Day 14: Alpine, TX → Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX
I loved our stay in these parts, the Chisos mountain range and the Chihuahuan Desert, but it was by far the dirtiest of days. In addition to the dust storm on the way in, the desert area where we camped had a fine white chalky sand that clung to Zeke. We were such a mess as we departed Big Bend. (Thankfully the Hipcamp had a shower for me, but I couldn’t even pet Zeke, he was so dirty.)
I was thrilled to discover that many Tractor Supply stores in the south and west have dog wash stations. The Alpine, TX Tractor Supply manager was amazing… helped me find everything on my resupply list and told me about the dog wash station in the back. $10 and they supply all the cleaning supplies and towels. Zeke was not as pleased with this discovery.
We also had an emergency vet visit on the way out of town to treat Zeke for an infection caused by all that chalky sand.
Heading west, we briefly explored the famous little arts community of Marfa. Lovely, but no pictures.
After a total day’s driving time of about 4 hours, we arrived at the southern end of Guadalupe Mountains National Park at the Pine Springs campground and visitor center. The Guadalupe Mountains are enormous and the area is worth far more time, including the nearby Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which I skipped due to COVID and Zeke.
We explored just an itty bitty corner of the park around a parking lot. I wish I was kidding, but the RV/campervan campground was a parking lot, one that day hikers arrive at before dawn. I considered continuing around the park a full two hours to the Dog Canyon Campground (which the kids in the RV on day 1 of travel LOVED), but we stayed put. It was definitely the lamest national park campground of the trip, albeit with some amazing views around, and without a doubt the very worst night of sleep of the trip.
I should note that the hiking here looks amazing, but difficult. Zeke was not allowed on the big trails, but there were some lovely little paths around the visitor center that we explored several times.
We picked our bit of pavement, and then headed over to a picnic area (which was lovely!) to relax and have dinner and enjoy the views.
As the sun set and the temps dropped, Zeke started showing signs that he was sick with a gastrointestinal issue. So, we got up every hour all night long, each time opening the door and letting the 25-degree night air into the van. (The van is quite well insulated, so if you warm it up at the beginning of the night, you can stay reasonably warm with good night clothes and down blankets.) And I am sure this is too much information, but imagine being sick all night long and not making it past the pavement. It was brutal and gross. Enough said.