2023.11.24 – Guadalupe Peak Weekend

11.24 (Day 603) – Drive to El Paso (Texas)

07:21 (Tarrant County) : Listening to my ‘4 the Soul’ playlist and feeling the energy of leaving the ‘plex. All these songs are candidates for framing my perspective and motivation. I just hope my knees comply.

08:11 (Palo Pinto County) : First stop out of the city and although a city type cache. It still felt different. Maybe it’s the cow sculptures.

08:40 (Erath County) : This smokestack stands with historical presence and on top of a reserve that I hope we don’t have to use. In my eyes, a cleaner environment is better for our longevity, especially on those things we control.

09:14 (Eastland County) : The parking area had several cars and crossing the road came without incident.

09:46 (Callahan County) : Here the gates were locked so I had to walk in the crisp morning air. arlingtontrains7 is one of my favorite hiders and they did not disappoint.

10:42 (Taylor County) : I bypassed Abilene for a cemetery in a smaller town. Glad I did as I felt a sense of eerie welcome with the resting. Cache was on the ground, and I spotted on my second spin around the tree.

11:14 (Nolan County) : I stopped in Sweetwater for fuel, snacks, and a geocache.

11:47 (Mitchell County) : The cache name Lone Wolf Drive-In theater | GC51HNY offered the possibility of an old screen standing the test of time. However, there was just an open field.

12:40 (Howard County) : Made the drive up and around, enjoying a unique West Texas view. Found a place to park about 100 feet from ground zero. Found the answer easily and took the following photo.

13:09 (Martin County) : Sometimes these quick on and off the interstate geocaches are the best!

13:51 (Midland County) : Stopped in because I enjoyed this cache before in my previous GeoLife. I tried searching for my signature and was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, I added my signature and moved on. Still a good geocache.

14:40 (Ector County) : The Odessa Meteor Center is more of a gimmick than a stop with substance. The crater is not as impressive today. But imagine seeing parts of space crashing into earth real time scares me to death! With that in mind, I bought a post card and a penny.

15:13 (Ward County) : The hint did not match the location. Still, a smiley is a smiley. Neat meeting place.

16:20 (Reeves County) : This parking area has artful picnic areas representative of the region. I watched for crawlers on my way to the cache.

16:49 (Jeff Davis County) : TXOilGas has been gone for a while now and the game has changed some since then. Always good to find one he originally placed.

16:34 (Culberson County) : I crossed over to Mountain Standard Time and the wind feels chilly. Nice train and background.

17:04 (Hudspeth County) : I was searching for geocaches in the area and a bunch of crap appeared. I was glad the caboose had a well placed, well rated geocache.

19:21 (El Paso County) : I knew I had to make a Walmart stop and so I stopped at the one where a guy who lived up the road from me drove the same distance. Except, I got the supplies for the next day, found a geocache and went to bed.

11.25 (Day 604) – Guadalupe Peak Day

06:19 (Leaving El Paso): I slept with doubt, then woke up certain.

08:00 (Guadalupe Mountains National Park) : I arrived and was surprised that as a Veteran, I get a lifetime pass to all the National Parks! So, I bought a beanie and a coin.

08:19 (Guadalupe Mountains National Park) : I started my ascension. 10 years ago, I did this climb with my buddy WadeMercer and evidently forgot or chose not to remember how much of a climb this was. I had better knees then too.

13:39 (Guadalupe Peak) : I made it! Spectacular views! It was freezing up there, so not long after arriving, a nice lady took my photo (thanks ma’am), and I started my descension.

18:00 (Guadalupe Mountains National Park) : As I was making my way down, this group of Irishmen were ascending in shorts and t-shirts. I joked with them about how this is summer to them. Well, I don’t think they stayed up there long because they passed me not too much longer. A few minutes later, they were resting in an area blocking the wind, where I declared, “Don’t let me beat you down.” They laughed! Of course, not long after, they are behind me and as I step aside, all 8 of them gave me a fist bump. It was difficult for me to get down with all the loose rocks and steep decline, but those boys made my day. Every Guinness, I have I’ll be reminded of them. Hope they do well in life.