North of the Davis Mountains, on the Texas-New Mexico border, are the Guadalupe Mountains. More rugged and less domesticated than the Davis Mountains, the Guadalupe Mountains are probably best know for their neighbor, Carlsbad Caverns National Park. If you're looking for a park which you can explore without getting out of your car, this ain't the one. Guadalupe Mountains National Park has five times more miles of backcountry trails, than roads. More than half of the park, 46,850 acres, is designated as a protected wilderness area. I had hiking in mind when I pulled into the Pine Spring's campground, but the Mother Nature had other plans.
As I took a short walk around a nearby nature path, my eyes were drawn more to the skies than to the informational markers along the trail. The clouds, which were merely big, white and fluffy when I arrived, were quickly turning beautifully dark and menacing. The late afternoon light made the mountains glow and the contrasting clouds appear richer and more magnificent. The pictures I took do them no justice.
When I returned to Van, I made a chicken salad pita, which I ate outside watching the clouds. Soon the wind picked up and the rain began to fall. I lowered Van's top because it looked like this storm was going to be something special. I opened all my shades, popped some popcorn and sat back to watch the night's entertainment. I've always loved storms, thanks to my dad, who used to take me out on our front porch to watch them, in part to keep me from knowing my mom was cowering in the basement.
This storm was one of the best! It had wind, it had hail, it had overlapping lightning, vertical rain, rocking vehicles, you name it. It was better than fireworks on the 4th of July! In the morning I walked to the trailhead expecting the worst and I wasn't disappointed. The dry, rocky trail of yesterday was a slippery, muddy, gooey mess. I wasn't going ten feet on that trail, let alone the four mile roundtrip. I was sorry to be missing my hike but the storm was worth every minute of my stay.
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