After leaving Carlsbad, New Mexico, we headed west for only 50 miles (via US-180 W/US-62 W) so we
could stop and visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This park, which was once a reef growing
beneath the waters of an ancient sea, straddles the Texas and New Mexico borderline. Most of the 80
miles of trails in the park are unpaved. No paved roads penetrate this park. Therefore, you will have to
“hike” to explore the interior of this National Park.
As you approach Guadalupe Mountains National Park, you will see a very large mountain (called El Capitan) in the distance. El Capitan stands at 8,085 feet tall and is the tallest mountain in the State of Texas. Spring and Fall are the best times to visit the park. (The heat in the summer months can be
brutal.)
One Very Important Note: Make sure you fill up your vehicle before you visit this park because there are
no gas stations available for 35 miles in either direction from the Pine Springs Visitors Center.
Also, there are no restaurants or lodging available around this park, so bring your own food, snacks and drinks/water with you! The Visitor’s Center does have a few convenience foods available for you to purchase, but not many. If you are not driving an RV, you will have to find overnight lodging in White’s City or some other towns close by the park.
Also, sorry, pet owners - No pets are allowed on the trails in this National Park! Remember to always go online to check out all this information and other current information before you head out to visit this park or any other National Park.
We hiked some easy trails in the park: Manzanita Springs Trail is an easy .4-mile roundtrip hike and is also wheelchair accessible. We also hiked Smith Spring Trail, which is listed as a moderate trail to hike. It is a 2.3-mile roundtrip trail that will take you up to a shady oasis (which happens to be a very good place to stop to eat some lunch and rest for a little while…which is exactly what we did).
Be on the lookout for mule deer and elk on this trail; they are known to frequent this location in the park.
There are other nice trails like Piney Trail. This trail is paved and is also wheelchair accessible. It is a .75 hike that takes you to see rock-walled ruins of a stagecoach station. If you are interested in seeing some ancient Mescalero Apache exhibits, then head to the Frijole Ranch Museum (only 1.5 miles Northeast of the Pine Springs Visitors Center).
This park also has more moderate and strenuous hikes if you are into that kind of adventure. You can
hike up to Guadalupe Peak and to The Bowl (both hikes listed as strenuous) or hike the McKittrick
Canyon Trail (listed as a moderate hike – 4.8 miles roundtrip to Pratt Cabin; 6.8 miles roundtrip to the
Grotto). We are not young, so we did not hike these trails!!
(FYI: Many visitors to this park also head to see the beautiful Carlsbad Caverns National Park because it
is only 50 miles away. So, make sure you consider visiting Carlsbad Caverns too. It is definitely worth the
50-mile drive to see it!)
The next day, we continued our trip toward our next destination, El Paso, Texas. We drove West (via US-180 and US-62) for 168 miles (2 hr. 45 minutes) until we arrived at our hotel. We did not care for the
hotel and had to change rooms because the freeway noise in our first room was extremely loud. The hotel did move us to another room on the opposite side of the hotel. (Thank goodness, it was much quieter in the new room.) We unpacked and then headed to the El Paso Zoo located at 4001 E. Paisano Drive.
(FYI: When we arrive early in some cities and have a few extra hours of spare time, we tend to visit the local zoos, if they have one.) That way, we get some exercise and kill some time before dinner.
The El Paso Zoo was smaller than most of the zoos we visit, but it was very nice. They had a lot of
interesting animals to see. The Zoo is located near the Texas-Mexican borderline and the famous border wall, which we saw (and took some pictures of) while driving around town.
We were hungry when we left the zoo and decided to stop and eat at Tony’s The Pit BBQ restaurant located at 1700 Myrtle Avenue, El Paso, Texas. The building looked a little sketchy, with bars on the windows and doors, but we decided to be brave and give it a chance…besides we were really hungry at the time, and this restaurant was not too far from the zoo!! The BBQ was delicious, and the interior of the restaurant was nice. YAY!! Sometimes you do have to risk it for the biscuit!! (Or, for the yummy BBQ and cornbread in this circumstance!) LOL!
The next day, we headed to White Sands National Park. White Sands is located 3.5 hours South
of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and only 1.5 hours from El Paso. This park has snowy-looking roads that are actually made of ultrafine gypsum sand. Winds shift the beautiful white sand in the park across the roadways, and the sand has to be plowed daily to keep the roads free of sand around the Visitor’s
Center. The gypsum sand (when eroded) can be blown as far as the Texas Panhandle, and sunrise and sunsets in this park reflect the colors in the sky right onto the white sand. It is very beautiful!
Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.
Some fun facts: The Mescalero Apache (who originated from around this area many years ago)
still use the shimmering white sand in the beautiful pottery they create today. Also, amazingly, human footprints have been discovered in White Sands National Park from 12,000 to 22,000 years ago.
Important Fact: If you plan to visit White Sands National Park, be sure to check online to see if
the White Sands Missile Range is planning to test any missiles. (Yes, I did say missiles!) If they are
planning to test some missiles, U. S. 70, between Alamogordo and Las Cruces, will close for up to three (3) hours. So, before you plan to visit this park, check online with the Visitor’s Center at White Sands (which remains open during the missile tests) or call 1-575-678-1178 for closure information.
When you are visiting White Sands National Park, make sure you take a tour on Dunes Drive (a
total of 16 miles – takes about 45 minutes by car). Drive North from the Visitor’s Center (the first 5
miles are on paved roads) and then the road becomes packed with white sand that looks a lot like snow.
Many of the pullout areas have exhibits, picnic areas have vault toilets, and parking areas allow you to hike amid the amazing white dunes.
The park recommends you “Visit at night to delight in the moonlight” as it glints off the white gypsum dunes. Park Rangers are there to lead you on “Full Moon Hikes” on the Dune Life Nature Trail.
(You will need to go online to make reservations at least thirty (30) days in advance.) From May
through October, they also have “Full Moon Nights,” where you can bring a chair or blanket to the end of Dunes Drive for live music and Ranger talks at the Natural Dune Amphitheatre.
Since the park’s huge dune field is quite unique, you can also play in the white sand at the end
of Dunes Drive. You can buy a plastic snow saucer at the gift shop in the Visitor’s Center and slide down the dunes all day. (FYI: Sliding down the dunes is best after a good rain because the sand gets packed down for better sliding.)
One of the best hikes in the park is the Alkali Flat Trail. This hike is located in the heart of the
park and allows you to travel up and down over the shadeless gypsum dunes. Just make sure you follow the “orange markers” while hiking so you do not get lost.
There is also an easy Interdune Boardwalk 20-minute hike (.4 miles) that is also wheelchair
accessible, and the Playa Trail that is an easy 30-minute hike (.5 mile) trail to an area that collects rain into a temporary lake.
The Dune Life Nature Trail (a moderate 45-minute hike) has “blue trail markers” that take you to a partially vegetated dune so you can walk in the beautiful soft (extremely) white sand. You will pass 14 interpretive signs while on this hike. We loved this hike and took some great pictures in the white sand!
Another Interesting Fact: The white sand gypsum dunes contain 4.5 billion tons of gypsum.
The gypsum dissolves in water and then re-crystallizes when dry. Ninety-eight (98%) percent of the
White Sands National Park dunes are made of gypsum. When it rains (seasonally), the mineral still washes down the mountains to pool at Lake Lucero. When the water evaporates, it leaves fragile
selenite crystals to be broken down by wind and water that blows across the dunes.
And, finally, some very important things to remember: The Visitor’s Center only carries convenience foods. No gas, lodging, dining, or other services are located near White Sands National
Park. The closest hotels, food, gas, and other services are located in Alamogordo (15 miles away) or in Las Cruces (60 miles away). So, fill up (in more ways than one) before you visit this park!
We returned to El Paso to spend one more night at our hotel. We drove around the city for a
little while, stopping to visit some shops near the Mexican border, and then we ate dinner at a very
nice restaurant near our hotel. The next day, we caught a flight back home to Tampa.
This really was a very pleasant trip, and we enjoyed every minute of visiting New Mexico and West Texas.
So, if you want to:
1) Soar up in the clouds in a hot air balloon during an International Balloon Fiesta in
Albuquerque;
2) Visit a beautiful old and artistic “City Different” like Santa Fe;
3) Eat lunch in a town filled with green aliens in Roswell;
4) See millions of bats take flight at dusk and crawl inside some beautiful caverns in
Carlsbad Caverns National Park;
5) Visit the highest mountain in the State of Texas at Guadalupe Mountains National Park;
6) Visit a border town like El Paso in West Texas; and
7) Walk in some beautiful and amazing white gypsum sand at White Sands National
Park, then
Make some plans to visit New Mexico and West Texas in early October next year. It really is a
beautiful time to go traveling. The weather is always beautiful in October, and the roads are less crowded!
Happy Travels Everyone! Get out there and see America!
Alma's Photo Album
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