On to Guadalupe Mtn National Park - Oct 29 - 31

The morning of Oct 29th, I awoke to another sunny morning!...and this morning was at Leasburg Dam State Park.

And this was the view....:)
The sites were very spacious...

Loa even had enough room to roll in the dirt.
She also was waiting for breakfast at the picnic table before we hit the road again!

My destination this day was Guadalupe Mtn National Park. The route was direct...from Las Cruces to El Paso and then Hwy 180/62 to Pine Springs Campgrounds.

On Hwy 180 I came across some "exotics"....at the time I didn't know yet that exotics in Texas are quite common. But these were the first I had seen outside of a zoo, so pictures were in order!

As I approached my destination, the mountains had my attention as I drove closer.

This view is the south side of the Guadalupe Mtns Range.

Nearing my destination, this view was creating excitement for the hike in the morning...

I could hardly wait!

I'm here!...and not too soon!....it was sunset!

The campground was a parking lot with restrooms only....no electricity!

So it was to bed at dark and up at dawn!!

The next morning it was beautiful.

The view below is the motorhome parking area...looking north!

This view is looking in a southwesterly direction.

Enough of the parking area in the campgrounds....

It was time to go hiking!

Now the decision was to pick the trail!

The trail I chose was not on the sign....Frijole Trail.

This trail would take me to the Frijole Ranch Museum and along the Frijole Ridge

Although this was fall in the park, this trail didn't have alot of foliage that had color changes. But this was one of the few I did get of the fall colors on this trail.

This little "oasis" must have been protected from the cool night time temperatures

as these trees were still nice and green.

After what seemed like half a day of hiking due to very little shade cover,

I came to a branch in the trail that directed me to the Frijole Ranch Museum.

Nearing the Museum, I turned around to see the view of the Frijole Ridge

& the trail that brought me down.

Unfortunately, I was so busy asking questions of the volunteer at the museum that I forgot to take any pictures of what use to be a small ranch home.

After getting my questions answered and resting in the shade a a time,

it was time to head back to the campgrounds via the Foothill Trail,

which follows the Frijole Ridge also, but at a lower level.

A picture of the Foothills Trail and El Capitan in the background.

I believe this peak is called Hunters Peak with an elevation of 8368 ft.

The hike was about a 5.5 mile hike and took about 4 hours.

A picture at sunset in the parking area....and soon after...bed!

The next morning there was no time to linger as I wanted to hike Devil's Hall

and be back early enough to drive to Balmorhea State Park, about 100 or so miles away.

I had been told that the Devil's Hall had been unbelievably beautiful a week before I arrived, but as you view the pictures below, I think you'll agree....there was still beauty left!

(Remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge the pictures. However, you will need to click on the "back" arrow to to back to the blog.)

The beginning of the creek "wash".

The following 4 pictures are Devil's Hall

This seemed more like the Devil's staircase!

Heading back, I stopped to reflect on the beauty

and wanting to linger rather than return!

I had chatted briefly on my way in on the trail to a lady. The day before she had hiked either El Capitan or Guadalupe Peak with her husband. She said her husband was too tired to hike on this day, so she was hiking alone. As I was hiking back to the campground area a couple of hours later, I came across her again....she had gotten disorientated and ask if I was going back out to the parking area. When I replied that I was, she asked if she could hike out with me! She had followed the wash out too far and missed the trail back to the parking area and ended up in a tangle of brush down the mountainside.....a good reason to take a map and orientate yourself to your surroundings as you hike. A GPS would be a good idea also!

The picture below is the lady and the parking area in the background....with my motorhome farthest right!

The hike was not nearly as long as the day before but still took about 3 hours. It was hard to hike this trail and not slow down to enjoy the beauty that surround me.

Back at the motorhome, I made a sandwich for lunch and played with my "kids". I took Loa, my bengal, for a walk and then it was time to go! I was sad that I couldn't spend more time here....there are so many trails in this National Park and I wanted to hike all of them!

Guess I'll have to go back again!

When leaving, I back-tracked on Hwy 62/180 until I came to Hwy 54, which took me into Van Horn, TX. From Van Horn, I took I-10 to Balmorhea State Park. Once again, I made it about an hour before dark! Time enough to go visit a couple that was staying here also that I had met on Devil's Hall trail earlier in the day!

After visiting for a short time, I went back to the motorhome to gather items needed to take a shower in the public restroom area. However, while I was gathering everything, I didn't see my 8 year old cat, Callie. I called her, but I no answer and she didn't come....so I started to look for her! No Callie to be seen! I searched again....still no Callie! I started to chastise myself for not counting cats before I left Guadalupe Mountain Natural Park.

By this time, I was sure she had somehow gotten out of the motorhome and I had left her behind! I tried calling the visitor center at the National Park, but it was after 5 pm and no one answered. By this time, it was getting dark and all I could think about was that by morning, Callie would have been a meal for some wild animal and I started crying! I could drive back, but it was dark and I wouldn't find her before that wild animal found her!

I was frantic! I didn't know what to do, so I started looking through the motorhome again....still no Callie! The only place I didn't look was a cabinet above the bed that I figured there was do way she could get into this cabinet, but....what the heck.....I better look there too!

I couldn't believe it.....she was in the cabinet and since I couldn't remembering opening it since the night before, it meant that she was in that cabinet for 24 hours!

I was happy, but I was also alittle irritated. Anyone who owns a cat will understand....cats don't answer when you call them! They could be sitting right in front of you, but when you call them, they don't meow back to say....."here I am, look at me"!

Oh well, another lesson learned and I was just happy I had my Callie. She even got a special treat that night!....along with lots of hugs and kisses!