.S. Army soldiers now occupy most of the hotel rooms in town.
“We’re trying to put Presidio on the map for something,” said Christian Montoya, a Presidio City Council member and Ruta supporter who rode the parade and trail. There is talk of it becoming a yearly thing.”
Local police were initially concerned about the event, safety and participants following the law. But organizers said there were no injuries, and officers were good at giving warnings for any missing items to make the vehicles street legal. “I would just like to thank the police department and the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office,” Armendariz said. “They were a help in all of this. They stepped up their game and were able to assist us and keep everything nice and calm.”
A city ordinance passed in August and spearheaded by Councilmember Fernando Juarez, also an off-road vehicle enthusiast who rode in the event, made Ruta possible. The ordinance lists requirements for vehicles to be street and highway legal.
Juarez said he is looking forward to more events, although some kinks need to be worked out, like making sure permission was given by the correct landowners on the trail route, which had to be tweaked when it was discovered that wasn’t the case. He said organizers might also look at splitting up the ride in categories, or just in general, since traffic jams resulted in the desert along the narrow road. “It was a lot of waiting, let’s put it that way,” he said.
While the majority of vehicles were some version of an SXS, other monikers are given to off-road vehicles. (The ordinance covers terms like ATV, UTV and off-highway vehicles.) Jeeps also were in attendance. Participants keep in the loop with similar events via a variety of Facebook pages.
“It was really neat to be part of something like that with such a large group,” Montoya said. “You also had experienced people mixed in with inexperienced people. “The experienced were there to say, ‘Hey, you know what? Whenever we start climbing, do this, and whenever we start going down the hill, do this. And don’t worry, if you get stuck, we’ll pull you out.”
Montoya said the trail ride was “awesome,” and showed off Presidio from the high hilltops. “You actually saw into Mexico, so it was cool, kind of breathtaking.”