2019 Road Trip: Day 9

White Sands National Monument

Day 9 was a mix of a driving day and sight seeing day. By this point in my trip, I had planned much shorter drive days so I could enjoy my trip! I left Carlsbad around 10 in the morning, and headed North on 285 to Artesia, NM then headed West on 82 towards White Sands National Monument. This was a gorgeous drive through some small towns and I even drove through Lincoln National Forest, which was beautiful and I was honestly just excited to see trees.

Around 2:00, I finally arrived to White Sands National Monument. This was SUCH a poor decision on my part, because it was HOT, y’all. I went to the visitor’s center and then drove through the park. I got out a few times to take some photographs, but after about two hours, I was out of water and ready to get to my Airbnb for the night.

I do want to suggest to go either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I wanted to rent a sled, but it was SO HOT, I couldn’t justify the $10 cost to rent one. Also, have you ever climbed up a giant sand dune in the middle of summer…talk about difficult!

After I left White Sands National Monument, I headed to my Airbnb in the historic Mesilla district, which is right outside of Las Cruces. I booked an adorable casita for the night, and WOW was it an amazing place to stay! I was able to cook dinner in an actual kitchen, do my laundry, and watch Netflix while chilling on a leather couch!

I would really like to revisit Mesilla, NM one day. It is a very charming historic district with a lot of sights to see. I spent the afternoon doing chores and reorganizing my car, so I did not get to walk around and see the town. I would highly suggest visiting this town if you are the area!

Until next time, peace.

2019 Road Trip: Days 7 & 8

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

I am going to be honest, I was not expecting too much from CCNP. Growing up less than two hours from Mammoth Cave, I thought, “You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all!” WRONG! Carlsbad Caverns was awesome!

On Day 7, as I stated in my previous post, I was going to explore Guadalupe Mountains, but there were bad storms in the forecast. I already had purchased a tour for Day 8, so I decided to do the self guided tour at CCNP. The self guided tour is free with your National Parks pass and took me about an hour to two hours to walk the entire path. I took the Natural Entrance into the caverns and the elevators back up. However, you can take the elevator both up and down is you do not want to walk 750ft down.

On Day 8, I woke up early and headed to start the Ranger led tour I had purchased. I decided to go on the Lower Cave Tour, and I am SO glad that I did! The tour lasted around three hours total and the Rangers were extremely knowledgable about the cave. For this cave, everyone is required to wear sturdy ankle boots (must bring your own), and a helmet with a headlamp and gloves (provided) the entire time.

To start the tour, you must use a knotted rope and walk backwards down 15 ft of smooth flowstone. After this, there are three sets of ladders that take you an additional 50 ft down. I did not have a problem with the rope or the ladders, but some of the other people on the tour did freak out a little bit because of the way the ladders were angled.

Descent down flowstone with rope
Bottom two ladders and one of the rangers

Once off the ladders, the tour begins! I am not going to go into detail of the tour, because it is something you all just need to get out and experience! I do highly recommend this tour if you are planning a visit to Carlsbad Caverns. There were no sections that required crawling, but there was an optional route you can take where you get to crawl, and of course we all did!!! A man on the tour also spoke highly of the Left Hand Tunnel Tour, which is another ranger led tour where everyone uses lanterns instead of head lamps.

I do not think you could wrong with any tour at Carlsbad Caverns! Just make sure you arrive early for the tours and wear the appropriate footwear, or they will NOT let you participate in the tour.

Until next time, peace!

2019 Road Trip: Day 6

Alpine, Texas to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

The drive from Alpine to GMNP was only 3-ish hours, so I took my time driving and stopped quite a bit along the way. I was looking forward to seeing the Marfa Prada, but there were several other surprises along the drive. The movie “Giant” was filmed in and around Marfa in 1956 and there is now a roadside pop art installation to pay homage to the film and one of its filming locations. The murals were painted by California based muralist John Cerney.

Now, nobody told me this (AKA I did not research this), but Marfa Prada is NOT in Marfa, nor is it really close to Marfa. It is a 35 minute drive northwest of Marfa on 90. Regardless, it is very cool and worth the stop to see!

Finally, I arrived to Guadalupe Mountains National Park! (I had planned on camping here but storms were rolling through the area the next couple of nights. This was the same time Texas was having some nasty tornados tearing through the state so I got an AirBnB). When I arrived to the visitor’s center, I overheard the park ranger telling other hikers that they did not advise to hike to Guadalupe Peak tomorrow (MY ONE PLAN) due to storms coming in during the early afternoon hours.

Well, now that I wouldn’t be able to really hike the next day, I asked the park ranger which hike was short enough for me to do that day. It was around 1:30, and she advised the Devil’s Hall trail. I am so glad I followed her advise, because it was an amazing hike! A lot of rock scrambling and towards the last half of the hike, you kind of make your own path climbing over rocks. This hike only took me around 2 hours and 15 minutes counting the walk to and from the visitor center parking lot. I would rate the trail easy with some moderate areas along the trail.

I really wish I could have explored Guadalupe Peak and more of the park, but hey, I can always go back! The rest of the day was spend getting into my AirBnB and meeting Mrs. Pauline and her two sweet puppies.

Peace.

2019 Road Trip: Day 4 & 5

Big Bend National Park

Have you ever been on the boarder of Texas and Mexico in June? I hope not. Now, I am not one to complain to about heat and hot weather, but here I am! Y’all, it was HOT. 110 degrees HOT. Luckily, I was able to get the last campsite in the Chisos Basin Campground where the weather was a little less hot. By “get the last campsite,” I mean I drive around until I saw this group of guys packing up and I sat at their campsite until they left. No shame in my game. Look at this beautiful campsite though!

Due to the extreme heat and an unforeseen event, I only camped in the park one night. The next day, I set out to hike early in the morning to beat the heat. However, before I was even a half of a mile into the hike, hikers were coming back down the trail saying there was some bear activity. So…no hiking that trail! With the heat setting in, I decided to just drive around the park. I drove the entire park and did a few short nature walks.

The first stop was the Hot Springs Historic District. This was a very interesting area of the park that I could talk about for days, but I am going to leave a link for you to read if you are interested in learning the background of this interesting location! https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/historyculture/hotsprings.htm

Petroglyphs
Rio Grande
Historic Hot Springs

There are many older buildings and petroglyphs to explore on the way to the hot springs. It was much too hot that day for me to get into the springs, but there were other people visiting and taking a dip! It is located right on the Rio Grande, which is pretty cool too.

After visiting the hot springs, I drove down to the ghost town of Terlingua, which is located to the west of BBNP. I was not too impressed with this so-called ghost town. However, the cemetery there is worth visiting and not like cemeteries in Tennessee.

After visiting Terlingua, some things happened and I headed back to Alpine, Texas to regroup and get some rest. Overall, Big Bend National Park was beautiful and so overlooked! I would love to visit this park again when the weather is more agreeable.

2019 Road Trip: Day 3

Day 3: Austin, Texas to Big Bend National Park

Luckily, my Uncle John gave me an alternate route to Big Bend that would be more scenic than what I had already planned. I took I35 to San Antonio, then 90 through Del Rio to Alpine, Texas. There were a million places I wanted to pull over and take pictures, but I had a long day of driving ahead of myself. I did stop at a bridge to take a few photographs and take a break from driving.

© Savannah Hamlet
© Savannah Hamlet
© Savannah Hamlet

I finally reached Alpine, TX and text my parents that they may no hear from me until the next day because where I was staying did not have service. Big Bend’s campgrounds do not have reservations and are first come, first serve. Knowing I would be getting into the park a little late in the day, I planned ahead and found this CUTE and FUN place called Tin Valley Retro Rentals. They have campers, boats, and even a car that have all been turned into little, simple “glamping” sites right outside of Big Bend National Park. Just look at the picture below, how stinking cute is this place!?

The Cozy Cactus @ Tin Valley Retro Rentals
*© Savannah Hamlet*

I get to the campsite after a long and slow drive down a dirt road and I am in love. It has the most gorgeous backdrop and is so perfect….until I step out of my car and it is 102 degrees. Yes, you read that correctly, 102 degrees. I walk inside the camper and it has two super comfortable cots and a little sitting area. I knew when I booked this camper that there was no air conditioning. I did not, however, know that it would be 102 and the low over night only be mid 80s. I got my battery powered fan and sat on the cot and realized…I couldn’t do it. Imagine sitting in your car with your windows cracked with no A.C. and it is 102 degrees outside, that is how hot is was inside the camper. As much as I hated myself for doing it, I had to drive back to Alpine (1 hour and 27 minutes) and get a motel. Before I go any further, let me say, I was BUMMED! I have been looking forward to staying in this cozy cactus camper forever. I also want to say I have NOTHING negative to say about Tin Valley Retro Rentals. If it wasn’t so hot, I would have stayed and I for sure want to come back during the spring or fall.

As I got to Alpine and had service, I found a promising looking motel, Antelope Lodge. When I pulled up, it wasn’t your typical L-Shaped, one building motel. This motel is from the 1950’s and looks more like little cottages spread about around a darling little courtyard. (They honestly could have turned this into an awesome Hostel, but that is just my opinion and it works as a motel as well). Y’all, this place is CUTE. Whoever is renovating this place needs their own T.V. show on HGTV. WATCH OUT CHIP AND JOANNA. I want to live here. Each room is a little different but has a bathroom, super comfortable bed, a TV, and a little kitchenette! The main office has an awesome open and welcoming vibe as well as a lounge room with couches and chairs. The courtyard has over-hanging lights and fire pits. This place is AMAZING!

All in all, everything works out for the best and sometimes you have to shove your anxiety down and accept that you can’t plan or control everything. And hey, you may find a cute, fun new motel along the way to share with people! Isn’t that the whole point of blogging?

37 days remaining!

Peace.

2019 Road Trip: Day 1 & 2

Day 1: Home to Hot Springs National Park

After a LONG drive from my home to HSNP (Hot Springs National Park), I finally arrived at my KOA where I was staying for the night. It was a fabulous campground and I had a great shaded campsite (YAY!). ALSO, DID YOU KNOW THERE IS WIFI AT A KOA KAMPGROUND!? I did not, and it was a pleasant surprise.

By the time I had my campsite set up and had a shower, I only had a few hours of daylight (and energy) to explore HSNP and grab something to eat. Traffic was horrible (I mean, it was Memorial Day weekend, I should have known better) and I finally made it to the free parking garage in town. After eating, I walked around for a little while and saw some of the Hot Springs. I also put my hand in one of the springs and YEP they are hot!

After seeing about all there is to see, and let me be honest, there isn’t much; I drove on the Mountain Drive/Fountain Drive in the park. At the top, there is a tower where you can take an elevator to the top for viewing, but I decided I would skip that part since it was about to close. However, there were some gorgeous views from a couple of pull offs that showed Arkansas’ beauty.

Overall, HSNP was nice and pretty in places. I definitely could see how amazing it was years ago, but a lot of the older, architecturally beautiful buildings are boarded up and forgotten. If Chip and Joanna Gaines could get a big ole crew into that area, MAN, it would be GORGEOUS.

Day 2: Drive to Austin

Okay, you guys, I KNEW Texas was big. I know it is the 2nd largest state and is basically (kind of, sort of) the size of Europe if you pushed them all together. But holy moly, Texas is HUGE. Also, people drive CRAZY, and I am a crazy driver so that is saying a lot. Maybe it was the 75 mph limit or the weird on/off ramps Texas has between Dallas and Austin, but I have never been so nervous driving on an interstate before in my life.

Anyway, I finally made it to my “Uncle” John’s house (He is one of my father’s best friends, so I have always called him uncle) in Austin after a long day of driving. I showered and John and his wife took me out to dinner. After that, we talked about places we have traveled, and then this old 29 year old went to bed around 9:30 to prepare for the drive to Big Bend National Park.

So, not exactly an enthralling couple of days, but the weather has been nice and I have enjoyed what all I have seen so far on my trip! Only 39 days left of my road trip, stay tuned!

Peace!