Sand sledding

Looking good Pat!  Video on blog

Thursday we tried "sand sledding," a lot like snow sledding, but a lot warmer!  It was a lot of fun but it was also a lot of work to climb back up to the top.  We managed to both fall off our sled on one of our 3? trips down, but I got Pat's on video.  I guess mine was a lot more interesting, lol.  Seems we collected a lot of sand!  I kept thinking the grandkids would love this!  

White Sands NP

Carlsbad had groves of pecan trees, here in Alamogordo it's pistachios. Yesterday we stopped at "Heart of the Desert, Pistachios and Wine" and did a little sampling.  Pistacio wine?  Neither Pat nor I were a fan of the Pistachio Rosé.  It was certainly different.  Pat thought it tasted like Geraniums?  I personally have never tasted Geraniums! 

Wet, windy, and COLD

 Bet you can't guess where our next destination will be?

We left Carlsbad today, Weds.  After last week I double checked our departure date for this week!  The GPS on the RV said not to go the way Waze told us to, so Pat checked the trucker road atlas for more info.  Pat chose going an extra 50 miles today over the 6% grade for 16 miles.  Don't know if it was up or down, but we didn't want either for 16 miles. 

"Carlsbad Caverns National Park is best described as living artwork." -- Stefanie Payne

"The Lion's Tail" is a group of stalactites  with "popcorn" at the end.

Carlsbad Caverns offers spectacular beauty!  Pictures, particularly amateur ones, do not begin to do it justice.  You need to see it in person. My camera is in for repair and cell phones aren't the best either. The "Big Room," with over 8 acres, is the largest limestone room in any cave in the United States. It has been a National Park Site since 1923 and a tourist attraction well before that.

Who would choose to live in this desolate place?

An undiscovered, pre-Mayan Pyramid?

Saturday morning we turned on the a/c,  tucked Krikkit in the RV, and headed back to the Guadalupe Mountains for a day hike.  Pat selected the Smith Spring Trail that began by the Frijole Ranch, which we had checked out on Thurs.  This trail was a loop so you could start either direction.  It was 2.3 miles (seemed longer 😁) and was supposedly a 1-2 hour hike.

Becky's Drive In, Carlsbad, NM

Krikkit had a late afternoon trip to the vet on Thurs. so we stopped in Carlsbad at Becky's Drive In, complete with carhops, on the way home.  The food and service were great.  Our carhop asked if that was it, maybe a pattie for the dog?  Why not!  Krikkit hasn't had a hamburger since she was 1 (16 now) when she stole mine right off my plate. 😁

Santa Elena Canyon--happiness

We took the Sam Watson Scenic drive to get to the Santa Elena Canyon Trail Weds. morning. The Santa Elena trail is one of the more popular trails, and when we got there at 10:30 there were only a couple of parking spaces left.  It is also a popular spot for canoeing but we didn't see any canoes today.  We did see people wading in the cold Rio Grande and even saw one gentleman cross over to Mexico and return.  It was pretty shallow.

A funny story...,

Relaxing in Santa Elena Canyon.

Weds., our last day at Big Bend.  When you are retired hours, days, and even weeks become "lost."  Disappointed that Chicos Basin wouldn't be opening today because of the wild fire.  They might open lower elevations on Fri., but too late for us.  The trails there were supposed to be the best, but we hadn't seen the Santa Elena Canyon yet so we went on that trail instead.

Tipis picnic area

Tuesday we took a break from Big Bend NP and went the other direction to Big Bend Ranch State Park.   Enroute we drove through Terlingua a ghost town. 

Chimney Trail-- we are SOOO Tired!

Chimneys

We started out this morning intending to go on two trails, Chimneys and Butte Springs, both off the Ross Watson Scenic Drive.  We barely made it back on the Chimney Trail. 

Loving Big Bend National Park

Not to be crass, but do these look like piles of poo to you???  

You'll just have to go to our blog to see what's going on in my weird mind!  

Sunday we finally got to go hiking, well, okay they were more like walks but we had to start somewhere!   We started out with the Sam Nail Ranch Trail, stopped at the Soltol Vista Overlook, then the Homer Wilson Ranch Trail, and finished with the Lower Burro Mesa Pour-off Trail, all on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Beautiful but cool day in the desert and mountains

Thursday and Friday the highs were near 90.  Saturday we woke to 55° and strong winds.  It didn't get much over 60°, but the sun did come out mid-afternoon.  We decided to do a little more auto exploration and took the Dagger Flat Auto Tour, stopped at the Fossil Discover Exhibit (over 90 dinosaur species have been discovered here), and we finished the day on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

Desert Prickly Pear

Big Bend National Park is about 10 miles from our campground.  Today was an exploratory day.  We followed Hwy. 118 from Terlingua east to the Panther Junction Visitor's Center and on to the Rio Grande Village, then North to the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center.  We checked out a few sites, and made notes as to what we wanted to do and see for the next 5 days.  Dogs aren't allowed on trails, but since we were mostly in the car, Krikkit rode along.  Another National Park to scratch off!

I'm awake now!

The view out our front window in Terlingua.

Quite a bump coming out of the RV park in Ozona Thurs.!!  We had never lost anything in 2 years, but the dishes flew out of the cabinet this morning.  Thanks to Corelle none appeared broken.  Glad the glass turntable was out of the microwave and it's safe spot.

Kids make camping so fun!

Schreiber "Flagship" Park, Galveston

Well, this will be a memorable trip in many ways, and as it turns out, expensive.  On Sat. Clara and myself were jumping waves at the beach while I was keeping my eye on the other 2.  Pat had gone across the highway to get everything we had forgotten.  My phone fell out of my pocket into the gulf and I guess decided to head out to sea!😪  I now have a new phone.

Running behind!

Bluebonnets were blooming

We spent Easter weekend in Houston with our middle son Eric and his family.  We got to celebrate Eric's birthday, and on Mon. we began Clara's camping adventure!