National Parks

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.

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 the weather is finally changing and with the warmer temperatures our wanderlust is kicking back into gear. winter months had us taking small day trips but the bulk of our weekends were spent cuddled up at home dreaming of summer. 

with an original plan to roll out at midnight, excitement kept us from sleeping and we ended up hitting the road at nine. driving through the darkness the sun began to rise just as we were in the lincoln national forest, in the distance we spotted a massive white spot in the middle of a sea of brown; white sands national monument.

 we've been to the sand dunes out in west texas before, but we weren't prepared for what lay ahead of us upon entering the park. miles and miles of bright white sand dunes, looking like rolling hills covered with a light dusting of snow. driving further our minds started playing tricks on us, with the morning clouds still hanging low it was impossible to tell where the dunes ended and the sky started. 

a saturday, especially the first weekend of spring break, usually means very crowded parks. white sands is so vast that you can easily walk an extra hundred yards into the dunes and escape everyone into a sea of gypsum that goes on for miles with a hazy, almost unreal, mountain backdrop. 

in our travels we'll sometimes go to a park and know that exploring it once is enough, sometimes we end up going back because it's close or we want to show a friend, not an hour into our drive home we were already talking about going back to white sands in the future.

Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge

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with my better half up north visiting family in the snow globe that is new hampshire, i decided to venture out on my own. my last trip out of state was to louisiana back in september so i've been itching to see something new. looking at some maps of surrounding states i noticed a spot of green designating a park right over the border in oklahoma, wichita mountains national wildlife refuge. 

leaving at midnight i drove north through the dark and lonely highways for six hours, just me, my dogs and the full moon above. arriving at the refuge before sunrise i took in the bright comanche moon reflecting off an ice covered lake slowly setting behind a set of mountains while the sun began to rise over my shoulder. 

i drove the sun drenched roads of the park taking in the sights, pulling over and doing short hikes whenever i saw a trail marker. without a real plan i just meandered up and down the rolling hills passing grasslands, massive granite peaks and numerous man made lakes built by the civilian conservation corps between nineteen thirty-three and nineteen forty-one.

i was also on a mission to find and photograph some of the bison herd that call the refuge home. i am not usually one for wildlife photography, but the bison has an allure that i cannot escape. thunderous and steadfast these massive beasts exude the feeling and freedom of the west.

the park was empty for much of the morning, allowing me and the pups to roam free without having to worry about running into anybody while we explored. after six short hours in the wichita mountains we were headed back to texas and the rv's and minivans had just started to make their slow procession into the refuge. 


Big Bend National Park

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much like the end of two thousand twelve, the west was once again calling our names as this year came to an end. we had plans of finally visiting some of the national parks in california that we have yet to see, joshua tree, sequoia and kings canyon. but plans change; and what was supposed to be a week long trip got cut down to three days. 

we took this chance to finally start exploring the enormous national park out in west texas, big bend. one of the most remote and largest of all the national parks, big bend was always a little intimidating to us. hearing tales of its immense beauty and sheer size we always felt like we would need more than just a long weekend to fully enjoy the park. but with a thirst to explore something new we decided to make the eight hour drive.

 we have seen deserts, and we have seen mountains, but we have never seen them come together in such a perfect symbiosis. bone dry chihuahuan desert dirt roads with a view of the towering chisos mountains, all tied together with the mighty rio grande; it was awe inspiring and like nothing we had ever seen before. 

camping, early morning hikes, exploring the nearby ghost towns, tarantulas, driving the one hundred plus miles of roads running through the park, watching the sunset over the rio grande and rise again while sitting in a one hundred and five degree hot spring; we made the most of our few days in the park. 

admittedly i was a little disheartened when our original plans fell through, but now i am glad they did. much like the rest of my life, everything turns out for the best if you let it. a few days in big bend was exactly what my soul needed, and a great way to end two thousand and thirteen.  

LBJ National Historical Park

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the colder months are definitely a hindrance to getting out and seeing something new when we are confined to a days drive from austin. once the waters cool our places to go are basically cut down by at least half, if not more. in the summer heat it's easy, not sure where to go, head to the nearest swimming hole and you're set for the weekend. 

we've passed the lyndon b johnson national historical park numerous times in our travels but were always on our way somewhere further west, this weekend we finally made it the focal point of our day.

the day was spent wandering around the ranch, farm and historical buildings before heading a little further west to check out old tunnel state park.

Texas National Forests

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small towns and big trees lined the farm roads as we made our way through the national forests of east texas. most of our travels lead us west where the landscape goes from desert to red rocks and back again, beautiful scenery for sure, but all in different shades of brown. the green of the towering pines and the occasional yellow or orange spot of autumn foliage were a welcome change for the weekend.

we spent the day exploring davy crockett, sabine, and angelina forests before making a quick jaunt across the toledo reservoir into louisiana. even though taylor was feeling a bit under the weather, our plan was to find a spot to camp in one of the forests. but after six hours in the car we decided that sleeping in a tent in the chilly fall air would be a little too much. 

so we turned right around and headed home. twelve hours of driving for a few hours of exploring may seem like a little much to some, but we enjoyed every second of it.

Southern Louisiana

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bayous, cajun country, gators, catfish, fan boats, and giant mosquitos, we made our first venture into louisiana this past weekend.  

we made a last minute decision friday night to make the drive east to the creole state, and hit the road early saturday morning. with no plan and no destination in mind we just drove.

the back roads of louisiana took us along the gulf coast, through the bayous and swamp lands of the sabine and lacassine national wildlife refuges and through the fields full of sugar cane. driving along a levee road well after sundown, the atchafalaya river on one side and cypress trees on the other, we couldn't help but feel the eeriness in our bones. 

 and less then twenty four hours after crossing the state line from texas we were already headed back home. we have always thought of louisiana as a shadowy and supernatural land, and spending only a day in the bayou will keep it shrouded in mystery for now.

Amistad National Recreation Area

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this past weekend i celebrated my twenty sixth birthday with an overnight kayaking trip to the amistad national recreation area. 

 it has been exactly one year since the start of this little project we decided to call america y'all, and it's been a whirlwind thus far. what came about as just a way for us to document our lives and travels for ourselves has grown into more than we could have imagined.

the past twelve months flew by like the miles on our odometer and i don't think i would have changed a thing. weekend after weekend our trips never got old, we were constantly learning and growing as a couple and as individuals. even if it was a visit to a place we had been before we found a new way to explore and enjoy it.   

new friends, amazing trips and exciting opportunities have all come to fruition just through us doing what we enjoy. everything in the past year has happened organically, nothing forced, just what we've been doing all along; except now we bring a camera and a pen along with us on our travels.

"this had been a full, rich year. i have left no strange or delightful thing undone i wanted to do." everett ruess; 1934.

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National Park Road Trip - Day Nine

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day nine; guadalupe mountains national park. final stop.

after our time at carlsbad caverns we had two options, head home or check out the guadalupe mountains national park right over the border in texas. although we had read up a bit on this national park before it was not something we had planned on seeing during this trip, but with the day still young we decided to head back to the lone star state. the park is home to guadalupe peak, the highest point in texas. although there are a multitude of hikes throughout the mountains we knew that if we were going to do any of them it was going to be that one. 

we head into the ranger station to inquire about hiking the peak and doing some backcountry camping near the summit. the young ranger enthusiastically gave us all the details about the hike, took down our info and issued us our backcountry permits. staying in line with the rest of his chipper attitude he also informed us that there was a chance of severe thunderstorms that night. he brought up the radar on his computer and showed us the ominous looking mass coming in from the west, and ended the conversation with a dead serious, "we've had surveyors up there in some severe storms and they lived!"

exhausted from the hours and hours of driving, lack of caloric intake and nauseous from the extreme heat we left the station feeling torn, heed the weather warning and head home or take our chances and end this trip on top of texas. we drove around in the sweltering mid-day sun constantly checking the radar for any change in the weather, trying to figure out what to do. it would be a shame to end the trip feeling defeated, but we figured we weren't really prepared to deal with the wild weather that we could encounter at 8749 feet. 

while resting in the shade of an old tree on the side of the road we received a very inspirational email from our pal mike portugal. his words lifted us and gave us the energy and motivation our tired minds and bodies needed. we loaded up our packs and hit the trail.

starting on a trail filled with yucca, tumbleweeds and cacti we climbed towards the peak in the last remaining light of the day and found a place to set up our tent among the pines. 

we awoke early the morning among the clouds, packed up and hit the trail to finish the last mile to the peak. by the time we reached the summit the clouds were below us, almost completely blocking the view of the surrounding mountains below.

standing on the top of the world in the cold morning air, we finished this wild trip on a literal and figurative high note.

nine days, thirty five hundred miles, fourteen national parks and monuments.