11/18 Guadalupe Mountains, TX

I originally had planned to drive from Brantley Lake to Alamogordo through the mountains, due east of the state park.  However, it has been horribly windy the last couple of days, so I not only postponed my drive an extra day, but I did some research on my planned route and discovered that there was snow up there and even higher winds--40-60 MPH predicted--which was not my idea of a fun drive.

So, I decided when I left this morning to take the safer, but longer southern route through El Paso and then north to Alamogordo.  What I did not expect was the Guadalupe Mountains and the national park!  I had to go through a pass and it was really windy, but at least not snowy.  Anyway, I drove very slowly and the mountains were gorgeous!

This is the nice, empty road with the mountains in the distance.  Since I had headed south, I was now back in Texas.

By this point, I was at about 4,500 feet and climbing.  No gas for 130 miles, so glad I had filled up in Carlsbad.

Finally made it to the national park.  Summit is still about 10 miles away, but the winds got stronger and stronger.  They also were coming from the north instead of the south.  What was happening was that the winds were hitting the mountains and then heading back the other direction, even stronger.  It was definitely a white-knuckle drive trying to keep my motorhome going in a straight line.

This is Guadalupe Peak, the tallest mountain in Texas, at 8,749 feet.

The national park has a no-hookup, no sewer dump station, no much of anything campground, which is basically a parking lot with white stripes dividing it into campsites.  Not very fancy, but location, location, location!  The photos do not really show this area as they should, but it is really beautiful, so I will probably come back here someday for a few days.

Made it over the pass and the winds were a lot less.

Several scenic cuts through the mountains.

I love places where you can see far into the distance.

Stopped at a picnic area to take some more photos.

Since this is called Salt Flats, I assume it is salt and not sand, but very hard to tell.

Long, long road to El Paso.

Arrived at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park just in time to get parked and set up before dark.  It is so rushed during these short days when you have to drive.  Setting up in the dark is very difficult, even with help, because campgrounds are so darn dark!!