On the road: grandkids/parks

On our way from grandson #3 to grandson #2, we stopped at 3 Nationals Parks. We camped four nights (3 different sites) in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The first site was in the RV section which is a parking lot for several trail heads. One very popular trail is the hike to the peak, an almost 3000 ft, elevation change to the highest point in Texas. A lot of people, mostly younger, come here just to do this hike. We considered it, but decided to do others instead . At the trail head there were volunteer search and rescue guys who were checking to make sure people were well prepared before starting the hike . The one guy loved to talk and they were very knowledgeable about the area. The other nights we spent in the tent sites which were much more scenic and a little more private. Two of the days we were there we hiked two different canyon trails.

The first was called Devil's Hall, a very popular, out and back, rock scrambling hike. It follows the pine spring bed which was completely dry. But, June to August is considered the monsoon season and it rains so much the bed floods and the trail is closed. This hike is a geologist's dream. There are so many different kinds of rocks and rock formations. You can see how the rocks have layered and shifted. Supposedly there are tons of fossils in the area but few were visible to us. The best part is a natural staircase of rocks leading to a narrower passage between two tall rock forms. There was a lot of rock scrambling going on in this area and the scenery was beautiful which is weird to say about rocks. Later in the day, we explored the Frijole Ranch area

The second hike we did in the park was McKittrick Canyon. This hike is not as popular as the peak or Devils Hall, but is the favorite among the rangers because of the wildlife. It too follows a spring bed but it's on the other side of the mountains and the conditions are completely different. Water seems to stay in the ground longer. On this hike there were lush plant life where both cactus and deciduous trees lived together. We had some shade and heard a lot of birds. There were also some spots of color from wild flowers and blooming bushes. We caught the tail end of most of them. A few weeks earlier and this area would have been full of color. There was one unique bush that had yellow and red flowers. It is the New Mexican agave plant. The towering stalk reminded me of the truffolo tree in Dr Seuss's The Lorax. Along the trail there is the Pratt Lodge. Mr Pratt had bought over 5000 acres and built the lodge from natural materials in the area. 30 years later he donated it and all of the land to the national park. A couple of miles later was a grotto - a picnic area in a naturally carved out cave like area. The picnic tables and chairs were all made from the large sheets of rock in the area. An old hunters cabin was nearby.Read more