Guadalupe National Park

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Today once again I got up fairly early; early enough to make it to Guadalupe National Park before it opened at 8 AM. When I arrived, I noticed I had less then a 1/4 tank of gas left. Not knowing where the next gas station would be and there not being many towns at all between Guadalupe and El Paso, I went all the way back to Carlsbad to get some gas just to be safe, which was about 60 miles round trip. Better safe then sorry I suppose.

Arriving back at Guadalupe, I decided to hike the Devils Hall Trail instead of trying to get to the top of Guadalupe Mountain which is about 3,000 ft of gain in 4 miles. On hindsight I would of made it to the top of the mountain, but at this point I didnt want to do anything too stupid to wear myself out for later hikes. So Devils Hall Trail it was. This is a fairly straighforward hike of about 4 miles roundtrip. Its fairly flat and some of it runs through a dried up creekbed. If you are like me and this is your first hike out in the desert you'll find this hike interesting as there are lots of cactus and native plants along with lizards that I had never seen before. Plus at the end of the trail is where you get to see Devils Hall so all the while you are looking forward to seeing that. On the way back I actually got off the trail somehow (ok I was talking on my cell phone) and ended up back in the creekbed but soon found my way back on the trail. So yeah if you're not paying attention you can get off the trail but its pretty well marked.

After leaving Guadalupe I get back on 62/180 and head for Las Cruces, NM via El Paso, TX. All the way to El Paso it was desert and scrub with the occassional house. One weird site I saw on the way to El Paso was this guy pushing a shopping cart full of junk along the highway. This was out in the middle of NOWHERE mind you. There was nothing 30 miles in the direction he was going and as it turns out nothing 30 miles from where he came. It really was a bizarre sight.

I arrived in El Paso but didnt stop for anything. I got on I 25 North to Las Cruces, where I stayed for the night. That night I ate some takeout from Los Compas. Very good Mexican food I hightly recommend them if you're in the Las Cruces area. There are at least 3 locations around town. That evening I was in the mood for a drink so I step out to the bar near the hotel. What surprised me is the cost of drinks...$4.25 for a Jack and Coke and $2.50 for a pint of microbrewed beer. Definitely a pleasant change of pace in prices from Atlanta. As it turns out, its like this everywhere that I did drink in the Southwest.

Not many great pictures here but there should probably be some better ones coming up in the next few days.

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Photos

Guadalupe Mountain
The tallest point in Texas

Another view of Devils Hall
This is from the end of the trail looking back through Devil's Hall.