I Would Have Made a Lousy Pioneer

We started out our day (Friday, 10/5) with a call from our grandkids. What a great way to start the morning! It was so nice to hear from them :) I LOVE our family . . . Such a blessing! 

Family photo taken the weekend before we left on our trip

Before we left Guadelupe Mountains National Park, we hiked on two desert trails. The first was just a short distance to the ruins of the Pinery which was a stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route in 1858. The second one was the Frijole Ranch and Smith Spring trail . . . a 2.3 mile loop. Now, 2.3 miles doesn't sound long, but in the desert on a stony trail that was rising in elevation as we progressed, it seemed VERY long . . . and desolate . . . and tiring . . . and HOT . . . And it took us two hours. I kept thinking about survival of the fittest and how I would have made a lousy pioneer wife on a journey through the desert wilderness. They would have had to discard me along the trail . . . Especially in the mountains . . . There is just no way. About the time I thought I could go no further we came upon Smith Spring, a little oasis in the cool shade of trees clustered around a small springfed pond. It was pure bliss. What a lovely spot. From there the trip back went quickly. It was still hot and desolate, but it was downhill all the way. I am a champ going downhill. On an incline, Mark stays behind me to push when I get tired, but going downhill, I leave him in the dust :)

Ruins at the Pinery stagecoach station

Spring-fed pond . . . Oasis in the desert

Camouflage

 

Then it was back on the road heading south . . . About four hours later we stopped and toured Fort Davis, a frontier military post, which served to protect travelers from Apache Indian attack on the San Antonio-El Paso Road beginning in 1854. It was decommissioned and then abandoned by the military in 1891.

Officers homes

 

We camped nearby at Overland Trail Campground where the manager is a real character and we were squeezed in between two old, empty airstream trailers next to the bathroom. We had electricity AND we were able to get our laundry done (though it took an hour and a half and $6 just to get the clothes dry because the old dryers didn't get very hot.) It was great to get the laundry done. Clean sheets and a shower . . . Love it!

 

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Carlsbad Caverns

On Thursday, October 4th, we headed towards Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. On the way we stopped at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park. We toured the grounds and saw many native desert plants and animals. I like having the opportunity to see wild animals up close, but it never fails to make me sad to see them confined to cages . . . All except the huge rattlesnake shaking his tail and separated from my face by a piece of glass. That was a good place for him! 

Mountain Lion

Bobcat

Carlsbad Caverns was very impressive. The ranger-led tour was sold out so we did the self-guided tour of the "Big Room" which was an enormous, dimly lit cave filled with incredible, otherworldly shapes and images. We spent about an hour and a half on this one-mile walk which took us around the perimeter of the largest room in the cave. We had a handheld audio device that gave us information at 29 stopping points within the cave. It was like having a "ranger in a box" and was very interesting.

 

At dusk visitors can watch thousands of Mexican Free-tailed bats exit the cave enmass for their night feeding. It would have been awesome to stay and see that, but we had to get to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas and find a campsite before dark.

 

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White Sands National Monument

Today (Wednesday, 10/3) we went to the White Sands National Monument near Almaogorda, New Mexico. We were prepared to be unimpressed coming from the sand dunes of West Michigan, but these pure white sand dunes were pretty impressive! It looked like snow. Children were even sledding down the dunes on saucers. The most amazing thing to me was that even though it was very, very warm out (around 90 degrees), the gypsum sand felt very cool on our bare feet . . . and even felt cold in areas that were shaded! It also had a wonderful inviting texture to play in. The grandkids would love it:)

As we drove through the park marveling at the snow white sand, over the rise we suddenly saw the brilliant colors and patterns of three hot air balloons. I was very excited! I've always wanted to see a hot air balloon up close. The colors were gorgeous. We found out that J Crew was doing a photo shoot with the balloons and they were tethered to the ground and would not be flying. It would have been awesome to see them take off into the sky, but just seeing them was also a treat.

Our next stop was Three Rivers Petroglyphs. There is a small campground and a rough, rocky trail that leads up a hill. Scattered on the hill were many medium-sized rocks and boulders covered with various petroglyphs (21,000 have been documented). It is believed that they were made by the Jornada Mogollon peoples, a prehistoric Indian culture, over 600 years ago. (Some of them looked a little more recent to me:) I hiked up the trail to the first three sets of rock pictures, but it was so hot I went back to wait by the camper and let Mark finish the trail without me.

We considered camping there, but it was only 2pm and so we got back on the road.

We stopped in the town of Captain at the Smokey The Bear Historical site which has lots of information about forest fires, commemorates the history of the iconic Smokey the Bear, and is the burial place of the real Smokey.

"Only YOU can prevent forest fires!"

We also drove through the historic town of Lincoln, but everything, including the Billy the Kid Visitors Center, was closed for the day. So we continued on to Roswell to spend the night at Walmart.

On our last gas fill-up we got 12 mpg . . . Our best gas mileage so far this trip!! Yay!

 

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Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Tuesday, October 2nd, it was COLD when we woke up, but didn't take long to start to warm up with the sun. Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument was SO WORTH THE TRIP THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS to get here. We both thought it was the BEST experience of ancient dwellings we've had on this trip. The hike through the narrow forested valley wound back and forth across a spring-fed stream which we crossed on footbridges. It was a very pleasant hike with the soothing sound of the brook bubbling over the rocks and the cool shade of the trees. The climb from the valley floor was up uneven, rocky steps but not too strenuous. The dwellings are built into six natural caves in the cliffside and we were able to climb INTO them. There was a very nice ranger posted there to insure the protection of the dwellings and he was a wealth of information and answered all of our questions. He explained that the reason visitors are able to go into the dwellings is because this wilderness area is remote. There are fewer people who make the effort to get there and so it is easier to protect, maintain and preserve the site. 

Inside part of the dwelling.

 

In the afternoon we stopped at City of Rocks State Park. From afar it looks like a giant tossed a handful of rocks onto the middle of a grassy plain, but as you get closer you can see that they are actually large sculptured rock formations (pinnacles and boulders) . . . Some as tall as 40 feet. Situated throughout the rock formations are strategically placed campsites. It would have been a nice place to camp, but it was too early in the day for us to stop for the evening.

After looking around the park, we continued on our way and checked in at Rock Hound State Park for the night. Rock Hound is very unique in that they encourage visitors to wander off the trails and to collect and take home up to 15lbs of rocks! Mark spent a little time rock collecting before dinner. Supposedly visitors can find jasper, silica, quartz, opal, agate . . . But Mark just found "rocks". :)

 

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