Day 8 - Of Shooting Spikes and Shooting Stars

After a surprise monsoon burst in the morning, we left Gilbert for Moab. The change in scenery interested me, because the landscape mostly resembled high desert with cacti. Then suddenly in the mountains of Tonto National Forest, ponderosa pines surrounded us (maybe in Star Valley?). It must be some particular weather pattern in the mountains that produces enough rain for the pines. 

The city of Holbrook awaited us as we descended out of the mountains and before we entered Petrified Forest. But first: LUNCH. Holbrook is a quaint town that--from the presence of themed motels--likely survives on the tourist industry for nearby Petrified Forest. We saw two Mexican restaurant across from each other and went to the one that we thought might have tamales. We were wrong. Instead, we got nachos and chile rellenos. The food was super tasty, but judging solely on the clientele, my guess is that it wasn't as authentic as the place we stopped at in El Paso. 

A finger-licking-good lunch later, we ventured into Petrified Forest. From the name, I expected to see stands of petrified trees. In reality, were quite a few petrified logs around the visitor center. Still educational, but maybe less visually impressive. 

The theory is that 250 million years ago, a great storm caused many riverside trees to be uprooted and pulled downriver. They eventually became waterlogged and sank, whereafter layers of silt and soil covered them. Over time the river dried up and over lots and lots of time, minerals replaced the organic tree material to form stone replicas. 

Also, dinosaur fossils have been found in the area. A+

We drove through the park and enjoyed the views, especially the lines in the formations that indicated successive layers over geologic eras. The clouds really cooperated for photos. 

Back in the car and on our way north, I took to better preparing some prickly pear cacti cuttings for transport. These pads have serious pokies- the big thick ones for warding off consumers, and baby hairlike spikes to etch into the attacker's memory that it isn't worth it. (This stowaway spider knows where the most strategic hiding place is)

I took some nail clippers and neutralized the big pokies. Whereas these are durable and firmly attached to the cactus flesh, the evil baby pokies readily dislodge from the cactus to invisibly embed in the attacker's skin. 

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to perform this cactus surgery on my lap with minimal protection. I succeeded fairly well in preventing a major infestation in my skin, but not a 100%. And then I had the bright idea to use my teeth to remove a spike from my finger. This worked... but then said spike stuck into the nearest fleshy object: my tongue. I have never been so intimate with my tongue as when I combed through it to find the intruder. I removed additional spikes throughout the night, but I still feel like I have them all over my body (kinda like a heightened version of the sensation after getting a haircut). I even had a dream of them in my skin. 

Like I said, those little pokies are there to etch into the memory of the attacker. 

The road that we took to Four Corners winds north, back and forth between borders like a needle and thread sewing two patches together. Much of the area that we passed through is land set aside for American Indians, and it we found the names of places as well as the vistas interesting. 

Finally at Four Corners, we straddled four states while taking a selfie. #MillenialSkills

Finally we arrived at Bruce and Vonda's (Paul's parents) house in Moab. They are delightful to visit with, and they had fresh peaches to munch on, so major bonus. Paul's twinner John was also there, and though I really only briefly met him at Bev and Paul's wedding, his twinny characteristics cast a strong air of familiarity. 

THEN--and this may be the most important news of the day, folks--Whitney saw her first shooting star! As it was the peak night of the Perseid Meteor shower, we drove up into Arches National Park and laid on a blanket in a road turnout to observe the shower. Fortunately we saw like eight or nine in ten minutes because we were super tired and needed to go fuh-foy, nigh nigh. 

Day 7 - Of Squeezing Cacti and Babies' Cheeks

This morning we stopped at Saguaro (sah-wah-ro) National Park in Tucson on the way to Gilbert. Saguaro, as we found out, is that iconic cactus made famous by old Westerns and Willy Coyote- the tall cylindrical cactus with arms. Although we'd seen plenty of cacti elsewhere, like prickly pear and ocotillo, this was the first for us to encounter the mighty Saguaro. And they truly exist! Not just a creation of Hollywood. 

A plant interested us in particular because it looked like woody stems with little leaves. It turns out that these are the true Ocotillo, and that the fleshy succulent with the aternating knobs is a false Ocotillo. At least, according to Tusconers. 

Some of the cacti had blooms! It was fun to see these barrel types with orange blooms. Although I took a picture, I wanted to take more home. I figured a stop at the local cactus nursery was in order. 

But first- confession time. You know that urge to squeeze baby cheeks? Well when I see the little purple fig-like fruits on prickly pears, I have a hard time resisting the urge to squeeze them. Usually I succeed. Sometimes I don't. In this case, the fruit was ready to send me a strong signal. 

Fortunately I had my tweezers on hand, but I learned my lesson. 

At the cactus nursery after the park, we enjoyed looking at the many many baby cacti. When I told them of my interest of the barrel cactus and the prickly pear fruit, they showed me what happens when a fruit get overripe. It turns out I'm not the only one who can't leave them alone. 

In the end, I came away with two small barrel cacti (one of which has a long blooming season) and a cutting of a family-friendly prickly pear. This one (on the right) could more correctly be called a furry pear cactus. 

In Gilbert, we visited with and had dinner with Whitney's brother and sis-in-law, Josh and Chelsea. It was really fun to play around with their kiddos, who head a healthy appetite for reading books, being tickled, playing monster, and being tossed in the air by uncle. 

Day 6 - Of Gypsum Below and Gypsum Above

Our day started by scarfing down some Mountain House biscuits & gravy alongside the BLM road and enjoying this sunrise. 

Then we trotted back over the the Cavern for a guided tour. Whereas Mammoth Cave formed by water dissolving underground limestone to create channels, Carlsbad formed primarily by hydrogen sulfide dissolving limestone and creating cavities. Groundwater percolated through the limestone and deposited calcium carbonate (and some calcium sulfate, or gypsum) into dazzling formations on the cave surface over millions of years. 

Here's a shot of a interesting scenario: a score of stalactites grew from the ceiling, but at some point a huge rumbling from an upper cave level caused the ceiling rock to break off, and new stalactites grew from the fresh ceiling. 

As we finished the tour, we came upon some scientists sciencing! I was pretty excited and it took a lot of willpower to not pepper them with questions. 

We head southwest from Carlsbad Caverns for about 30 min to briefly visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Okay to be honest, our greatest reasons for visiting were to stamp out National Park passport and because we had the Parks Pass. 

We settled on taking a 1.2 mile walk that took us by a small ranch house (now a museum) that had been inhabited by folks trying to make something out of this nearly uninhabitable land. 

A lizard friend skipped across our path! We are so winning at Pokemon Go. 

We also saw a squash growing near the path. It surprised me because I don't usually associate squash a desert plant. A nice ranger at the visitor center told us that it is buffalo gourd and doesn't require much water. He also said it tastes terrible (so don't get any ideas).

But I'll tell you what tastes delicious: TACOS. After Guadalupe, we continued west toward El Paso and stopped for a very autentico lunch of tacos and quesadillas. 

The route we chose took a circuitous route around El Paso so that we could drive along the Rio Grande and see the Mexico-US border. We saw a big wall with border patrol trucks periodically stationed along it. 

As the road pulled away from the river, the path afforded more views of The Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. Much of that city--at least from our zippy 75 mph viewpoint--looked similar to El Paso, but after the road turned north away from the Rio Grande, we passed a large area of slums on the Mexican side. 

We soon entered New Mexico and enjoyed spotting one of the unique visual features of the area: large water tanks painted with murals. This one is NASA-themed, as it sat near the missile test range area. (Which is still active- twice a week or so they close down the area from traffic to conduct tests!) 

From Las Cruces, we turned east and climed a pass through some desert hills. On the other side lay a huge basin where the missile test site and White Sands National Monument were situated. The missile site is a relatively new development; the white sands were 250 million years in the making. Large gypsum deposits formed in an ancient lake there and over the many years it turned to sand. This gypsum sand (calcium sulfate) is different from sand along the ocean, which is generally silicon dioxide (quartz).

As we came down into the basin, much of the land was fairly barren, but we eventually came upon some sand dunes. (And we also had to cross through another border patrol checkpoint [our second of the say]. Not sure why, as we were miles from the border. Perhaps the road passes by common routes for Mexican immigrants?)

After entering the park, we began an automobile tour among the sand dunes. After a half-mile or so, the pavement ended and we drove on compounded sand. I felt quite the dissonance of my senses, because it was hot outside but it looked like we were traveling through snow fields. Kinda like thinking you're about to eat an ice cream sundae but it turns out to be a pile of mashed potatoes. 

The sand was surprisingly cool and pleasant to walk on- perhaps due to the water level that is perpetually just a few inches below the surface. This impression is in striking contrast to my memory from 1995, when we might as well have been on the surface of the sun. Whitney and I frolicked around for a bit, but then it started sprinkling. I'd seen videos of the sand shrimp that hatch in wet conditions and I wasn't gonna hang around to observe that phenomenon. 

On our way out we saw folks sledding down the dunes. Again it was odd for me to see a winter activity in the summer, until I realized that sand sledding would be much less wet and cold than playing in the snow... sounds like a win-win to me!

Day 5 - Of Merit Badges, Literal and Figurative

Our day started with an exciting episode of Pokemon Go - Live Edition! As we at out oatmeal breakfast and enjoyed the view, a little avian friend joined us. 

We next stopped at a little park convenience store to get ice. It was very quaint and charming, eliciting images of local stores with wooden racks and swept concrete floors from bygone days. We bought a bag of ice for our water bottles, which felt very indulgent considering the hot and arid environment into which we were to venture. 

At the nearby visitor's center, we saw a flier for how to earn badges by going on educational hikes. I am a sucker for such activities--once a Junior Ranger, always a Junior Ranger--so Whitney and I embarked on the first of two hikes: a nature walk around the center where we learned about local desert flora. We especially liked the ocotillo cactus in addition the the prickly pear cactus that we'd seen the previous day. An exciting moment happened when we say that a critter had eaten part of a prickly pear fruit (called a tuna)! Yes, we are nerds. Notice the seeds inside the tuna. 

After earning our first badge, we drove back up to Chisos Basin for another hike. While approaching the trailhead, we saw evidence of wildlife! We later learned that these droppings are likely from foxes, due to the poop size and prominent display (it's a territorial thing). 

Although the weather swelled to disturbing levels, we found solace among the many prickly pears. 

Our novice status definitely showed when we dragged ourselves back to the car, swearing that it had to be at least 104 degrees.... turns out it was a mere 85 degrees. Well, we proudly received our badges regardless. 

After leaving Big Bend, we retraced our steps back north through Texas. Because the park lies on the Mexico-US border, we got stopped at that border patrol station! It was all very exciting as they interrogated us, and I had to be sure to tone down my ooh-this-is-a-new-experience attitude so as to not arouse suspicion. 

Several hours later we crossed into New Mexico and found out way to Carlsbad Cavern's National Park. We initially planned on just making it to the Bat Fly that night and then do all the cave exploring the next day, but we got there early enough that we slipped in a self-guided tour of the Big Room (so named because, in addition to other characteristics, the floor space is equivalent to 14 football fields! The Cavern is so fantastical that it is almost unbelievable. The size and features of it at times make it seem like a fairy land, confectionary masterpiece, Lord of the Rings set, or a magical North Pole landscape. Unfortunately, my photos don't come close to capturing the caves. 

A nice Chinese couple walked in front of us and I offered (in Chinese) t take their photo. They graciously accepted while expressing amazement that I could speak Mandarin. I quickly switched back to English so that I didn't give away how little Chinese I speak. In return they offers to take our picture too, so here's one of my and Whitney that isn't a selfie (gasp!).

We made it out of the caves at about 5:30pm and the bat flight started at 7, so we set up kitchen in the visitor center parking lot. #shameless

There are about 300,000 Brazillian Freetail bats that live in Carlsbad Caverns during the summer, and they make a grand exit at dusk to go eat metric tonnes of moths (Brazil doesn't do the Imperial System). A park ranger had a little program and answered questions (some from people who obviously didn't read the plaques). Before bats started swirling en masse out of the gaping cave mouth. We couldn't take photos because the bats are camera shy and disturbed by the electronics. 

So... onto where to sleep... When we'd arrived at Carlsbad Caverns that late afternoon, we asked the ranger where we could camp in the park (I'd had memories of camping there in 1995). Turns out that there is only backcountry camping in the park (that one has to hike to), but we could try a private RV park just outside... or venture into the BLM property just a few miles north of the park. 

Well, I'm always up for a little adventure and Whitney obliged, so we took the highway three miles outside of the park until we arrived at the side dirt road 772. A quick 700 feet off the highway took us halfway up a hill with a nice vantage of the desert and the headlight dotted highway below. We found a suitable flat plot on the side of the dirt road and set up our tent. A lightning storm raged in the far distance, but no worry- we couldn't hear any thunder and anyway, our weather app promised that we wouldn't have any storms where we were. 

My cell phone got enough reception to watch some replays of Olympic swimming and water polo before we retired at about 10:30pm. Then around 12, the wind picked up. Not a big deal- the lightning still burst in the distance, though it had moved from directly north to northwest of us. But then we both smelled that smell of fresh rain on parched ground. The wind whipped over the tent, causing the tent poles to bend down and wrap around me a bit, and we got out and quickly snapped the rain fly onto the tent. We spent the next hour or two enduring the storm and convincing ourselves that the lightning wasn't approaching our hill upon which we were perched. Eventually the storm subsided and we emerged the next morning a little short on sleep but without any lightning strikes or rain drops. And as a point of pride, I feel like we each gained a badge of courage. 

Day 4 - Of Big Bend

Our hotel reminded us this morning that we were is Texas! We didn't waffle between whether or not to eat breakfast. 

The rest of Texas also consistency reminded where we were: lots of tex-mex restaurants, Cowboy Churches (idk) and oil jacks. No Alamo, though. 

Despite seeing hundreds of these rigs dotting the countryside, we also saw oodles of windmills. 

After heading west on the freeway through much of the state, google told us to take a 90 degree turn south on a very straight road towards Mexico. As we got further south, we saw more and more white border patrol pickup trucks and passed through a checkpoint where severs cameras took pictures of our car/license plate/totally innocent facial expressions. 

As we neared Big Bend National Park, the terrain started popping up with hills and mountains, and as our path took us through the chihuahua desert, many plants spread out that adapted to the climate. We favored the prickly pear... probably because it is edible. 

The Big Bend visitors centers had closed by the time we arrived at 6pm; summer is their slow season (wut. Why??! Oh right this is a desert). Fortunately many campsites remained available and we found a nice perch in the Chisos Basin. We cooked dinner and enjoyed the evening of minimalism (though we would've enjoyed some olympics...). There is something oddly relaxing in observing the severity and scarcity of the desert. It's like a reminder life can not only survive without excess, but do it beautifully.