4th of July!

We've had a lot of rain for the past week. There's been a lot of flooding in areas, but the usually brown desert is looking greener than I've ever seen it. Quite a contrast from only a few weeks ago when the temperatures were constantly in the 100's. It's only the beginning of July, so we realize the hot triple digit temperatures will be back all too soon, but we took advantage of the cooler days and decided to go hiking.

Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in TX, at 8.700 feet. Only ten miles south of NM, we decided to head south for the 4th of July. The trail is 8.4 miles long (round trip) and you gain a heart pumping 3000 feet. Since the weather was supposed to be cloudy most of the day, and cook (low 80's) we decided to take the hike.

Shortly after we began the hike, the cloud cover diminished and the blue skies began to welcome us. To be honest, I would have preferred the clouds, at least for the first mile or so which feels like it's straight up! Despite the obvious change in weather, we continued onward and upward.

It didn't take long before we had great views all around us. To the east, you could see the plains of TX, to the west, the mountains of Guadalupe National Park, and to the north you could almost make out Carlsbad, NM. The hike up took us almost three hours. Near the top we noticed thousand upon thousands of lady bugs! Never saw so many in my life!

Here are a few of the pictures. Notice the blue skies... By the time we finished it must have been close to 90 degrees, but we did make it to the top - our second summit of 2010!!! :-)


John and I at the top of Guadalupe Peak.


Looking towards the south and a view of El Capitan.


The view to the north.


Another view from the peak.


The hike down took about two hours - tough on the knees and thighs. John has a couple of blisters on his heals. Other than that it was a great hike and a memorable 4th of July. Hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July.

More soon.

VAL & JOHN