Day 5: Guadalupe Mountains National Park

I was a little concerned when we got ready to leave this morning. It was still very foggy and cold in Carlsbad, NM. Since we had passed the park in total fog-out yesterday, we would have to backtrack almost an hour to get there today. Would it be worth the trip if it was still foggy? We decided to make the gamble and headed out. The further we got away from Carlsbad, and the higher the elevation, the heavier the fog became. Fortunately, almost the minute we crossed back into Texas, the fog lifted away!

By the time we got to the park sign, which we couldn't even see yesterday, it was a perfectly clear day.

Guadalupe Mountains isn't a very large park. The visitors center is pretty small, although it does have a nice exhibit about the flora and fauna of the area. We did the short nature trail hike, which had beautiful views of El Capitan, the highest peak in Texas.

We got back in the truck and drove down to McKittrick Canyon, which I was really looking forward to because it was supposed to have the best fall foliage colors. If you look closely in this photo, you can see the red and gold trees high up in the hills.

Unfortunately, the foliage doesn't start until a mile down the trail. We simply didn't have enough time to do a minimum 2+ mile hike and still make the 4 hour drive to our stopping point for the night. So, sadly, we decided to get back in the truck and start heading home. We did go down the nature trail in that area, which was at least a little bit scenic. 

The drive back took is through the far southeastern corner of New Mexico along US highway 180. There really wasn't much to see along the road. The area has the country's largest potash mine, and a lot of oil and gas wells. We crossed back into Texas, and through the southern panhandle area with lots of cotton fields, wind turbines, and more oil wells. The landscape changed to rolling hills just after we left Lamesa, and we stopped for the night in the small town of Snyder. We will make it back home tomorrow early afternoon...unless we find something fun to do along the way!