Trip #2: Mountain SW Rd Trip Day 9, Cache OK MOM's House to Glencoe HOME

Day of Post: 08-19-2019
Day of Event: 6-16-2019

Mountain Southwest Road Trip 2019 Day 9

Highlights of this day included:
1. Home to Cache
2. Mowing
3. Home to Glencoe and unpacking

Now, let's get to some pictures

The only pictures taken for this part were the most important ones.....pics of family.

Me and Dad on a home photo montage (with Lillie off to the side)

Samuel and his Grammy.

Me, Mom, and Samuel

Returned home around 7PM.  Samuel drove the little standard transmission car all the way through Oklahoma City.  Total trip mileage this time was somewhere around 3450.

Trip #2: Mountain SW Rd Trip Day 8, Guadalupe National Park, TX to Cache OK MOM's House

Day of Post: 08-18-2019
Day of Event: 6-15-2019

Mountain Southwest Road Trip 2019 Day 8

Highlights of this day included:
1. Break down camping at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX.
2. Guadalupe Peak - wish we had time.
3. Gas!!!
4. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM
5. West Texas Driving
6. Lubbock  Buddy Holly Center and Statue
7. Home to Cache

Now, let's get to some pictures.

But, first the promised story from the previous blog post.

We had a nice supper at Julio's in El Paso 5 pm ish previous day.  We plugged in that night's destination - Guadalupe Mountains National Park - into Google Maps and set off.  We were low on gas.  I told Samuel I wanted to stop at the next gas station on the right side (south side) of the road.  Usually a wise decision to not have to cross traffic both ways.  We looked and looked....all gas stations on the north side.  Gas gauge getting lower.  Oh well....We will see one eventually....5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles, about 20 miles West of El Paso we saw a sign: No gas facilities for next 50 miles.  Uh-oh.

Our "Distance to Empty" was at 49 miles.  Guadalupe Mountains was about 22 miles away.  I felt sure we would make that, but after navigating to a campsite and back out next morning, was very uncertain we would make the next gas.  So....we shut down the A/C and any electric peripherals.  We usually put the car in neutral to coast down hills - there wasn't a soul around.  We pulled into Guadalupe with "Distance to Empty" at 30 miles....we made up about 3 mpg of efficiency.

Next morning, the "Distance to Empty" did not register...at all.  We set off.  We knew we had about 1/2 gallon in an accessory tank for the generator, but did not want to tap into it unless we had to.  Fortunately, from Guadalupe to Whites City, NM was almost entirely down hill.  So again, a lot of coasting in neutral.....again no cars around for miles.  End of long story: We made it and put 9.2 gallons into an 8.2 gallon tank.

Now....to the pictures....

Sunrise at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX

Striking camp at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM Cave Entrance.  We walked down the 800 vertical feet.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM  

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM 

Buddy Holly Statue, Lubbock, TX

Trip #2: Mountain SW Rd Trip Day 7, Gila National Forest NM to Guadalupe National Park, TX

Day of Post: 08-14-2019
Day of Event: 6-14-2019

Mountain Southwest Road Trip 2019 Day 7

Highlights of this day included:
1. Waking up at campsite at NFS Bighorn Campground on NM 180. Beautiful drive through Gila National Forest.
2. (Not a highlight.) Heading uphill into Silver City, attempted a legal pass around a dark Dodge pickup going slowly (NM MNA-xxx).  Dodge then sped up, not permitting us to pass, and nearly caused us to have a head on collision with oncoming traffic. Slammed on brakes and swerved back into our original lane.
3. Nice drive through Las Cruces, NM.  I wanted to stop for good Mexican food, but Samuel didn't.
4. Organ Mountains National Monument.  Beautiful.  Stopped at Visitor Center with intent to hike to Dripping Springs.  However, heat (it was 100F) and some emergency vehicles around there talked us out of it.  So it became a driving tour.
5. White Sands National Monument - beautiful area.  Thought it was also going to be about the nuclear and bombing testing, but it was not.  The WSNM is only about the geography and geology of the place.
6. El Paso, TX.  Trip to National Border Patrol Museum.
7. El Paso, TX.  Visit to Stanton Street Port of Entry Border Crossing
8. El Paso, TX.  Nice meal at Julio's.
9. Gas!!!  See below for story.
10. Arrival and camping at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX.


So....let's get to some pictures...

Gila National Forest, Bighorn Campground, NFS, NM

Gila National Forest, Bighorn Campground, NFS, NM

Organ Mountains National Monument, NM. 

Organ Mountains National Monument, NM.  An anticipated trip to Dripping Springs was canceled due to oppressive heat and some emergency vehicles and processes ongoing.

White Sands National Monument, NM.  Nothing nuclear here.  Just sand....nothing but sand.

Samuel played in the sand.

We saw the Bleached Earless Lizard.  Samuel said: "I didn't know there were eared lizards."

Our personal snapshot of the bleached earless lizard, made more visible when resting in the shade.

National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX

National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX

National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX

National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX

National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX.  This was a display of some of the homemade vehicles and contraptions made by undocumented immigrants trying to enter the country illegally.  Far in the background are two hoods from 50s models pickups welded together to make a strange boat.

National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX

El Paso, TX, Border Port of Entry, Stanton Street

Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX

Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX

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Trip #2: Mountain Rd Trip Day 6,Grand Canyon NP, AZ to Gila National Forest, NM

Day of Post: 08-10-2019
Day of Event: 6-13-2019

Mountain Southwest Road Trip 2019 Day 6

Highlights of this day included:
1. Grand Canyon!!!  Morning Hike, Souvenir shopping
2. Flagstaff - on the hunt for books
3. Standin' On a Corner in Winslow, AZ
4. Bad road signs in Arizona.
5. Half of Petrified Forest National Park
6. Gila National Forsest
7. Campsite at NFS Bighorn Campground on NM 180.

So....let's get to some pictures...

Early morning hike from campsite to South Rim View

Early morning hike from campsite to South Rim View

Early morning hike. Grand Canyon NP South Rim View

Walking back to campsite to wake Samuel up....elk cow grazing right next to my path.

Campsite: Grand Canyon NP

Samuel getting a close up look at the foot and burro bridge far below over the Colorado.

Grand Canyon NP

Grand Canyon NP, South View

From this point, Samuel drove from Grand Canyon through the Arizona mountains (that I did not know existed) to Flagstaff.  Our highway terminated into a section of downtown Flagstaff that was named by me "The Land of a Thousand One Way Streets."  Wow.  It was confusing.  I had to get Samuel to pull off the road and let me start driving.  Too much going on for someone with a learner's permit driving a standard transmission.  Humorously, we spent a LOOONNNNGG time in Flagstaff.  The mission?  Find Samuel some books to read.  Our road trip style is 'see some sights, and drive on to the next one.'  With the time spent on the road, Samuel transforms into this voracious reader, thus on both of our major 9 day 4000 mile road trips, we've had to make a mid-week side excursion to bookstores to find him more to read.  This time, 9 big books weren't enough.  Through the assistance of Google maps, we went from used bookstore to used bookstore to boutique bookstore and we couldn't find the titles he wanted.  We even struck out at the Barnes and Noble.  Finally, some success at Bookman's near Northern Arizona University.  And then on to a calorie-repacking at the adjacent Peter Piper Pizza.  Then back on I-40......takin' it easy.

Speakin of takin it easy, we found ourselves Standin on a Corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Samuel found himself takin it easy, standin on the corner, too.  There was a flatbed Ford, but no girl.

 From this point, our intent was a drive through the Petrified Forest National Park.  In part, it was not to be.  Eastbound I-40 from Winslow, AZ, we encountered a road sign that said rather plainly and emphatically that Petrified Forest National Park needed to be accessed at next exit - Highway 180 at Holbrook.  My Google maps route had us continuing on I-40 for another 25ish miles.  But I've found Google maps to be wrong more frequently than posted road signs, so we took the exit.

Indeed, we arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park - the SOUTH entrance.  We found that the NORTH entrance indeed was completely open and that the sign we saw was posted as a courtesy to help eastbound travelers to have the most efficient drive-through the entire park.....entering the South entrance, progressing North, and exiting the North entrance to return to Eastbound I-40.  Welp....we weren't of that traveling stereotype.  We had planned the opposite, as we were heading Southeast, not on I-40.  So, with very little time in that day's itinerary, we were left to choose to drive north and then have to double back or to only encounter the southern part of Petrified Forest.  We chose the latter, missing out on the Painted Desert part that I wanted to see.  I made a point of telling a park ranger about the confusing road signs that seem to intend something else.  They acknowledged the confusion, and they indicated they were powerless to change it.  In an attempt to make me feel better, they related the story from the previous day of a multi-car family trip heading eastbound from Flagstaff that got separated, but knew they were to rendezvous at Petrified Forest.  One car followed the road signs I followed, and one car followed their Google maps.  Upon arrival, each car subset of the family called each other looking for the other car, only to find they both had entered an official entry with a visitor's center, but they were 25 miles apart on opposite sides of the park.  The road sign needs fixed.  But, I enjoyed what little of Petrified Forest I was able to see.

Petrified Forest, South Entrance, Hwy 180

Petrified Forest NP, AZ. 230 million years old.

One of the longer intact exposed logs in Petrified Forest NP, AZ.

Samuel at Petrified Forest NP, AZ 

Some bluish flats at Petrified Forest NP, AZ

Entire field of petrified logs.  Petrified Forest NP, AZ.  Not good for your chainsaw.

Leaving Petrified Forest NP, AZ, it was on to some unknown campsite in the Gila National Forest.  Again, National Forest Service campsites are wonderful little ways to drop in, make a quick camp and sleep, and get back on the road.  Samuel and I have gotten very good at it.  Campsite photo in next blog post.  We arrived and set up camp around 10PM.

Near Sunset, Gila National Forest, NM.