Well if we’re having this much fun after our initial setbacks, this is going to be a great trip. With the looming government shutdown and the chance of the national parks closing at midnight last Friday, we were unsure if we could even go through with our trip. Luckily, the politicians got their stuff together at the last minute and our trip was back on! Then, the night before we left Prosper, we were awoken at 12:30 am to golf ball-sized hail assaulting the house, pickup truck, and camper. We assessed the damage the next morning before heading out at 6am and didn’t initially see anything significant, so we loaded up and headed west. Once the sun came up, we realized that the truck and the camper had heavy hail damage, shattered tail lights, and a shattered sky light in the camper. Even a window in the house had shattered overnight (one of our friendly neighbors called us and let us know). Thankfully, Jack’s dad has a been a great help in getting claims filed through our insurance company.
We also learned that heavy Texas winds and the lack of gas stations in west Texas require some planning; Jack ran out of gas 5 miles east of Abilene (Megan didn’t let him live that one down!). Luckily, he redeemed himself since he insisted on carrying 7 extra gallons of gas in a gas can. So along IH-20, Jack refilled the gas tank enough to get us into Abilene. Lesson learned. J
So after those initial setbacks, the trip has been going very smoothly. We made great time on our way to west Texas and were able to make an extra unexpected stop in Carlsbad, New Mexico at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We were so glad we stopped…an elevator took us over 750 feet below the earth’s surface (75 stories deep) into the Big Room of the Cavern. Here we went on a 1.3-mile trail around the cavern, exploring the limestone stalagmites and stalactites that were formed millions of years ago. The size of the Big Room was absolutely amazing- it covers 8.2 acres! It was also really nice that we visited on a Monday; there were very few people there and the cavern was very peaceful and intimate- we got a more natural experience.
Inside the Big Room
After spending about an hour and half in the Cavern, we headed further southwest to our stop for the night, Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This park is at the southernmost end of the Guadalupe Mountain chain in the Chihuahuan Desert and contains the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe Peak (8,749 feet). We camped in the Pine Springs campground which is in a valley between the mountain peaks and has awesome views of the surrounding peaks. The weather was absolutely gorgeous- low 70s during the day and low 40s overnight…great camping weather! We woke up this morning and did a short hike up the Guadalupe Peak trail. We didn’t have to time to go to the peak (this is a 8-hour roundtrip hike) but gained a lot of elevation and saw some great views of the mountains and valleys.
We headed out of the park about 10:00 this morning and continued west. Next stop: Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. Hopefully we’ll be able to replace the hole in the roof of the camper as well as the tail lights while we’re in Tucson.
Until next time…
Jack & Megan
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