Tag: national parks

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New Mexico for Mardi Gras

Living in New Orleans, there are few things that we look forward to more than Mardi Gras, and in 2022, the anticipation was greater than ever. Since COVID shut everything down in 2021, 2022 was poised to deliver something special, and it did not disappoint.

For two weeks, the Igoes camped out on the parade route, catching beads, eating, drinking and spending much needed and much missed time with friends and family. For those of you who have never experienced it, Mardi Gras for locals is not what you see on TV, it is not what you see on Bourbon Street.

Certainly, that exists, but where we watch the parades, towards the beginning, things are very family-oriented, and it is a one of a kind time in this city. In addition to the parades and parties, it is also worth noting that schools in the New Orleans area have the Mardi Gras week off, something not common across the country. This makes Mardi Gras a great time to travel, and this year, we took advantage.

Since our initial RV trip in 2018, I have been jonesing to get back to the Southwest, and it just so happens that three of America’s great National Parks are within an hour (or so’s) drive of El Paso. My wife and I did the research, booked an RV on Outdoorsy, packed up the kids, jumped on an airplane and headed out West.

I will say, first impressions of the area differ slightly from places like California or Minnesota. Frankly, when you arrive in east Texas, things are kind of reminiscent of the movie Traffic. Lots of small, crowded structures, dust and not a lot of green stuff. That’s alright, though; what doesn’t float my boat is a wonderful home for others, and we didn’t come for El Paso, we came due to the proximity.

We picked up a 32 foot RV, loaded up on groceries and drove an hour+ east to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. On the list of most frequently visited National Parks, Guadalupe is towards the south end; even most Texans I know haven’t been there. That said, it is certainly worth the trip (which National Park isn’t?)

We arrived late and spent the night in the Pine Springs Campground. This campground is RV friendly, although it has no hook ups of any kind. Frankly, it is simply a parking lot with RV-sized spots, but this worked for our purposes. It is also a few feet from one of the most popular trailheads, so it was a good place to start.

I want to mention at this point that if you are a stargazer, Guadalupe is a great place to be. When we shut everything down, we couldn’t see a light for miles that didn’t come from the heavens. The elevation, the distance from ambient light and the clear skies made for an amazing light show.

When we awoke the next morning, we gathered our things a headed up the Devil’s Hall Trail. This is one of the more popular trails in the park, and is also deceivingly strenuous. The first mile or so is a gradual incline up into the mountains, until a sharp downhill leads you into a wash that is only wet during the brief rainy season. We then spent the next three quarters of a mile jumping, crawling and climbing from boulder to boulder until we reached the end.

There were several times along the way when we (specifically the kids) wanted to give up and turn back, as it seems to be just the same thing over and over, but when you actually reach the end of the trail, you’ll understand why you came. The wash comes to a halt in what can only be described as a natural stairwell that leads up the side of the mountain. The picture does it more justice than do my words, but I strongly suggest you stick this one out until.

When we finally made it back, we ate and asked a park ranger how he thought we should kill the afternoon. He was not super helpful, but suggested the Smith Springs Trail, which also goes by Manzanita Springs. It was only a 2.3 mile loop, so we decided to give it a go.

The first spring, Manzanita, is only about half a mile in, and is about as impressive as a new pair of socks. Certainly better than an old pair, but not really worth going out of your way to see. The next mile was rough; uphill, in the sun, with nothing more than relatively barren landscape.

Again, we thought it might be time to turn back until we started to hear that wonderful sound, the trickle of water. When we reached Smith Springs, it all became worthwhile. The apex of this loop is a beautiful, hidden, shaded spring that brought us back to life just in time. The water was so cool and clear that I legitimately considered drinking it. It is funny how one great moment can make 2.3 miles totally worth it, and make the walk back down fly by.

There was one other trail in the park that looked interesting, the McKittrick Canyon Trail, but it was longer than we could manage, and we had only allotted one day to Guadalupe. We packed up Tess (the RV) and head northwest for Carlsbad Caverns.

One of the reasons we chose this trip was the proximity of the three parks to each other. The Caverns are less than an hour drive from Guadalupe Mountains, and that night, we stayed in an RV park in Whites City, Whites City RV Park.

If you search up this campground, you won’t find a website, only a phone number and only 2.5 stars in reviews. I found this place perfectly acceptable. When we arrived, it turned out that I had made the reservations for the wrong day, but they shifted things around and got us two nights with full hook ups. The site has few amenities and is pretty bare bones, but those of you who have traveled by recreational vehicle before know there are worse things. We grilled cheese pizzas that night (Ash Wednesday for you Catholics out there), got another wonderful view of the stars and hit the hay.

We got up early on Thursday and made our way into the park. We got our second passport stamp of the trip and headed into the cave. We had to book a reservation at Carlsbad prior to arrival on recreation.gov, but it was not difficult to get. This cave is a really cool experience, and definitely different from a cave like Mammoth.

One can take an elevator down into the heart of the cave, but you miss out on the really cool experience of the long trek into the darkness. We decided to take the one mile hike down into the cave, and then do the additional 1.2 mile stroll through the Big Room. It is hard to really describe this cave, other than to say it is awesome.

Carlsbad has every type of cave feature you might want: stalagmites, stalactites, popcorn, ledges, bottomless pits and on and on and on. I love caves, so this was one of my favorite parts of the trip, but I am not so sure about the rest of the family. While everyone thought it was really impressive, the cave’s accessibility was significantly limited by COVID. Carlsbad normally offers a dozen or more different guided tours, but because of the virus, all that was available was the self-guided tour of the Big Room. For me, it was totally worth it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again if anyone else was interested.

We did not have definite plans for the afternoon, but felt like we had exhausted what was available with half a day in Carlsbad. We had planned to spend another night in Whites City and visit Sitting Bull Falls the following day, but we decided to maximize our time and head into Lincoln National Forest.

The drive to Sitting Bull Falls is beautiful and desolate. It took over an hour to get there from Carlsbad, and for the majority of it, there was not another car in sight. When we arrived at the recreation area, I was shocked to find a pretty well developed site and several other visitors.

If you are in this area, Sitting Bull Falls is can’t-miss. It is a hidden oasis in an arid environment where you can hike, picnic and even swim. The hike to the top of the falls is strenuous, but only about a quarter of a mile, and I strongly recommend it. The top of the falls is amazing, and you can wade in and out of the pools and climb on the rocks that define this wonderful area.

At the bottom of the falls, there is a well-developed viewing area that leads to the base, where you can swim and explore all the way to fall itself. It was too cold for us to do more than wade, but even so, this was an unexpected and fantastic addition to our adventure.

Because we had just a bit of extra time, we decided to make the long drive to the northwest and visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. I have always been fascinated by cliff dwellings but never gotten to visit one before. It was about a five hour drive, and actually took us past our next destination, but we figured it was better to use the time, rather than hang out in an RV park.

Side note, the drive to Gila (pronounced Heela) took us through Cloudcroft, NM. I only mention this because it was one of the most unusual and beautiful parts of our trip. When we drove through Cloudcroft, it felt like we were entering Brigadoon; it felt like we’d arrived in a ski resort pulled from a Bing Crosby movie. Keep in mind this was March, there was snow on the ground everywhere. There were adorable shops, restaurants, a brewery. I wished that we had the time to stop and explore, but I got the impression that if we had, we would never leave. Who knew such a place existed in southwest New Mexico.

After we escaped the lure, we finished the long drive at a KOA just outside Silver City (birthplace of Billy the Kid). Whenever we RV, the kids are always thrilled when we can stay at a KOA. They usually have the best amenities, this one did not disappoint (hook ups, arcade, shop, showers). We woke early the next day and finished the treacherous drive up to Gila, and were thrilled with what we found.

These well-preserved dwellings date back to the 1200s and while only occupied for a short period of time, are really impressive. The hike up is beautiful, and the views from the outside are really inspiring. That said, and Alyson agreed, actually being inside the dwellings is just sort of ‘meh’. The coolest part is viewing the homes set into the side of a mountain from the outside, but when you are actually in them, it just feels like any other old hut. I am really happy we added this excursion though, an 800 year old mountain retreat is really something to behold.

Our turn around was quick and abrupt, and we headed back southwest towards White Sands National Park. Just outside of Alomogordo, NM, this is one of the countries newest National Parks, and it is legitimately like no place I have ever seen before. We spent that night in, you guessed it, a KOA and made our way to the park early the next day.

We stopped at the Visitors Center, got our passports stamped and bought two saucers and some wax. I suppose I should elaborate. One of the main activities in White Sands is dune sledding, and the facilities are more than happy to provide the supplies.

An interesting thing about this gypsum covered wonderland, the park is hundreds upon hundreds of acres, surrounded by a government missile testing site, but visitors have access to only about 0.4%. In that 0.4%, you’ll get to see a world unlike any other. It almost feels like you’ve stepped onto another planet, until your one year old steals your sled and zips down a dune when you’re not paying attention.

My eldest daughter was super excited about sledding, but when you first start, you need to be sure that your expectations are tempered. The first time down the hill is slow and plodding, but the more you go down, the more the sand gets packed and the faster you’ll get.

Sledding is the primary activity in this area, and beyond that, there is actually not a ton to do. There are several trails, but none of them are long, and evidently, multiple people get lost and actually die every year, as everything looks the same. We found White Sands to be a great place to sled, to picnic and just experience something few people ever see.

At this point, we decided that the kids needed a break from the outdoors, and took them to Rocket City. This is a combination bowling alley, laser tag, arcade, oh, and it has a bar. It was nice to give the kids a break, bowl a few frames (my high was 143) and let them play a few video games. This trip was a very outdoors-heavy trip, and giving them a break really added to all of our enjoyments.

Aside from the sledding, the one thing that you shouldn’t miss at White Sands is the sunset. Every night, visibility-allowing, the park puts on a sunset stroll where a ranger (or in this case, an intern) leads a group out into the dunes, discusses the park and watches the sun drop. I have seen a lot of sunsets in 40 years (believe it or not), I am not sure any can compare to this. All I can do is ask you to look at that picture up top, and tell me if I’m wrong.

We spent that night in the KOA and woke up with the baby the next morning. Before leaving the White Sands area, we had breakfast at a classic diner called the Waffle and Pancake Shoppe. Food wasn’t a major part of our itinerary this trip, but this restaurant was awesome. Very old-school, mom and pop, there was already a wait when we arrived at 8 am on a Sunday. The staff moves people in and out so well, whilst still providing really high quality food, that we were out by 9. It was by far the best meal we had all week.

From there, we drove back into El Paso and stopped at the Chamizal National Memorial. This site had little to do with our travel intentions, but it does have a spot in the passport books, and since we had time before our flight, we figured why not?

This site commemorates an agreement between the United States and Mexico over a disputed area along the border. It is kind of cool, and the grounds would make for a nice event venue, but frankly, of all the National Park Service sites we have visited, this one may have been the most ‘blah’.

We dropped off the RV, hopped on board a plane and headed back to New Orleans. It is nice to get away from the city after Mardi Gras, but it was far from a relaxing trip. This was the type of vacation that it feels like requires a follow up vacation. If you are big on National Parks, heading out to El Paso is a great option, and these three parks are ones best visited during the colder times of the year. While I cannot give you a lot of recommendations for El Paso itself, I definitely recommend visiting Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands.

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Escaping Texas for the Glades, Bays and Big Cypress

It is a well-known fact that New Orleans is a hot-bed for Mardi Gras activity. Every year prior Lent, the city ramps up with balls, parades and parties. Unfortunately, almost all of this was cancelled in 2021 due to COVID, but it didn’t put a damper on the cities lesser-known holiday celebration. Almost every school in the city has the entire week off, so for New Orleanians, this is a great time to travel.

Since the rest of the world is at work and school, places like Disney World and Vale are far less crowded than usual. This year, we decided to join in the fun, and head to a state that has instituted very few COVID restrictions, Florida.

Since I was young, I have been fascinated by the Everglades. The endless rivers of grass, the crocodiles and the manatees have always seemed really unique, and when the opportunity arose, we decided to pull the trigger.

Alyson and I set to planning, and as I have said before, I find planning to be almost, but not quite, as much fun as the actual trip. We decided to leave on Ash Wednesday, and spend three full days in south Florida. In addition to the Everglades, Biscayne National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve are in the area. In terms of hitting National Parks, south Florida was a great option. We are still dying to get to places like Acadia and Isle Royale, but February is not really the right time to go so far north. It is also worth mentioning that the Dry Tortugas is in the same area, but that requires an extensive amount of planning that we did not have time to pull off.

So the plan was to leave, as a family, on Wednesday, but mother nature threw us a nasty curve ball. Alyson and Clara went to San Antonio the weekend prior to visit Alyson’s mom, just in time for a freak winter storm that shut down most of Texas for almost an entire week. They were supposed to fly home on Sunday, but the flight got cancelled. The same continued for the next several days, constantly scheduling and rescheduling flights.

As Wednesday approached, we had to decide how to move forward. Instead of flying back to New Orleans, Alyson and Clara got flights into Miami. Unfortunately, they could not get there until Friday, but we decided that the rest of us should go and move forward with what we had planned.

Eileen, Jonathan and I landed on Wednesday night, picked up our rental car and drove to a Hampton Inn in Homestead, Florida, just outside of the Everglades. There are not a lot of places to stay within the park, but Homestead is really close by. On Wednesday morning, we got up early and headed into the park. The Everglades has multiple visitors centers, and our first stop was the Flamingo.

From here, we set out on a back country boat tour hosted by Flaming Adventures. This took us into the interior of the Everglades water ways, where we saw lots of birds, fish and a few crocodiles. It is worth noting that the Everglades is the only place on Earth where you can find both alligators and crocodiles.

That said, of all the things we did, I think we all agreed this was our least favorite. It was fun, but the way out and way back took the same route, and it got a little boring. However, once we got back to the visitors’ center, a ranger took us out to a spot in the marina where an 11 foot crocodile lives. Then he took us around the dock, where a mother and baby manatee were swimming. This is pretty much what we came for, so getting to see these rare American animals on Day 1 was fantastic.

That afternoon, we drove from the southern tip of the park all the way to the northern end, to Shark Valley. If you are wondering why it is called Shark Valley, as there are no sharks there, so is everyone else. Evidently, this watershed feeds into the Shark River, thus named by a Spanish conquistador due to all the bull sharks present at the time of arrival. It would far more aptly be named Gator Valley.

At the Shark Valley Visitors’ Center, the kids stamped their passports, and we hopped aboard the Shark Valley Tram Tour. This is a ranger led tour that goes along a 15 mile paved road deep into the heart of the Everglades. On the way out, the ranger assured us that we would see more gators on the way back, so there was no reason to stop for everyone.

She was spot on. On the way out, we probably saw half a dozen alligators, but we also spotted birds of probably thirty different species, and the ranger was able to educate us on all different aspects of the park.

At the half way point, there is an old tower that you can climb which offers a 360 degree view of the park. From this view, you cannot see a single building, just a see of grass as far as the eye can see. Out of everything we did, this moment was the most breath-taking.

On the back half of the loop, we probably spotted another thirty alligators, including a group of at least a dozen babies. You might not think it possible, but even alligator babies are cute.

That evening, the kids swam in the pool at our Hampton Inn, and we ate at a Chili’s. For this, I blame my wife. Had she not been stuck in Texas, she would have found a better option. I have discovered that I make the mistake of eating a Chili’s about every three years, and every three years, I remember why it has been so long.

On Day 2, we awoke early and headed for the western edge of the park, which borders the Gulf of Mexico. At this stage, my wife’s next flight, supposed to arrive that noon, had gotten cancelled, but the good news was that she was on a flight to Baltimore. From there, she was set to join us at about 10 pm in Miami.

In the meantime, we took another boat excursion called the Ten Thousand Island Tour. This adventure explored a vast set of islands, some that can be camped upon, off the west coast of Florida. The tour was far more quite exciting than that of the previous day. The guide was able to locate several dolphins, and after a few tries, succeeded in getting them to trail and flip in the wake of the boat. We also saw countless birds, including several Magnificent Frigatebirds and one Bald Eagle.

We ate lunch at the Island Cafe in Everglades City, which, to be frank, is nothing special. It was a Friday in Lent, and they had fried seafood, so it is hard to be too critical. From there, we drove back the way we came to one of the two Big Cypress Visitors’ Centers to get our passport stamps, and headed into the preserve.

It is hard to really mark a difference between the Everglades and Big Cypress, but I guess I can say that Big Cypress was less water and more passable land. That said, the are is quite swampy, and definitely distinct from the Glades in its own way.

In the early afternoon, we met a guide from Big Cypress Swamp Tours, who took us on a buggy tour through the park. This was the tour that I was looking forward to the most. We boarded a very unique, six-wheeled, two-story vehicle that rolled through the soggy, bumpy ‘paths’ checking out the local wildlife.

In addition to the guide being great, filled with great information and local color, we were able to see gators, birds, snakes and the ever-so-rare white-tailed deer. The guide also noted that he saw a black bear a few days prior, and in his six years, had seen a panther seven times. Having done a good bit of research, I cannot think of a better way to have experienced Big Cypress than this type of tour.

That night, we swam again and ate at Mamma Mia’s Pizza in Homestead. It wasn’t the greatest pizza I have ever had, but I have no complaints. And again, mozzarella sticks and cheese pizza hit the spot on a Friday night in Lent.

From there, we crossed our fingers and headed for the Miami airport. Lo and behold, only 45 minutes late, my wife and my 7 month old emerged from the baggage claim, and our family was together again. While Eileen, JR and I had been having fun, there was definitely something missing, and it was very gratifying to have our family made whole again.

We had one more day to make the most of our trip, and primarily, to give Alyson and Clara a good experience, one great day. After getting breakfast at the hotel, we headed for another of south Florida’s National Parks, Biscayne. This park is over 90% water, so we booked another boat tour, this one provided by the Biscayne National Park Institute. We took the Heritage of Biscayne Cruise, which took us to several different islands.

At the furthest end of the tour, we disembarked and toured an island with an old lighthouse, an old church, and a really cool, almost hidden trail. The island is called Boca Chita Key, and if you leave the recreation area and go behind the old garage, there is a semi-enchanted entrance to a really cool trail. Less than a 20 minute loop, there is a tiny, hidden beach that would be a great place for a picnic. As you progress, there’s a place where you have to cross an old, broken down bridge. You do have to get wet here, but it was fun, and an adventure that the big kids thought was really exciting.

From there, we headed back to the Everglades. This was not the initial plan, but since Clara and Alyson had not been to the park yet, we did not want to leave without giving them the experience. It was a bit of drive, but we decided to head back to the Flamingo Visitors’ Center to try to see the wildlife. We were lucky enough to see the big crock again, and this time, a whole herd of manatees.

Following that, we drove to the east end of the park to the two best walking trails available. We combined the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails, for about a total of 1.5 miles. These two trails were great, and really provide unique, well-rounded cross-sections of the Everglades.

On the way back to the hotel, we found the Miami Brewing Company. The beer was typical, and the food was nothing to go into detail about, but it was a great, relaxing way to end our vacation. We flew home the next day, and the long saga of getting my wife and infant out of Texas had finally come to an end.

For the National Park lovers our there, I highly recommend this trip, and if you have time, to add the Dry Tortugas. We plan to get there someday soon, it simply wasn’t in the cards for this trip. That aside, getting the full experience of the Everglades was great. This is a truly unique park that offers so multiple, startling ecosystems. I will say that it is not quite as awe-inspiring as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, but it is a piece of Americana that everyone should experience.

I also learned that a family vacation is not the same without the entire family. Eileen, JR and I were all just a little heartbroken that we were experiencing these parks without Alyson and Clara. I am really not sure what we can do differently in the future to keep this from happening, but hopefully, none of us will ever miss out on our family adventures again.