Guadalupe Mountains National Park is situated just across the border into Texas after traveling from the fabulous Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. A short 45-minute drive through the desert landscape with what appears to be a small rise of mountains on the right the entire drive, is in actuality the best preserved Ancient Fossil Reef in the world.
The no-town of Salt Flat, TX is the gateway to this obscure and not readily accessible NPS site. However fascinating and rare, with your mind still full of the wonders of Carlsbad Caverns, it is best visited first. Especially if you chose the Natural Entrance tour in the caverns. A gorgeous 65-degree winter day welcomed us to this part of the country, but we were so exhausted throughout the drive to Guadalupe that much of the conversation between us went something like this:
"Hey - how are your legs? Have your knees stopped shaking?"
"No..My whole body feels like it is racked with the 1918 strain of Influenza."
"How far did we walk at Carlsbad?"
"Oh...about the length of the entire Bataan Death March."
We are armchair travelers, so four miles of strenuous hiking hit our butts like a ton of bricks. We could barely muster the strength to get out into the visitor center at Guadalupe. This park, while still striking, is no match for the Cales. Only the front of the fossil reef is visible unless you decide to hike throughout the park's interior. It is West Texas' only preserved wilderness, and the scenery, which fooled us at first, really does come into view as the remnants of an ancient ocean that once covered this barren land.
Two very cranky rangers manned the station desk. (There was a family situated in front of them, and by the looks of the NPS rangers faces, they had been there quite a while asking questions). The exhibits were less than stellar, and the film while informative was situated in a high traffic area, so you were forced to lean to the side and dodge kids looking for the bathroom while attempting to learn.
We knew one thing however - we could not get back in the car. This day, no matter how tired we were, was too beautiful to waste. We learned that there are a few options for travelers in the park. The most popular is the Guadalupe Peak Trail which ascends to the highest point in Texas and offers stunning views of the terrain, after ascending 3,000 feet in elevation to the summit.
Hmmmmmm....maybe going back to the car isn't such a bad idea after all.
Guadalupe Peak and the majestic El Capitan point (you can't miss it.....it is the park's crowning glory) was used as a landmark for the Butterfield Stagecoach line. Stagecoach rides are a bumpy lot (anyone who has ridden one, even at Knotts Berry Farm knows they are bone-jarring), and the area around this stop is so harsh and uninviting, one absolutely must marvel at the heartiness of people in the past. From our air conditioned car, a 500-mile drive can seem oppressive, even with a Coke Zero and a Snickers in your hand, but to traverse the length of the West through salt flats, rugged desert terrain, and cactus-spotted wastelands is a whole other enchilada. We tip our hats to the Marlboro Men (and women) of years past, and decided to walk the 3/4 mile trail to the remnants of the Stagecoach station in respect.
Just as our weary bones began the trek....the wind decided that this would be the perfect time to escalate to hurricane force velocity. No joke.......every step was forcing us to act out Marcel Marceau moves as we attempted to force ourselves along the trail. We could not speak to each other at all as the wind speed was deafening, and our ultimate goal after some laboring was reached....
The walk back was a Comedy of Errors as we were laughing the entire way back looking for the respite of trees to block out some of the wind noise and to rest our feet. What should have taken us 20 minutes, instead took us 45, due to having to stop from being blown off the trail, and waiting for Matt, whose knees buckled again under the stress of the 5-mile walking day (We REALLY need to hike more....at this blog entry, both of us are suffering the after effects of recently thrown out backs. I am certain that the demons of inactivity are plotting their revenge on both of us).
El Capitan bid us adieu as we drove away from Guadalupe Mountains (or most likely would have said something of the sort, "GET A STAIRMASTER PEOPLE!!!" instead).
We know, we know........
FINAL RATING
5.5/10
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