A Side Trip to Texas

Today we decided to cross the border and head to Texas to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We left Carlsbad sometime around 9:00am and made the 50 mile drive in about 45 minutes. Traffic was light and it was a good drive. Before we headed to the park we stopped for a letterbox. The clue for Love This Spot #24 by Road Junkies is just a photo with a heart marking the location of the box. Under the photo it says "(Map location is precise.)" and if you use the 'View Map' button on Atlas Quest it shows the exact location of the box - pretty neat. So we made our stop and I easily found the box. It is planted up on a hill and the area is pretty exposed. This morning in the Guadalupe Mountains it was 45° and really windy. So stamping in was kind of a challenge - it was hard keeping things from blowing away. But I finally got everything done and got the box back in place.

Now we could head to the Pine Springs Visitor Center and check out Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We arrived at the Visitor Center and I got my National Park Passport Stamps and then I looked around the gift shop and picked up some postcards, a patch and a pin. Then I talked with a Ranger about the park, got my unigrid and then asked for the Senior Ranger Booklet. I found a place to sit and looked through the booklet to see what sections I needed to fill out. First, we watched the short information video (which helped me to answer the questions in the Slideshow Sleuth section) and then we used the map on the unigrid, the exhibit in the Visitor Center, The Pinery Trail and the Rangers to answer the questions in the rest of the sections. Besides the Slideshow Sleuth section there are also the following sections in the Senior Ranger booklet . . . Map Work, Where Am I?, Just Outside the Visitor Center Doors, Critters, What is that Plant?, For Your Information,  and Completion. The booklet also includes information sections. There is Beginnings which includes Safety Always Comes First with information on how to stay safe while in the park. Then there is What's Involved which talks a little about hikes in the park and what it takes to complete the Senior Ranger Program. There is a list for Shorter Visits where you have to hike one trail, watch the 12 minute video and complete three of the sections in the booklet. Then for Longer Visits you have to complete the requirements in the Shorter Visits list plus watch the 7 minute video at McKittrick Canyon Contact Station and you can substitute  the activities with other challenges like a FYI Trivia, a GPS find in the McKittrick Canyon area, do some bird watching and recording or attend a ranger led program. Also in the booklet are some Chihuahuan Desert Fun Facts and a list of all the hikes in the park. When I completed all the activities in the booklet I returned to the Visitor Center and talked with a Ranger about the information in the booklet, the took the Senior Ranger pledge and got my Senior Ranger patch. The Ranger also gave me the Junior Ranger badge and signed my certificate. This is the second Senior Ranger program I have completed and I have also completed some Junior Ranger programs.

These are the programs I have completed . . .
Great Sand Dunes Junior Ranger Program
Centennial Junior Ranger Program
Historic Preservation Junior Ranger Program
Gila Cliff Dwellings Senior Ranger Program
Boston African American Junior Ranger Program
Boston National Historical Park Junior Ranger Program
Guadalupe Mountains Senior Ranger Program

I learned about the Junior and Senior Ranger programs from a letterboxing friend - Desert Flower. She has a blog called Junior Ranger - Senior Friendly Programs (Exploring the National Parks for all Ages). She has completed quite a few of the programs and writes about them. I found that her blog is very helpful and the Junior and Senior Ranger programs help me learn more about the parks.

While I was working on the Senior Ranger booklet I was also trying to find the signs I needed for Azroadie's Guadalupe Mountians Park Webbox. I found the signs and got the words I needed so I could enter them into the URL. So while at the main Visitor Center we watched the video, looked at the exhibits, talked with Rangers, walked the Pinery Trail, read about the Butterfield Stage and completed the Senior Ranger Program. So we headed for the car and talked about what we wanted to do next. It was almost 1:00pm and we were getting hungry but we were considering visiting the McKittrick Canyon area. In the end we decided to head back to Carlsbad to get something to eat. It has been a busy few days and we decided that getting something to eat and the going back to the hotel to rest a little.

We arrived in Carlsbad and found something for a late lunch and then we headed back to the hotel. By this time it was almost 4:00pm. We got a few things packed and I got some things ready that I wanted to get done on our way home. I logged in some things and got this post done. Now I think I will do some reading and hopefully get to bed early.