Guadalupe Mountains National Park.............

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is about an hour from Carlsbad Caverns National Park, so last Friday we visited both! It was a lot to experience in one day, but our time in the area was shortened due to weather concerns, so we couldn't be more leisurely in our exploration. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is actually located in Texas and involves a time change, and is the highest point in the state. For more information on the park, click here.

Guadalupe Mountains ahead

very scenic drive

the desert goes right up to the mountains

"El Capitan"-on the left

El Capitan again-used as a landmark when traveling in the west back in the day

Our first stop was the Visitor's Center, where we watched the national park movie (love those!), and spoke with the ranger regarding the best use of 2 hours in the park. She recommended a couple of short hikes, and so that is what we did. The first short hike was behind the Visitor's Center, and was more of a one-mile or so nature trail. The Pinery Butterfield Stagecoach Station remains were here too. This is where the postal service came through the mountains on the first transcontinental mail route. Of course, the history before that includes the U.S. Army driving the Native American Indians out of the mountains in the 1880's, and the later development of ranches in the area. (That is a recurring theme no matter what area of the country we are exploring....driving the Native Americans out).

Visitor Center

nature trail behind the Visitor Center

pretty flora

a huge dry wash

gorgeous views

so lush for a desert!

The views were gorgeous, and we of course loved checking out the flora. Its fascinating to think about the Natives that lived off the land here, and how they did it in such a harsh environment. Its also fascinating to us to think that this was "the wild west", with stage coaches making their way cross country. I try not to envision the violence involved in confronting the Natives and forcing them to leave this land. Some of the old westerns were about all of these things, I think. This was the setting.

the mountain views were great

scenic

first U.S. transcontinental mail route

remains of the Stagecoach Station

more

ready for another little hike?

another view of El Capitan

The ranger recommended another hike for us, at another area of the park not too far away. The Frijole Ranch is a living history museum of the people who lived in the area in the mid 1800's, with outbuildings such as the spring house, the barn, the schoolhouse, and the bunk house. We didn't spend much time there, but moved on to the trailhead about a half mile away. We misunderstood the ranger...we understood the trail was about 2 miles and would take an hour. After about a half hour on the trail, it seemed we weren't at the halfway point, though we weren't sure. The sun was going down behind the mountain, and it was getting much cooler and darker than when we started. The trail was continuing up....maybe it was a little too far for the time of day. So, chicken little here made the executive decision to go back. Its the good thing we did! The hike was much longer than we thought (we didn't add the mile extra to go to and from the trailhead) and we certainly didn't allow enough time to hike it so we could be back at our campground by dark.

We enjoyed the hike a lot, with the ups and downs of the trail, going through different micro ecosystems, and wish we had time to go completely around the loop. The foliage was so rich and gorgeous in certain spots. On the way back, we heard coyotes howling and something crying-maybe a rabbit-until there was silence. We were happy to be leaving the trail and heading back. Dinnertime in the desert!

heading to Frijole Ranch

not likely to see a mountain lion on the trail here (I already checked with the ranger)

part of the Frijole Ranch behind me...and great views

more of the ranch

the bunkhouse and schoolhouse

the first half mile is paved (we thought this was the start of the 2 mile trail...but no)

isn't this great? Hiking in this environment?

great views

continuing on .... past a pond that provided water for early inhabitants

very lush for a desert..this is the wettest desert in the U.S....that's why the trees and greenery are able to grow and thrive

how gorgeous is that! The colors are so rich!

are we hiking to THOSE colorful trees?

the trail winds up and down and all around

lots of green

so pretty

another nice view

getting closer

hhmmm.....this trail is a lot longer than we thought!

so close yet so far....time to turn around I think!

Just an interesting aside...there are many people traveling the country in RV's that are working in the energy business (petroleum, oil and gas drilling, windmills, road work), and we've seen many types of rigs. A new one for us was the "tiny house" on the back of pick up trucks. Not sure if that is for business out in the field, or if that is a home on wheels. Interesting though. You really just never know what you will see. We are learning so much on this journey!

tiny house or tiny office??