McKittrick Canyon in Fall Color; a Texas Tradition

I spent my Veteran's Day hiking in Guadalupe Mountains NP with M and his two boys. The weather was absolutely perfect! 70 degrees, sunny, slight breeze.... Amazing day. The fall colors were too beautiful for words, so here's a photo essay.

View of McKittrick from the visitor center

The big rock on top-right is the ancient reef, the cliffs to the left are part of the back reef

1st sight of COLOR!

And then it got amazing!!!!

E poses on a rock... This happened alot.

The ever-necessary selfie

The canyon flooded in September. The trail crew spent a month busting ass to get it into great shape!

Tarantula! So cute!

Pratt Cabin is a perfect summer home

The Texas Madrones are huge in here!

I love the madrone bark. It looks like dripping paint

I tested out my new waterproof trail-rated camera. Look at the tiny fish!

Video of the camera's first dunking - sorry its sideways... cold water!

Look at the flood debris! This was at least 2.5 miles up the canyon

The most fantastic lighting is fall color lighting

More rocks to climb....

A doesn't climb rocks; he sleeps on them

End of the line - Hunters Cabin just past the Grotto!
Fantastic, highly recommended hike!

For more info on Guadalupe Mtns NP, check out their website!

Our Fall Garden

I've learned a few lessons from gardening this summer... Apparently, summers in southern New Mexico are just too damned hot and sunny for most of the plants.

1. Potatoes won't grow if its above 85 degrees.... shocking for a crop that notoriously grows in Ireland (and of course, down here it doesn't go below 85 until mid-September) 
2. Tomatoes also don't like the heat and won't flower - now that the temps have dropped, they're flowering like crazy and hopefully we'll get some tomatoes before the first frost
3. My shade structure is NO MATCH for the monsoon winds that whip across the Guadalupes
4. All of our herbs prefer the shady area beneath the overhanging vines on the fence... Less sun means cooler, happier herbs
5. Apparently, starting seeds in the spring around here means January/February...
6. People who plant their gardens in the front yard are just showing off
7. Mint spreads and can eventually take over the earth....
8. Cilantro loves to be neglected and left alone... possibly an introvert plant?
9. If you plant a container garden, you MUST make sure there are holes for drainage. Things die and get stinky quick!

So far this fall I've planted scallions, which are coming up quickly, and broccoli, which will need some sort of cover to protect it from the evil white cutworm moth.

I've also been testing a few different gardening apps -

web-based Sprout It wins... It keeps track of my garden, when I plant things, when they pass a growing phase, when to harvest, and the daily weather. It only gives you garden options that "should" grow in your climate so if you're growing something else, it won't show up.

iphone-based Garden Tracker is ok - you make your own plots, plant whatever you want, and keep track of when you water, feed, etc. Its cool for help when something is sick or dying, but that's about it. If it would send you reminders of what to do and when, like Sprout It, it would rule!

How I Spent My Unplanned Furlough (or What I Did While the Government Sucked) - Week 1

Week 1 (let's hope there's no Week 2...)

Day 1 - spent most of the morning kinda freaking out with M, thought a lot about money and missing paychecks, etc. I then made mental lists of all the places we should go since we now 'have the time'. Thank you Congress :-(
Oh, then crossed off half the places in my mental list because they've got the word "National" in their name and that means they're CLOSED! Then made mental list of all the things that needed to be done at home (cheap and/or free).

Day 2 - Marathoned Parks and Recreation, Season 5 - Thank you Netflix for releasing this on October 1st. I totally feel that it was done to help all of us in the NPS... I might be overthinking that but whatever. Oh! I also spent some time cleaning the house... Maybe if I had a furlough once a year, the house would be cleaned once a year? M came in late in the evening and was wrecked from a long day. To end our first official "furlough day" (yesterday was technically our day off), we watched some stand-up comedy and fell into blissful, allergy-pill enhanced sleep.

Day 3 - M worked on his book, so I Facebooked. Reading all the NPS friends and family posts about whats happening to them kinda got me down, and pissed. So M and I went for a nice long walk by the Rio Grande with Lennox. The sounds of the riparian area, mixed with the crisp fall breeze really helped. Later, after a lot of Champions of Norrath, we cooked a nice fall dinner of lemon risotto and champagne, and settled into a romantic evening with 28 Days Later. (Fall is the perfect time for scary movies!)

Day 4 - Went hiking in a STATE PARK! Franklin Mountains State Park encompasses the whole mountain that splits El Paso into East and West sides.

Thank you state parks for not shutting down at the same time as our federal parks did... that would incite a riot among hikers. Afterwards, we decided to hit a cheap date spot and went mini-golfing :-)

Day 5 - Woke up early (8am, but for the first time in 7 days) to hit the Saturday Arts & Farmers Market in downtown El Paso. I ALWAYS miss this market. Every Saturday there are posts all over Facebook taunting me about the fun being had at the market while I'm at work. Later that afternoon, M and I caravaned out to Carlsbad to spend the weekend. Driving through Guadalupe Mountains NP during the shut-down is bittersweet. I know the natural forces aren't shut-down, the indigenous animals don't listen well to our federal government. I'm sure they're enjoying the quiet, peaceful void of humans. I want to be out there with them.

We went to a going away party for a co-worker... of course, she can't move to her new job until the govt reopens...
We closed the day with The Omen. (we're doing all scary movies for October)

Day 6 - Woke up realizing that the boys don't have winter jeans that fit them... Hit Walmart before the church crowd showed up. (i seriously had to remember what day it was. this no-work thing messes up your internal calendar) Played Words with Friends for the first time in several days. I now realize that I mostly play this at work... sorry WWF friends. We went for a family+dogs walk to enjoy the early fall afternoon and play at the playground.
The scary October movie of the evening was Insidious, which scared the crap outta me. I may have hidden my face in a pillow for over half the movie, but that just tells you how scary it was. Fantastic evening flick! (Can't wait for the second one!) We also watched a family-friendly Percy Jackson and the Olympians with the boys. It was pretty good too. :-)

Lost Journal Entry...

When I was posted outside the cave at Carlsbad Caverns, I got to witness some truly glorious spring days. You know those days when the sky is that perfect shade of deep blue, a few fluffy white clouds sail past to remind you of unseen winds, the landscape is a desert postcard of deep greens and accent greys, birds chirp and flirt and build homes for future chicks, and ravens play overhead to taunt you and your earthboundedness... yeah, those were the days I was inspired to write. I'd write on a tiny notepad I kept in my sexy NPS-provided fanny pack. I would write thoughts, aspirations, travel plans, and memories.

I recently found that notepad, and on it I had written this.... 

I discovered who I was the summer after college. I went to Virginia looking for something but not sure what. What I found was myself. The self that was hiding deep inside; the self that cried out for every trail that went into the woods along the highways we traveled during family vacations and led me down old farm roads during one of my drives. I realized that I was happiest when I was simply putting one foot in front of the other in the wilderness. I spent lazy summer afternoons lying on a mountain peak with a book in my hand, some good company and a beautiful view. I hiked through the ethereal Blue Ridge fog, the life-stealing heat of Utah's desert and sand dunes in the Rockies. I've seen alligators, badgers, mountain lions and bears along winding wooded paths.

My life has taken me to many new places. I have met some wonderful and interesting people along the way. There was the practical joking law enforcement officer who engaged me in a battle of the wits, the guys who lived next door who rappelled from the roof of the house and the drunk, with whom I shared a wall, who had a heart of gold and a never ending supply of weed and beer. I have met mortal enemies and kindred souls, sometimes living with one or the other. The most interesting souls I've run across have been the thru-hikers along the Appalachian Trail. So many different walks of life and reasons for hiking the AT yet they all came together for one common goal; to finish the 1,200 mile-long historic trail.

I grew up a nervous child always pestering my parents with "what if" questions. Who would have guessed that I would grow to experience all that I have. I've been chased off a mountain peak by bolts of lightning that rained down around me and spent hours deep within the red-rock canyons of Utah never quite believing that I could get out. I have witnessed first light from the top of a 2,000 foot cliff and been woken by cowboys moving herds of cattle around my tent. I have hiked through the 120-degree heat of a Utah summer, camped in the howling winter winds of the Guadalupe Mountains and bagged a peak in Virginia during a blizzard. But none of that prepared me for the tiny holes and crevasses that awaited me my first season as a park ranger at Carlsbad Caverns. There I learned the true meaning of the words "pitch black" and understood just where the term "pinch" got its name.

I have lost toenails, gotten sun poisoning and developed a stress fracture for my love of hiking. I sold my apartment and all of its furnishings to follow my dreams and I've never been happier!

Happy discovery!

This was one of those perfect spring days

Reluctantly I Headed to D.C. (And Had a Pretty Good Time!)

Last week I had to take a trip to Washington DC for work. I LOVE traveling, but traveling for work isn't nearly as fun. I wasn't really looking forward to the trip - on top of having a cold, I was going to be engaging in 'team building' with 40 strangers. Ick!

At the El Paso airport, I discovered that TSA is doing extra-special 2nd base checks... The TSA lady ran her hands down my sternum and around my ribcage, multiple times. I boarded my tiny puddle-jumper to Denver to enjoy having the whole row to myself. So I took advantage of the No Seat Belt sign and gorgeous day and took lots of photos (with my cell phone so the pics are crappy).

We flew along the Permian Reed, with El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak out my window. I waved down to my boyfriend as we passed Carlsbad. Northern New Mexico is pretty cool to see from the sky. Its all desert plains and huge mountainous patches of black rock left, remnants of 10,000 year old lava flows. (geology nerds rock!) 

To the west, the Sandias and Jimez mountains were capped with snow. My first snow of the season!

Wow! Southeastern Colorado is boring! I was hoping to see Great Sand Dunes National Park but no, just flat, brown, agricultural fields.

The front range of the Rocky Mountains is pretty amazing to see. Just imagine those poor pioneers, after thousands of boring flat miles of Kansas and Missouri, to be hit with this site. Little did they know the landscape would be rocky and mountainous all the was to the Pacific. Awesome!

Even the Denver airport has some snow-capped peaks.:-)

Inside the airport I encountered some local wildlife.... a flock of sparrows flying around the terminal eating crumbs off the empty seats. Once on the completely packed plane, I discovered more wildlife.... our pilot had a very strong, very cliche New Jersey accent. Just what I need, the Jersey Shore cast piloting my jet across the country.

At Dulles I was surprised to find some super-helpful airport workers (take notice, Houston Intercontinental bitches!). I thought they were extinct! A very nice eastern African traffic director noticed I was lost and pointed me in the right direction, even stopped traffic so that I could get across. Then a west African shuttle driver helped me find which bus I needed to get to my hotel. It was 11pm and I'd been traveling for 12 hours. My brain was fried.

The next two hours consisted on a random midnight tour of Georgetown, where all I could think about was The Exorcist, and cleaning all of my 'fancy office clothes' in the hotel sink. My shampoo exploded and the freezer bag I had packed it in was open.

This is only the 1st day and I'm already exhausted. Seriously not looking forward to this trip.

The rest of the week was a blur of meeting rooms, new faces, and Team Dimension profiles. However, we got a lot of sight-seeing done too!

The White House!

Washington Monument, cracked and broken
so nobody can go inside

The Navy Memorial Museum - where they were
practicing for a Pearl Harbor memorial event

Very cool statue at the Navy Memorial
Museum reminded me of my grandfather

Ford's Theater - the box where Lincoln
was assassinated

From the top of the Old Post Office tower -
Looking up Pennsylvania Ave towards
Capitol Hill

Christmas Tree Concert at the White House

Oh yeah, we also got free tickets to the White House Christmas Tree Celebration - it was freezing, I'm not into crowds, and I STILL had a cold - but I went nonetheless. When the Deputy Director of the National Park Service gives you free tickets to a White House event, you go.

It was a star-studded concert, with Neil Patrick Harris
hosting, and the Obamas reading
The Night Before Christmas to us all

It was an awesome evening!

Things I learned from my trip to DC?

1. City life is fun but ultimately not for me. All that walking and concrete and traffic and noise? Ugh!

If you have enough money, you can
afford your own tiny spot of
nature, on a roof

2. When standing with 8000 strangers in front of the White House, no amount of bandwidth will allow you to access Facebook to brag or text photos of Phillip Phillips to your best friend (who LOVES him). So I'll post a quick video here :-)

Yes... that's me screaming throughout the video.
(try my YouTube page if you can't get the video to play here)

3. Getting kicked out of your meeting space because the President of the United States (or POTUS) needs to talk to 150 leaders of Native American tribes is pretty cool.

4. Introducing non-city people to Tapas is both interesting and amusing

5. Room service and a bubble bath make for a damned good evening

6. The Secret Service have traffic stops down pat! They can get VP Biden from his house in Georgetown to the White House with only minimal disruption to us commuters. ps - they will wave at you if you wave at them (not the snipers, never wave at snipers)

7. Even a reluctant work trip can have some pretty awesome adventures attached.

Flying over snow-capped Rockies is gorgeous!

Devil's Hall with the boys

This last weekend I headed out to Guadalupe Mountains National Park with M and his boys for a Veteran's Day hike. Guadalupe contains the highest peak in Texas as well as some world-renown geological specimens from the Permian Era. In the fall, people migrate there in droves to see the only fall colors around this region. Most people head to the more famous McKittrick Canyon but we were hitting M's favorite place - Devil's Hall.

Last week a local newscast aired an interview on location they did with M in Devil's Hall and since then the place has had more El Pasoan foot traffic than ever before! So I guess mass media really does still work.

I have done this hike many years ago but I barely remember it and half of hiking is the company you keep, so this trip would be fun.

The forecast was a bit dismal for my south Texan bones... windy (50mph) and cold (high of 50). I dressed as warmly as I could, brought extra stuff for the kids in case they're as wimpy as I am, and still froze my ass off. Even with the hiking, I was cold. (blood flows to muscle, leaving fatty tissue to stay cold.... read: my ass, my thighs)

We started hiking after lunch so that the weather was a bit warmer. However, we were hiking in a canyon so we also had no sun.... brrrr! Thank you weather gods for the absence of wind. The Guads are known for their incredible wind storms.

The hike started off sunny...

However, we were headed into a canyon and
would soon lose our light and solar-warmth

We did see lots of great fall color. This isn't New England fall color but when one or two trees are brilliant red and surrounded by white rock, it really stands out. Most of the time I couldn't photograph the color due to the shadowy canyon light.

Bright red big-toothed maples were everywhere

Texas Madrone berries added great color, but
taste awful!

White is a color.... There were several
yuccas blooming along the trail. They
bring in the bats and moths. Yay!

There were other kinds of color too - brilliant purple
colored all the rocks from Ringtail urine - probably
purple from eating berries

After a bit of trail hiking, in which the boys took turns looking for cougars with binoculars and spilling water on their shirts, we headed into a rocky wash to hike for a mile to Devil's Hall. This is what we like to call "kid nirvana"....

Jumbly awesome rocks to climb on!

And climb them, they did!

At one point, in the narrow rock-strewn canyon, I heard rustling in the bushes high overhead. I shushed the boys (have you ever tried to shush 10 year olds? its not an easy task) so we wouldn't scare off whatever animal was up there. Turned out to be a deer family of 4 eating an afternoon meal. They stared at us; we stared at them. Once the boys had a good look at the deer in their natural habitat, we were off for more rock climbing.

Towards the end of the hike, the trail goes up what's known as Devil's Stairs. These are fun but the odd way they tilt create a dizzying optical illusion.

One runs to the Devil's Stairs while the other surveys the path

Posing for photos for dad

After the Devil's Stairs, the canyon narrows even more. M and I walked in front of the boys, allowing them time to be alone with nature, and time for us to jump out and scare them from behind our hiding places.  :-)

Also gave us time to pose
for our own pictures

The canyon narrows down to almost a slot canyon.... if we were on the Colorado Plateau we'd call it a "slot canyon" but we aren't so we call it "Devil's Hall"!

M enjoying geology and fall colors at the
mouth of Devil's Hall

Devil's Hall is the end of the trail. I guess you could bushwhack up a few more yards but not with kids... Another day perhaps. So we turned around and headed back out. We saw the deer in the same spot as where we left them. I even found the boys' lost binoculars in the same spot they left them... All in all, a good day out in the wilderness, a good 4 miles of fall color, a good time!