A fun fact about Guadalupe mountains is that it’s the same mountain chain as Carlsbad Caverns. Guadalupe is in Texas, whereas Carlsbad is in New Mexico. The mountain itself is very rugged, so there is not really a scenic drive inside the park, it’s around it. Therefore, the number of easy trails is somewhat limited. … Continue reading Guadalupe Mountains NP
Tag: National Park
Carlsbad caverns
We have seen many caverns before, including Mammoth Cave National Park, but this one was by far the most impressive. To begin the tour, we took an elevator down to 750 ft below the surface. Then we begin the self-guided tour which is 1 ½ miles in length. Younger ones can walk in from the… Continue reading Carlsbad caverns
Big Bend National Park
Today, after moving back to the dry camping campground for our final full day in Big Bend, our first stop was the Boquillas Canyon Trail; we had driven to the Boquillas viewpoint earlier on our trip, but the trail actually brings us at water’s edge. It was a nice easy walk, but not as spectacular… Continue reading Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
We drove 128 miles today, and that was entirely inside the park boundaries. We visited Catalon, which is an abandoned village where cotton farming once took place, to take advantage of the hot weather and the nearby Rio Grande River that was used for irrigation. We drove on to Santa Elena Canyon, where we walked… Continue reading Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
First thing in the morning, we walked a trail leaving our campground to the Rio Grande River. It is mind blowing that just across the river, one is in Mexico. Claudette prepared a lunch, and we went and had that at Boquillas Canyon Overlook, which offers a different look at the Rio Grande. From the… Continue reading Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park
The drive into the park is quite breathtaking. It feels king of incredible to drive almost 100 miles inside the park and meet very few vehicles. This park has 5 visitor centers! After settling into our campsite, we went back and visited the panther junction visitor center, and then drove onwards to the Chisos… Continue reading Big Bend National Park
Hot Springs National Park
Today we went to the Quapaw bath house, after successfully booking yesterday one of the few available slots available today. It was a “silk bath” which is a gentle exfoliating bath. The bath itself lasts only 20 minutes, so we were both somewhat disappointed by the experience. Overall, our takeaway from Hot Springs is… Continue reading Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs National Park.
We moved on to Hot Springs, AR early in the morning to beat the forecasted snowfall later in the day. In the afternoon, and before the actual start of the snowfall, we decided to go and scope out what the area looks like. Eight “bath houses” were built in the late 1910s-early 1920s. Today,… Continue reading Hot Springs National Park.
Mammoth Cave National Park
Cave City KY Did the tour from the “historic” cave entrance – the natural one where the caves were first discovered. This is by far the grandest cave we have ever visited. Some sections are huge, even though we also walked through sections that were both narrow and one had to duck because the ceiling… Continue reading Mammoth Cave National Park
Caves
Cave City KY Went to the visitor center while Claudette had a business call. Booked cave tours, one for each of the next two days. Tours were sold out for today. Holds the record for longest cave in the world, with over 400 miles of surveyed passages over several levels. Looking forward to the tours.… Continue reading Caves