We visited the North Rim of The Grand Canyon back in 2012 during the summer monsoon season.  We enjoyed watching the storms travel across the canyon. It was cold evenings and mornings at the North Rim in August, so we anticipated cool weather  at the South Rim in November. We had reservations to tent camp for 3 nights, but as we watched the weather forecast, the stars were not aligning for camping: Snow with lows in the teens and highs in the low 30s. We cancelled our camping reservations and splurged on a room in one of the lodges at the park, and boy were we glad we did! It was cold; bitter, bone chilling cold. I imagine that we enjoyed our visit to the South Rim in November, with relatively few visitors much more than we would the hustle and bustle of the summer months; despite the bitter cold.

The cold was quite the shock to our systems, as we were just hiking in Tucson the day before with temps in the high 80s. We had planned to visit the western side of Saguaro NP in the morning before heading to the Grand Canyon, but had decided to head north early because of the weather predictions. We first encountered rain, followed by a wintry mix, before reaching snow near Flagstaff.  We past 3 accidents on I-17, we took it slow, and were glad we left early.

Magnificent and imposing in appearance, size, or style; this is the definition of grand. What a fitting name for this certainly magnificent canyon. It is mind boggling to ponder the amount of force and time required to sculpt this imposing masterpiece. The rocks continuously change color as the light moves across them. The play of light and shadow continues until the night falls and stars twinkle in the sky. It is grand indeed.

We had hoped to do some hiking within the canyon, but alas, the trails leading down were covered with ice and I’m not up for that kind of risk. We hiked along the rim. The shuttle system makes it easy to hike from one location to another, and return via shuttle. We saw plenty of elk during our visit. Our last evening we were walking to go eat dinner and a heard of elk appeared very close to us, with the young elk running and playing. An older elk took the lead and led the heard across the road…on the railroad track. It was fun to watch traffic stop as 20 or more elk cross the street on the railroad track.

Saguaro National Park is divided into two sections; the eastern Rincon Mountain District and the western Tucson Mountain District. The two districts are separated by the city of Tucson. We had planned to visit both sides, but only made it to the eastern Rincon District. Our next stop was the Grand Canyon, and snow was expected, so we decided to head out early and give ourselves plenty of time to make the commute in the daylight. The park protects the largest variety of cactus in the U.S., the Giant Saguaro. The Saguaro can live for 150 years, grow over 40 feet tall, and weigh in at over a ton. Let me say that pictures do not do these giants justice, they are huge. If you are a fan of desert landscapes and flora, I highly suggest taking yourself to Arizona to experience these giants in real life. Be prepared if you plan to take off for a hike in the cactus forest. It was hot here in November and the trail system is a bit confusing. We ended up hiking twice the distance we intended and barely made it back to the trailhead before dark. My advice is to hike early in the day and bring plenty of water with you.

In Northwest Texas, not far from both the Mexican and New Mexican borders, lies Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The park was once underwater and is an example of a Permian reef. Natural springs support a riparian woodland in McKittrick Canyon, and we were there just in time for peak fall color. There are not a lot of roads in this park, so to really see it, you must take off on foot or saddle up. I would love to return to explore more of this beautiful park. We saw a heard of javelina along the road on the way to the trailhead. One day I will own a second camera and a decent telephoto lens, so I can better capture wildlife. For now, I make do with what I have.

I’m not sure if I have mentioned before in my posts, that in our travels thus far, we have not yet found a place we love so much that we want to give up our ramblin’. That said, we have found a few places that we are pretty darn sure we never want to live…namely, Oklahoma. On our journey west back in March, a rock hit my windshield, cracking it. On our journey back home in October, again in OK, another cracked windshield. Coincidence? Maybe. A sign to stay away from this cursed land plagued with tornados, earthquakes, and who knows what type of toxins leached into the water from all the drilling for black gold. Heed taken. The point of this ramble is that I decided to find a route back west from Memphis that did not involve driving through Oklahoma. I started my research and found that if we drove through Texas, we could see 3 more national parks on our way back; Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, and Saguaro. This route would obviously add miles and time to the trip back, but we had time and were under budget for the trip, so why not? Sold!

While we avoided Oklahoma, the drive through Dallas/ Fortworth (where one ends and the other begins, I could not tell) was awful. Another place I never want to live. We made it through and stayed the night in Abilene to get some rest and head out early to Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. We stayed in Whites City, a tiny town just at the entrance of Carlsbad Caverns and about 30 min from Guadalupe Mountains NP. We made it to the caverns by late morning and hiked in and out of the cave through the natural entrance. After the hike we rested and waited for the bats to leave the cave for the evening. They do not allow any electronic devices to be used during the bat flight, so there are no photos of that. It was an awesome experience watching them fly away into the setting sun.

Ah, New Mexico. We had been looking forward to making it here. Not for the scenic beauty, the quaint towns, the architecture, the art, the insanely good food; although all of that is awesome, we were meeting up with friends. Friends we had not seen in over 6 months and missed terribly. We spent 3 nights in Taos, 3 in Santa Fe, and 2 in Albuquerque with them, and it went by all too quickly. We changed gears and did less hiking and sightseeing than usual, and enjoyed the company of good friends with plenty of chili! In New Mexico, there are dilemmas at every meal; red or green?  I generally prefer the red, but occasionally I find the green is exceptional. If you can’t decide, you can order your dish “Christmas” and try them both. Vegetarians – always ask your server if their chili is vegetarian. The red is most places, but the green is filled with chunks of pork at many. Sorry to linger on the subject of chili (it’s hard not to), I’ll move on.

We stayed in a home in Taos that was built in the 1800’s and is on the National Historic Record. It was awesome! This is one of the top places we have ever stayed, full of character. It was walking distance to the plaza, so the cars stayed parked and we walked off some of the chili we were eating! We enjoyed looking at antiques, textiles, jewelry, and art. The weather was perfect, and the company top notch. We visited the Rio Grande Gorge, Taos Pueblo, Ghost Ranch (an inspiration to Georgia O’Keeffe), and the town of Cerrillos (famous for turquoise and vampires). We found a few cool places along the way, such as a gas museum that was full of cool, old stuff ranging from rusty to pristine. This was our second trip to New Mexico this year, and I can see how it could become a habit!

We began this portion of the trip in Durango Colorado. We boarded the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, taking the steam locomotive on a route through the San Juan National Forrest that originally opened in 1882. The railroad was originally used to transport gold and silver mined in the mountains. Today, it transports people interested in the history and beauty of the area. The track runs along the Animas River, crossing it 5 times. The Animas River made the news just a little over a month before our visit. 3 million gallons of toxic waste from an inactive gold mine was spilled into the river, turning it orange, affecting over 100 miles of river. The irony of this, is that it was the Environmental Protection Agency that caused the spill, attempting to clean up an old mine that they knew to be high risk. During our trip the rocks at edges of the river were orange, but the water appeared normal.

The San Juan Mountains are gorgeous. A trip to Silverton is like taking a trip back in time. It is a quaint town with rich history, surrounded by majestic mountains. We loved it here and plan to return. On our return trip, we plan to make it there during summer, to allow more opportunity for hiking. We also plan to explore more of the San Juans, heading north to Ouray and Telluride.