Abandoned buildings and water tower in what is now a ghost town named Salt Flat along the road carrying U.S. Highways 62-180 near the New Mexico border in Hudspeth County, Texas. Salt Flat served as a stopping place for travelers using the new highway that connected El Paso, Texas, and Carlsbad, New Mexico, that opened the same year as the cafe. The small community had several gas stations, restaurants and a tourist court. The town takes its name from the natural salt flats that lie on the southwest side of the Guadalupe Mountains. The flat provided salt to inhabitants of the Rio Grande Valley for centuries and was hauled as far north as the Sacramento Mountains in central New Mexico. Salt production ceased during the late 1930s. Photo by Carol Highsmith.