Day 4
Location: Guadalupe Mountain National Forest
Gas Price: $2.82 (Dallas) - $3.39 (Western Texas)
Miles Driven: 1859 miles
Today started out awful but has ended great. It rained all night and we woke up around 5:45 to pack up our tent and sleeping gear in the pouring rain – not so much fun. I slept in the car most of the night last night due to the horrible sounds the wind was making – Megan toughed it out in the tent. We have made it to Guadalupe National Forest which is about 100 miles east of El Paso and just sound of the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. On our way out here we stopped in Odessa for some Mexican food, to go to the grocery store, and to see the Odessa Meteor Crater and Musuem. The crater was pretty interesting but was mostly filled in so not exactly what I was expecting but still pretty neat. The countryside changed drastically as we drove farther west. We saw fields of wild sunflowers and lots of oil things (wells? diggers? Not sure of the name for them but there were millions of them). They looked like see-saws to me. We also saw a lot of large windmills on the top of hills in the distance.
We set up tent here at the park around 3:30 Mountain time and then went to see an old ranch and school house. We then made dinner – our first camp dinner was pasta! After dinner, we walked a ¾ mile nature trail near the park visitor’s center. So far we have seen jack rabbits, deer, and a snake! Also lots of HUGE flies – that bite!
We plan on waking up pretty early tomorrow to take a hike to see 2 springs before heading up to Carlsbad Caverns.
Alison
Day 5
Location: Outside of Santa Fe, NM
Gas Price: 3.15-3.59 in New Mexico
Miles Driven: 2199 miles
Ok, so the rain is following us – It is hailing – yes HAIL, lots of it so once again we are hanging out in the car for the evening. Our rain tarp does not work very well.
We did lots today – We woke up very early to do a 2 ½ mile hike to see two springs in the Guadalupe Mountains. It was beautiful – look at the pictures. We saw a rattlesnake on our way! Then we went to another site in the Guadalupe Mountains and did another one mile nature hike before heading to the Carlsbad Caverns.
At the caverns we decided to take the natural entrance down to the “Big Room” where the many formations were. It was very interesting and we saw lots of cool formations and some pools still inside the caverns. That was another 2 ½ miles down to the bottom and then you take an elevator back up.
So our feet are a little tired this evening. After leaving the caverns around 2:30 we decided to go ahead and start driving towards Bandalier Monument which was our next stop but along the way we decided that we wanted to see a few things in Santa Fe since we are ahead of schedule! So we have stopped about 15 minutes outside of Santa Fe to “camp” aka sleep in our car b/c its hailing and lightening and our stuff is wet.
So we will see Santa Fe tomorrow and then head to Bandalier.
Alison Goins
Look at our pictures at http://community.webshots.com/user/travelinsisters1
3 comments:
Could you show us that photo of Mt Rushmore??
I love that I can keep up with your every move on here now instead of away messages. This is so neat that you are doing this though.. I feel like I am a part of the adventure... good luck with the rain tarp haha
Hey, Allison. We are enjoying your photos. Keep it family friendly! :) The shots of the dark sky and the rain in TX were scary. Avoid the flash floods. Amy is ready to pack the coolers and load the kids up in the van. Have a blast! BTW, Rafael is pulling himself up to stand now, eating cereal, and has cut his first tooth! So much happens while you are away...
Post a Comment