Cesar Mendez, superintendent of Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso, is a soft-spoken man who has the sort of voice custom-built for explaining the importance of local geology to schoolchildren. When he talks about riding the Wyler Aerial Tramway, though, he grows animated and excited, gushing about the incredible view it offers.
“On clear days you can see snow peaks of the Sierra Blanca in New Mexico,” he said in a phone interview, “On a really clear day, I mean especially in winter, you can see two countries, all the way to Chihuahua, Mexico. It is an amazing view that shows the vibrant, binational community right here of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.”
That view has entranced thousands of visitors to the park since it opened in 1959. Built by KTSM to help with the construction of a radio tower, the view was so spectacular that it was accepting rides from the public the next year. Karl O. Wyler, who managed the project, donated the tramway to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department when he died in 1990…