New Mexico - Day 5

If God makes perfect vacation days – today was it.

We got up at leisure, ate a hotel provided hot breakfast, packed up our belongings and said goodbye to our Carlsbad home for the past few days.  We were again headed to Guadalupe National Park, this time to spend the entire day.

We had two options – hike to the top of Texas (8,000 some feet in the air), or smell the roses.  The sun was shining, we were in a relaxed mood, and no one was feeling like breathing hard.  So we decided to smell the roses.  On Ranger Holly’s suggestion from the day before, we walked up to the ranger station and asked for the junior AND senior ranger activity books.  The books were free and they also generously gave us pencils to use.

For those who are not familiar with national park culture, the junior ranger program is a great way for visitors who are twelve and under to experience the park.  Ross and I hold the distinction of being one of the few “not-so-junior rangers” to be sworn in during our trip to Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  Apparently, the program was such a success, there is now a ranger program for seniors – defined as anyone thirteen or older.  If you have a chance, and you don’t mind looking just a little nerdy (we don’t), these programs are a fantastic way to engage with the park and get far more out of it than you will just hiking the trails.

Isaac was hardcore and went for both the ranger badge and the patch.  We were only able to work for a patch.  We grabbed our books and headed into the exhibit area of the visitors center where we spent the next half-hour identifying the plants and critters that call the desert their home.  From there, we were required to hike a trail and because Isaac was so energized, he had to hike two.  So we set out for the first hike – Frijole Ranch.

This hike was not part of the original plan, but I am so glad that we did it.  Frijole Ranch is an actual ranching and fruit operation at the bottom of Frijole Ridge.  It is there because of a natural spring that spills onto the ranch property.  The enterprising owners used a sophisticated pump system to push the water out to feed the orchard and the house.  The family lived and raised eight children on the property which consisted of a two-story home, a small one room school house, a bunk house and several other out buildings.

Circling to the west of the ranch was a trail that led into the ridge and up to Smith Spring.  On that trail we identified many of the plants that we had learned about – Sotol (also called the Desert

Candle) being the most common – and stopped to watch a few birds and lizards playing around in the underbrush.  The Texas Madrone was also standing gracefully in several areas and we found ourselves wondering if it would grow in Kansas.  We spied some “cat scat” on the trail and kept an eye out for the 8-10 mountain lions that call the area home.

Smith spring was at the apex of the trail and in a crotch of the Ridge.  We passed several areas that looked like they contained water when rain was plentiful, and started to wonder a bit if we had missed it.  Our fears were put

to rest when we turned a corner and were suddenly in a small oasis of waterfalls, streams, trees and shade that you could neither see or hear until you were on top of them.  The boys, who had hiked on ahead were already enjoying a shady bench.
The thing that makes Guadalupe Mountain National Park so special is a large area on the other side of the Ridge called “The Bowl.”  It is here that water falls on a regular basis due to the higher level of elevation.  The water then trickles down through a sandstone layer left there by a reef that formed years ago and surrounded an inland sea that covered what is now the Chihuahuan desert.  The sandstone filters the water and then shoots it out into the lower elevations in the form of several natural springs – five of which can be found on the Frijole Ranch property.  The water helps sustain life not normally found in a desert environment and makes the area an “island” all to itself.

The other thing that makes the area special was created because of this permanent water source.  The Butterfield Overland Stage made its stop there at Pine Springs – the ruins of which can be viewed by walking another short trail (the second requirement) from the visitor’s center.  The ruins

apparently hold the distinction of being the only remaining structure from the original stage line that still exists today.  The Overland Butterfield Stage was a mail route run by the man who founded the American Express.  He guaranteed his customers that he could get a letter or package from St. Louis to San Francisco in 25 days.  The Pine Springs stage stop was a popular horse changing station because of the water source and abundant shade that was there during that time.

All these things we learned because we participated in the ranger program.  We were sworn in by Ranger Bridgett.  We all got our ranger patch and Isaac received his additional, ranger badge.  The sun was beautiful, the weather perfect and the wind a whisper that came along right when you needed it to cool everything back down.

We ate lunch in a picnic area at the Frijole Ranch between hikes and we talked about just about everything and anything that seemed important at the time.  After that we piled back in the car and headed to our next destination – The Lodge atCloudcroft – our home for the next three nights.

The Lodge is perched on top of a mountain in the Lincoln National Forest.  It was night when we arrived, but we were in time to partake in Prime Rib Wednesday at the Lodge's restaurant, Rebecca’s.  I must give credence to one of my financial aid buddies at this point for cluing me in to this spot.  It is everything he described and more.  A warm fire in a huge, stone fireplace in the lobby greeted us as we arrived as did rich wood trim and plush leather sofas.  Our room was just off the second floor lobby balcony and the entire place oozed peace when we walked in.  Perfect end to a perfect day.