Hot damn it's HOT in Texas!  

We asked for heat and we're getting it!  But first, lets back track a bit...  

After enjoying a weekend of AMAZING food, cocktails and all-in-all very cool vibe of Santa Fe, we continued south.  We camped outside of Cloudcroft, a hip little mountain town (yes, a mountain town in New Mexico!) for two nights.  The cooler temperatures were appreciated, especially after a trip down to White Sands National Park, where temperatures averaged just over a hundred.  

White Sands was GORGEOUS!!!  

Imagine pulling into a ski area parking lot after a snow storm, where everything is covered in white.  That is exactly how it felt driving into White Sands Nat'l Park... except you're in New Mexico... in the desert... in the middle of nowhere.  

It was strange, bizarre and absolutely stunning.

Joe even got a little kite board practice in.  

From Cloudcroft, we headed east, through an epic rain/lightening storm, to Roswell.  And what else is there to do in Roswell but check out some aliens!  

The UFO Museum was hilarious and worth the extra few miles.  

From Roswell, we headed back south and found ourselves exploring the depths of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  The caves are much, MUCH larger than we anticipated.  They continue for miles.  The darkness was lit with perfectly placed light fixtures that almost seemed belonging.  It was damp, a little smelly and incredibly beautiful.  

After a great afternoon, we headed on down to Guadalupe National Park, on the Texas side of the New Mexico/Texas border, where we camped for the next two nights.  

Guadalupe is a relatively small national park with (surprisingly) ever-changing weather.  It almost felt tropical, with sunny mornings and stormy afternoons.  And when it rained... it rained HARD!  The kind of rain that almost hurts.  It was gorgeous.  

During the brief breaks of rain we managed to tend to the camper, who needed a little TLC.  Joe did a fantastic job fixing some minor damage caused by avoiding a near accident.

The next morning we headed out on a beautiful hike through the mountains.  The fog came and shifted around us and it tried to rain but managed to stay mostly dry.  We even got a little sunshine towards the end.  Perhaps the most exciting part of the hike was the family of mountain goats we encountered! 

After Guadalupe, we made the fairly long trek on down through West Texas to Big Bend National Park, along the Mexico border.  When they say West Texas is vast, sparse and hot with seemingly endless roads leading to what feels like nowhere... well, they're absolutely right.  And that is exactly the beauty of driving through West Texas.

Big Bend is an enormous park and is desert in every form.  We saw a rattlesnake, a coachwhip snake, a band of javelinas, roadrunners and numerous bizarre (and large) insects.  

The Rio Grande creates the southern boundary of the park, separating United States from Mexico.  It was our first time seeing Mexico at arms reach without crossing border checkpoints and rather surreal seeing a river you could simply walk across, stand in Mexico, yet be in serious trouble with our government if you do. 

The first and third nights were spent up in the mountains with fairly cool temperatures (high 80s), while the second night was spent down in the valley, along the river, at about 105 degrees.  You can imagine why we headed back to the hills.  We enjoyed two great hikes through the Chisos Mountains and attempted to relax in the famous hot springs (part of the Rio Grande) that were rather muddy and unpleasant.

We are proud to say that Big Bend was our seventeenth national park this summer! 

It has been a long trek through West Texas, but we will soon be in San Antonio and Austin.  We are looking forward to BBQ, Shiner Bock's and some serious country music!