EL PASO ("the pass") is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande at a safe and natural crossing point. It has a rugged and bold setting, sandwich between river and the the Franklin Mountains amid the reddish sand of the Chihauahua desert. El Paso is primarily Hispanic but there is also a large population of Tigua Indians, a Pueblo tribe, based on a reservation, southeast of town. Near the reservation is the Ysleta del Sur, the oldest mission in the US. Heading south across the Cordova Bridge will take you across the river into Juarez Mexico (you need a multiple-entry visa) for a little shopping spree.