Crazy Things Ed Does While Pat Watches!

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 4)

Our Wild West Wandering continued early on a Sunday morning as we began the long drive to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far west Texas. We were thankful for Ed’s successful return from Mexico and for the pleasant temperatures while we were dry camping in Big Bend. We even had a couple heavy rain showers the evening before we left.

Marfa, Home of Mystery Lights and More

Our route took us past Marfa, TX, a remote and rather interesting west Texas town.

A few miles outside of town there is a rest stop and viewing area for the Marfa lights. The lights, visible on many clear nights across the Chihuahuan Desert near Marfa, appear in various colors as they move about, split apart, melt together, disappear and reappear.

^{Photos of Marfa lights (Google)}

The Apache believed the lights were stars dropping to the earth. In 1883, a young cowboy reported seeing them, thinking they might be campfires. Since then, there have been many speculations – UFOs, ranch house lights, vehicle headlights, St Elmo’s fire, and so on. The lights mystery remains unsolved.

Our arrival was in the morning, so the only light we saw was from the sun. Perhaps we’ll do a nighttime visit on a future trip.

Marfa, although a very small town, is known for its arts community and several renowned restaurants. There are galleries, murals and artwork throughout the town and on highways approaching the town.

Standup murals on the edge of town depict several famous western movies

Another Marfa art creation is made from shipping containers…helped by a tornado, perhaps?

About 40 miles west of Marfa (we thought it was in town) there is a Prada store. Similar to world’s smallest Buc-ees we came across east of Marfa (No Gas Pumps. No Brisket. Buc-ees?), the small building, containing shoes, handbags and other items, is an art project modeled after a Prada boutique. It doesn’t function as a place of commerce – the front door can’t be opened.

Reflections in the Prada Store window west of Marfa

Space, The Final Frontier

That afternoon we spotted a cluster of buildings several miles to the east. A highway sign indicated it was the Blue Origin launch facility, where Amazon’s New Shepard rockets are launched to the edge of space. From this location, William Shatner, Jeff Bezos, Katy Perry and others have been launched for a 66-mile-high view of earth.

Blue Origin’s remote launch facilities near Van Horn, Texas

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Looming ahead was Guadalupe Mountain, an 8751-foot-high peak that is part of a mountain range that juts up from the west Texas flatlands.

Approaching Guadalupe Mountain NP from the south

From the national park campground, hikers are challenged with a strenuous nine-mile, 3000-foot elevation gain trail to the top of the peak. A neighbor of ours encouraged us to give the hike a try, but this trail was a bit much for us.

Instead, we chose to hike the McKittrick Canyon Trail (shorter and much less elevation change) to Pratt Cabin. The stone cabin, built in the early 1930s by Wallace Pratt, and surrounding land, were donated in 1961. We were intrigued by the roof of the building – flat pieces of stone grouted together – and were appreciative of rocking chairs on the front porch, where we ate our lunch.

Hiking the McKittrick Canyon Trail in Guadalupe Mountains NP

Relaxing on the porch of Pratt Cabin before our return hike to the parking lot

Lots to See In Las Cruces, NM

In west Texas and near Las Cruces, NM there are huge groves of pecan trees. The trees are flooded so they flourish in the desert

A large roadrunner statue in an eastbound I-10 rest area near Las Cruces is made from recycled items

World’s largest Chile pepper (Ed added for scale). The 47-foot pepper is next to a Las Cruces hotel – the Big Chile Inn of course!

Evening view in the Rockhound State Park

New Mexico Rockhounds

Continuing west, we camped at Rockhound State Park, located on the rugged slopes of New Mexico’s Florida Mountains. Park visitors are encouraged to take home samples of rocks and minerals.

Pat transformed into a ‘rockhound’, complete with hand shovel, gloves, arm protectors and collection bag. We searched for agates, geodes, opals, jasper and other rocks amidst prickly pear clumps and desert bushes along the two trails in the park.

Pat had a great time searching for rocks

There is a variety of cacti throughout the park, many with colorful blooms

Gila Cliff Dwellings

The next day we drove north to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. We followed a 25-mile winding road with views of the remote Gila Wilderness area to reach the park. It was established in 1907 by Theodore Roosevelt to protect prehistoric materials and culture of Mogollon people and others who inhabited the area.

A half mile trail leads to the dwellings that are tucked in caves in the sides of a cliff. Similar to cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde NP, one can walk along stone walls into various rooms and peer into other rooms via strategically placed ladders. There is even a storage area containing corn cobs more than 800 years old!

A view across the largest of the cliff dwellings

Pat descends a ladder from the largest of the dwellings

The dwellings, lived in by around 40 persons, are in excellent condition, with more than 80% of the original structures still intact. The Mogollon people moved from the dwellings around 1300 AD, possibly due to changes in the climate.

Hat Rescue

We descended a 20-foot ladder to the trail that would take us back to the parking lot. A sudden gust of wind blew off my hat and we watched it roll down the canyon side. It’s gone for good, we decided.

The arrow shows where my hat landed after being blown from my head

Fortunately, the hat landed on a ledge about 50 yards below us, not far from a steep dropoff to the canyon floor.

I resolved to rescue the hat. With nothing to reach or snag it, Pat anxiously watched as I passed by an area with loose stones and made my way down a gentle rockface just above the hat. I laid down on my back and after several minutes of scooting past cacti and large rocks, I finally reached the hat and safely tucked it into my shirt. Pat guided me as I scooted back up the rockface and finally stood on solid ground.

I carefully scooted back up the slope after rescuing my hat

Hat retrieved, I make my way back to safety

My hat (and I) live for another day!

Next Week

Happy cows and race boats.

Stranded in Mexico?

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 3)

Our 2026 Wild West Wander continues with a three-day visit to Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend is remote, rugged and beautiful

There’s a border crossing to Mexico in the park. After eating lunch in Boquillas, a small Mexican town across the Rio Grande River, we returned to the US. At the US border control building, I handed the border agent our passports. He checked a computer screen and handed my passport back to me.

“Mr. Thompson, I am sorry you don’t have a valid US passport.”

Mild panic started to set in as I sat there. Would I be stranded in Mexico?

Find out below!

Big Bend Geography

Take a look at a Texas map. Big Bend National Park is located where the Rio Grande River makes a big U-turn through southwest Texas. On one side is the United States, on the other, Mexico. The headwaters of the Rio Grande are in Colorado, far from the river’s passage through Big Bend. We were surprised that not much of the river is from US sources because of irrigation, dams, agriculture, manufacturing and evaporation. The water in the river that one sees in the park is primarily from Mexico’s Rio Conchos.

Big Bend is remote, rugged and beautiful. The park is more than 80 miles south of Marathon, a small town that is remote itself. The highway takes you past Chihuahuan desert scrubs, prickly pear cactus clumps, and gangly ocotillo stands, with rugged mountains in the distance.

Windshield view of mountains on the way to Chisos Mountain Basin

We visited Big Bend in 1986 in a converted Chevrolet van, our first RV. Notice the mountains above are similar to those in the prior photo

After nearly two hours of driving, we continued up a winding, steep road to reach an area in the midst of the mountains, the Chisos Mountains Basin.

Pat and our daughter Liz eat dinner during our first visit to Big Bend in July 1986

The basin is a popular destination during the late spring and summer because the temps are noticeably cooler than those in the desert below. A lodge, restaurant, campground and great hiking trails are welcome amenities.

Before sunrise the next morning we arose to hike a challenging trail to the Window, a narrow, V-shaped area between the mountains that has a view of the desert below. Sunlight touched the tops of the mountains as we ate breakfast sandwiches prepared the night before. After admiring the view for a few minutes, we began the steep hike back to the campground.

The sun touched the mountain tops as we descended to the Window

Posing at the Window, with the desert far below us

We took a short side trail to get a broader view of the desert and saw four Aoudads (Barbary sheep) across the canyon. Later that day, a ranger told us that Aoudads were introduced to area game ranches in recent years and are now being removed because they are considered to be an invasive species.

Two Canyons

On the western side of the park the Rio Grande flows through Santa Elena Canyon, an impressive limestone gorge with 1500-foot walls. We hiked into the gorge where it is was shaded and cool. People were wading across the river and touching the walls on the other side, thus becoming impromptu visitors to Mexico.

Further into the Santa Elena Canyon hikers waded across the Rio Grande

At the opposite side of Big Bend, the river exits through another limestone chasm, Boquillas Canyon.

Souvenirs from Mexico along the trail to Boquillas Canyon

Along the trail to the canyon there were assortments of Mexican souvenirs, each with locked cashboxes for payment. Nearby Park Service signs warn that visitors could be fined if they purchase the illegal trailside items!

Wild horses cross the Rio Grande to Mexico

Nearing the gorge, we watched a chestnut mare and her white colt graze on underwater grasses. They waded across the river to a beach on the Mexican side and we wondered about their country of citizenship.

Javelina in the Rio Grande Village campground

That evening we camped near Boquillas Canyon in the Rio Grande Village. As we ate dinner (inside Pap), nearly a dozen javelina wandered about nearby. We read they can be ferocious, but these wild pigs seemed at ease among the tents and RVs.

A large number of dinosaur bones have been found in Big Bend and are on display

Cast of Alamosaurus femur found in Big Bend – the long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur was up to 80 feet long and weighed up to 65,000 pounds!

Lunch in Mexico

Like dozens of Big Bend visitors each day, we walked from the US border control building to the Rio Grande. A young Mexican man walked us across the river in less than five minutes.

We were in Mexico!

Boquillas, our lunch destination, is a small town about a half mile up a dusty dirt road from the river. While others ride burros or horses into town, we chose to walk.

Some visitors ride burros into Boquillas – we walked

Christian, a Mexican boy in fifth grade, was our guide to Boquillas. He spoke no English and we only knew a few Spanish words

At Boquillas Restaurant, one of two restaurants in the small town, we sat with a couple from Arkansas where we shared our mutual travel experiences. Lunch was tortilla chips, salsa and amazing guacamole, and a combo plate that included carnitas tacos.

Carnitas? Goat, of course.

We ate lunch on the front porch of Boquillas Restaurant

Marvelous chips, salsa and fresh guacamole (with jalapenos on the side)

After lunch we browsed several souvenir stands along the dusty street and made our way back to the river crossing.

Stranded in Mexico?

Back at the US border control building, we learned my passport had expired. We wondered and prayed about the outcome.

Would I have to return to Mexico? Send Pat home to get my valid passport? Pay a big fine? Something else?

After the border agent helped several others reenter the US, he made a call and then had me enter information about myself on his computer. He submitted the information and we waited several tense minutes for an outcome.

My US return was approved! We breathed huge sighs of relief and praised God as we were welcomed back to the US.

(Before leaving on our Wild West Wander, I retrieved the two passports on top of the other items in our safe deposit box. Somewhere further down is my valid passport. We resolved to VERY carefully check passports and other documentation before future trips)

Next Week

We continue west to New Mexico. Pat searches for rocks and I retrieve a wayward hat in the shadows of an ancient cliff dwelling.

Hot Sauce and Big Buns!

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 2)

We continued west toward the Land of Buc-ees, crossing a crazy high bridge across the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, LA. At 175 feet, the narrow four lane bridge is the highest on the Mississippi River!

Another long bridge was ahead – the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. The 18-mile-long parallel bridge was at the time the second longest bridge in the world when completed in 1973, behind the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.

There’s something about long bridges in Louisiana, huh!

Hot Sauce on the Bayou

On the edge of a west Louisiana bayou, we toured the home of Tabasco Sauce, a popular spicy condiment that has been burning taste buds for nearly 160 years.

Red tabasco peppers are used to make Tabasco Sauce. The ripe peppers are one-to-two inches long when picked

Family tradition has it that Tabasco sauce inventor Edmund McIlhenny obtained pepper seeds from a Mexican War veteran in 1852. He claimed the seeds, from the State of Tabasco, Mexico, produced peppers of especially fine flavor. McIlhenny planted them at Avery Island, the family plantation near New Iberia, LA, and the quality of the peppers was so good, they became the basis of the flavorful hot sauce.

Today peppers used to produce Tabasco sauce are grown in Louisiana, South and Central America and Africa. Fourteen varieties of sauce (including super hot Scorpion Sauce and Raspberry Chipotle) and a variety of other spicy products are available.

Mashed tabasco peppers are stored in oak barrels and aged for up to three years

Pepper mash is blended with high quality distilled vinegar and stirred periodically in 1800-gallon wooden vats

Before bottling, skins and seeds are removed and the sauce is tested for consistency, color, heat levels and other qualities.

We sampled a variety of Tabasco-flavored products including chocolate and ice cream

The Geography of a Long, Long Road

The next day we started across Texas.

Interstate 10 spans nearly 880 miles from Orange in east Texas to a few miles past El Paso in the far west, about one-third of the distance across the US.

El Paso is 72 miles closer to western end of I-10 near Los Angeles than it is to Orange. and Orange is almost 100 miles closer to the eastern end of I-10 in Jacksonville, FL than it is to El Paso!

A Family Visit and Surprise in Boerne, TX

We spent the night near Boerne, TX, where we visited with my brother Jim and sister-in-law Mary. (Boerne is at I-10 milepost 341, not even halfway across the state!)

That morning we rose early to research an unexpected find at Richter Bakhous in Boerne.

The Bakhous has become famous for HUGE cinnamon buns.

Our cinnamon bun was massive – it filled the takeout box, and iced to perfection, nicely flavored and pillowy in texture. We split the bun and still had some left over for another breakfast.

Texas-sized cinnamon bun from Richter Bakhaus (fork added for scale)

In 2023, we evaluated amazing (and huge) buns in Alaska and along the Alcan Highway in Canada. We wondered how a bun from less than a dozen miles from my brother’s home in Texas would compare.

The result? See the end of this episode below.

Ancient Art

Further west in Texas, we visited Seminole Canyon State Park. Near the Rio Grande River, the area is arid, with scrubby cedars and large clumps of prickly pear cacti. This is the land of tarantula spiders and rattlesnakes. Fortunately, we didn’t see any.

We hiked along the rim of Seminole Canyon before taking the Fate Bell Shelter tour

Texas state park ranger Tonya led us along the canyon bottom to the ancient artwork

Ranger Tonya provided history as we walked along the sheltered area

Fate Bell Shelter art – some is nearly 9000 years old!

This sculpture at the top Seminole Canyon was created using elements of the antient artwork

We were led by Ranger Tonya nearly 200 feet down a steep cliff to several overhangs where ancient indigenous artwork is preserved in the Fate Bell Shelter. The art dates back to nearly 7000 BC and is believed to be some of the oldest in North America. The shelter is named for Fayette Bell, one time owner of the land.

Excavations of the overhangs occurred in 1932 and later in 1963. Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the land and opened the park in 1980.

Texas vs Alaska vs Yukon: The Best Bun

The Boerne bun was a VERY close third place to the winner bun from Braeburn Lodge in Yukon and a second-place bun from Chicken, Alaska.

First place bun from Braeburn Lodge near Whitehorse, Yukon (Pat added for scale)

Third place or not, the Boerne bun was the best we’ve had in the lower 48. We will continue this important research as our RabbiTRAILS travels continue!

Next Week

We explore Big Bend National Park, including expansive desert areas, rugged mountains and the Rio Grande River. Our visit includes crossing the river into Mexico, where we enjoy lunch and an unexpected event on our return to the US.

Angels, Dragons and A Water Crossing

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 1)

As with many of our past road trips, our 2026 Wild West Wander started with an overnight visit with our daughter, Liz, and her family in Georgia. We had an early 6^th birthday celebration for Emilia, our granddaughter.

As we prepared to leave, Liz and husband Josh, Emilia and Henry, our 8-year-old grandson, posed for a photo. You’ve heard and probably said it a million times about children and/or grandchildren: “They’re growing up too fast!”

An Air Show at an Old Fort

From Georgia we traveled southwest to Santa Rosa Island on the Gulf of America. We camped at Fort Pickens, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The campground and fort are located on barrier islands across the bay from Pensacola, FL.

The 15-inch cannons at Fort Pickens each weighed 50,000 pounds and could fire a 450-pound solid projectile three miles

Fort Pickens was one of several forts in the area constructed after the War of 1812 to protect Pensacola Bay, the location of a navy yard, depot, naval timber reserve and more. As warfare technology and strategies changed, the forts were abandoned decades later.

The campground is close to the western tip of Santa Rosa Island, more than seven miles from the heavily developed eastern end of island. We biked to the end of the island where we explored the partially reconstructed fort. We peeked into passageways and storerooms, and climbed to elevated areas where huge cannons once targeted ships attempting to enter Pensacola Bay.

The US Navy Blue Angels were scheduled to practice during our stay and we, along with hundreds of other spectators, enjoyed amazing (and noisy) aerial maneuvers for nearly an hour. The Blue Angels are based at Pensacola Naval Air Station across the bay.

The Blue Angels do a low pass in Delta Formation

Soaring over Ft Pickens in Parade Formation

The day ended with a sunset walk along the white sand beach a ten-minute walk from the campground.

Waves approach a sandcastle during a Santa Rosa Island sunset

Dragons and Swans at Bellingrath Gardens

From Fort Pickens and Pensacola, we continued west across Mobile Bay where we visited Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, AL. Pat and her family visited the gardens to see the azaleas and other flowers when she was seven.

Blooming azaleas at Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile (from Google)

Although our timing wasn’t ideal – azaleas and camelias had recently finished blooming and hydrangeas, roses and other spring flowers had not yet started to bloom – we did enjoy colorful displays being setup for the Gulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival later this spring.

Colorful dragon display set up for Gulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival at Bellingrath Gardens

Another beautiful display at Bellingrath Gardens

A Louisiana Bike Ride

We continued across the narrow southern ‘handles’ of Alabama and Mississippi and camped at Fontainebleau State Park in Louisiana.

From the park, we rode a portion of the Tammany Trace, a former Illinois Central Railroad rail corridor converted to a paved hike and bike trail.

Lunch on the bayou – Shrimp Po-boy and sauteed Brussels Sprouts

We rode to Mandeville, a quaint bedroom community north of New Orleans, where we ate lunch at Nan’s New Orleans Café. We shared a shrimp po-boy and sauteed Brussels sprouts. The crusty French bread sandwich was covered with fried shrimp and dressed with lettuce, sliced tomato, mayonnaise and dill pickles. The sprouts were tender, flavored with onion and bacon. As they say, anything tastes better with bacon, even Brussels sprouts!

Fontainebleau State Park is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We spoke with a man and his wife fishing from a pier that extends into the lake. He told us that a variety of fresh and saltwater fish can be caught in the lake’s brackish waters. He was hoping to catch a shark, claiming it was some of the best fried ‘fish’ he ever had.

Crossing the World’s Longest Bridge

The lake above is bisected north-to-south by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. Percy (sans Pap) carried us across the 23-mile-long bridge and back, a one-hour roundtrip. The New Orleans skyline was visible during part of the drive.

Halfway across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway – where is the shore?

Halfway across, between mileposts 11 and 12, land is not visible ahead or behind. It was like being at sea!

Next Week

Hot sauce on the bayou, lunch with my brother and his wife, and Native American art at a remote canyon near the Rio Grande. And a special surprise from Richter Bakhaus in Boerne, TX reminiscent of our travels to Alaska in 2023.

Celebrating Birthdays and a New Series!

(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 0)

2026 Wild West Wander

Join us as we wander west to find new RabbiTRAILS

We’ll

visit National Parks – Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, and Death Valley, Sequoia and Yosemite in California
camp on the edge of Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain, scratch for rocks and explore cliff dwellings in New Mexico, and examine Native American drawings on canyon walls in west Texas
hike to amazing geologic formations at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona and admire the rugged splendor of the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho
And to top it all off, we hope to spend July 4 at Mt Rushmore for our nation’s 250^th birthday.

Come along for these adventures and more as we embark on our 2026 Wild West Wander series!

On March 30 we celebrated Pap’s third birthday.

Pap has been our travel companion to Alaska (2023), Great Lakes and New England (2024) and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and Beyond (2025). Closer to home, we’ve camped in the Florida Keys, Everglades NP and at a number of other Florida state parks.

(2023) Remote camping on the Denali Highway in Alaska

(2024) Crossing a covered bridge in New Hampshire

(2025) Visiting Chimney Rock in western Nebraska, an important landmark to 19th century pioneers on the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails

We’re thankful for God’s protection during several travel mishaps, including frayed wires (above), flat tires, bent jack legs and a cave scrape that damaged Pap’s roof

In three years, we’ve camped 401 nights in Pap and expect to surpass 500 nights during our 2026 Wild West Wander!

Next Week

Enjoy a smorgasbord of RabbiTRAILS: an old fort, high flying jets, and the world’s longest bridge all made flavorful with a sprinkle of bayou hot sauce.

No Gas Pumps. No Brisket. Buc-ees?

(2025 Balloons and Beyond Ep 14)

RabbiTRAILS is now AD FREE – enjoy the less-cluttered format!

Our Palo Duro Canyon hiking travails ended and we continued southward through Texas for more than three hundred miles. We transited the oil fields near Ft. Stockton and Midland, and continued to Davis Mountains State Park.

McDonald Observatory – Eyes on the Skies

We toured nearby McDonald Observatory, a noted astronomical observatory that sits atop 6790-foot Mount Locke. The observatory’s research telescopes are part of the University of Texas at Austin and used to research a wide variety of topics and projects.

This building houses the Otto Struve Telescope, once the world’s second largest

The Otto Struve Telescope, with its 82-inch mirror, was dedicated in 1939. At the time it was the world’s second largest telescope.

The 107-inch Harlan J. Smith Telescope was completed in 1968. We toured the large observatory building that houses the Smith telescope. Our guide raised and lowered and rotated the telescope and explained how celestial objects are targeted and astronomical data is collected.

The 390-inch Holly-Eberly Telescope is one of the largest optical telescopes in the world

The 390-inch Holly-Eberly Telescope atop nearby Mount Fowlkes was completed in 1996 and is one of the largest optical telescopes in the world.

The telescopes at McDonald Observatory have been used to find planets orbiting around other stars, track the rotation of individual galaxies and conduct dark energy research.

Desert Views

Evening view of southwest Texas mountains

Davis Mountains State Park includes a short scenic drive that leads to amazing views of the rugged Texas mountains to the southwest. Beyond the mountains are Big Bend National Park, Rio Grande River and Mexico.

We hiked a steep trail for an early morning view of desert vegetation

We postponed our visit to the Big Bend area due to the US Government shutdown in October-November 2025 and hope to visit the area in our upcoming 2026 travels.

From the Davis Mountains, it was almost 1400 miles home – 600 miles across Texas and another 800 miles to Florida. We continued the long drive east on US 90, past tiny remote communities and across mountain ranges and dry canyons. We followed a lonely train track for miles where hundreds of empty rail cars were parked.

No Gas Pumps, No Brisket. What Kind of Buc-ees Is This?

In the middle of nowhere, we zipped past a small building where we spied a sign displaying the iconic Buc-ees Beaver logo!

We backtracked to see what it was all about.

A sign indicated the tiny, single-door cinder block structure was the world’s smallest Buc-ees. It pokes fun at consumerism, similar to the faux, non-functional Prada store in Marfa, Texas, about 50 miles west on US 90.

It turns out that some things aren’t bigger in Texas. And we were disappointed this Buc-ees location offered no restrooms or beaver nuggets.

Law West of the Pecos

Around mid-day, we stopped at Langtry TX, a remote town near the Rio Grande River that was home of Judge Roy Bean, who enforced ‘Law West of the Pecos.’

That evening we camped at Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site, known for ancient rock art drawn on canyon walls. We’ll share more about Seminole Canyon in our upcoming series.

Near Langtry, we ate lunch with a view of Mexico across the Rio Grande River

Continuing Home

We visited my brother Jim and his wife Mary near San Antonio

Continuing east, we had lunch with my brother and his wife near San Antonio, and then spent several days in east Texas near the Big Thicket Swamp. The contrast of arid west Texas around Palo Duro Canyon and David Mountains with the swampy Big Thicket bayous in east Texas is amazing.

Pat surveys a wet area in the Big Thicket Swamp in east Texas

On one Big Thicket trail we spotted pitcher plants in the wet areas

We arrived home after a final night on the beach at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on the Florida Panhandle. It was a nice end to our Balloons and Beyond late summer adventure!

We enjoyed a beach sunset during our final night at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on the Florida Panhandle

Texas Critters

Something to ponder – what if Buc-ees chose an armadillo to be their mascot?

This little beetle was rolling a dung ball as big as himself

A peccary (similar to wild pig) at Davis Mountains State Park. We kept our distance.

Tarantulas come out at sunset we were told

Balloons and Beyond Recap

We camped 64 nights for an average of $18.97 per night and drove 7633 miles across 17 states.

Fuel was our biggest expense. Lowest paid was $2.09 (Flying J, Gulfport, MS), highest paid was $3.69 (Shell, Salida, CO).

Reminder to LIKE our blog posts and SUBSCRIBE for future updates

Donuts, Steaks and Muscle Aches

(2025 Balloons and Beyond Ep 13)

RabbiTRAILS is now AD FREE
We hope you enjoy the less-cluttered format!

Balloons…

We spent three nights in the Albuquerque area during the Balloon Fiesta (2025 Balloons and Beyond Ep 6, Ep 7, Ep 8). Despite several balloon launches and glows cancelled due to rain, Friday was a perfect day with a spectacular morning ascension and wonderful evening glow-flicker, drone show and fireworks. It was the highlight of our trip!

And Beyond!

We left Albuquerque headed east on I-40 and spent the night in Tucumcari, NM.

We ate lunch at Clines Corners, a gas station/kitschy tourist store a couple hours east of Albuquerque on I-40

In addition to souvenir T-shirts, caramel nuts and toy slingshots, Clines Corners has several old-fashioned fortune-telling vending machines like *Love Tester* and *Zoltar*. Zoltar’s advice? Don’t drive truck campers through tunnels!

Tucumcari was once a major stop for travelers on Route 66, America’s Mother Road. On the edge of town there’s a whimsical Route 66 monument with a sloped sandstone base inscribed with tires and serpentine two-lane highway. It is topped with stylized sixes atop a 1950s tail fin and lights.

Tucumcari’s monument to Route 66, the *Mother Road*

Many towns have welcome murals like this one in Tucumcari

There are lots of small motels with names like Palomino Motel, Roadrunner Lodge, Relax Inn, Motel Safari, Pow Wow Inn and Buckaroo Motel that are closed or repurposed. A few remain open to offer lodging to nostalgic travelers.

Tucumcari also has a variety of curio shops

Cambodian Donut Cartel?

At Tucumcari Donuts we learned an interesting piece of the American story.

A young Asian man served us donuts and coffee and told us his family was from Cambodia. At similar donut shops in Missouri, Colorado and east Texas we learned the employees were also of Cambodian descent.

This friendly fellow with Cambodian heritage poses with amazing donuts!

Cambodian-owned donut shops are a huge part of the American donut scene, many stemming from refugees finding opportunity in America in the 1980s. The shops were pioneered by Cambodian Ted Ngoy (the Doughnut King), who helped fellow refugees start their own businesses.

Not Up to the Challenge

Trucks and cars zipped by us on Texas I-40. We poked along at 60 mph

A long windmill blade traveling along I-40 will be added to one of the thousands of already-installed windmills on the Texas panhandle

We continued east to the Texas panhandle. The flat terrain was punctuated with THOUSANDS of Texas-sized spinning windmills.

Like the omnipresent Buc-ee’s signs on interstate highways elsewhere, there were frequent signs encouraging a stop at The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. The steakhouse is home of the world famous 72-ounce steak challenge: eat a 4½ pound steak and fixings in less than an hour and it’s free. Otherwise, the belly-busting meal will set you back $72!

Eat the 72-ounce steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in less than an hour and it’s free!

We weren’t up to the challenge. Full of our mid-morning donut snack, we passed by and turned south toward the second largest canyon in the United States.

Palo Duro Canyon

Nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of Texas” both for its size and dramatic multicolored rock layers and steep mesa walls, Palo Duro is about 40 miles long, six miles wide (20 miles wide at places) and 800 feet deep.

2025 view of Palo Duro Canyon from same rock wall as 1999 family photo

Much of the canyon is contained within a Texas state park. The visitor center at the canyon’s rim has sweeping canyon views and in 1999 I took the family photo above as we enjoyed our first view of the canyon. How time flies!

From the viewpoint, the road quickly descends to the bottom of the canyon. The layered and multicolored canyon framed the road as we drove to the campground where we would stay for the next two nights.

Photographing the colorful layered canyon wall at Palo Duro State Park

We were greeted by Bullet (his real name), a campground host originally from Amarillo. He was a rodeo cowboy in his teens and later owned an Amarillo copier service business. Now retired, he has been a fulltime volunteer at three different Texas state parks for more than a dozen years.

He helped us set up and provided useful details about the campground and things to do in the park.

Pat carefully hikes into a low area along the Lighthouse Trail

Zoom this photo to see people on the ledge between the two formations – the Lighthouse is on the right

Six miles = Muscle Aches?

We decided to hike three miles to the iconic Lighthouse formation, prominently displayed in park promotional brochures. The mostly flat trail weaves through several canyons before the steep quarter-mile climb to the Lighthouse. After a precarious scramble to the base of the formation, we had great views of the broad canyon.

Sweeping view of Palo Duro Canyon from the Lighthouse

The hike was worth a few minor muscle aches!

Balloons and Beyond – Wrap-up

Palo Duro was our first Texas state park during our fall 2025 Balloons and Beyond travels. Next episode we wrap up the series with visits to five more Texas state parks as we cross the state on our way home.

Don’t forget to LIKE our blog posts and to SUBSCRIBE for future updates

Mesa Nada

(2025 Balloons and Beyond Ep 12)

We left Black Canyon of the Gunnison bound for Mesa Verde, several hours away in southwest Colorado. Our route took us near Telluride, a former mining town that is now a popular tourist destination and ski resort, and across several mountain passes, where the Rocky Mountain fall colors were on full display.

Brief Reunion

Pat’s brother, James, met us for the night near Cortez, CO. We enjoyed dinner outdoors and compared our travel experiences since parting ways in Wyoming several weeks prior. He was returning to Florida after traveling further west in Wyoming and Idaho.

The day ended with a beautiful fiery sunset over the San Juan Mountains.

Pat’s brother, James, met us as he returned to Florida

Green Table

At Mesa Verde National Park the next morning, we stopped at the visitor center to check on tours of the park’s ancient cliff dwellings. The park rangers were unsure how the US government shutdown would affect the three tours we booked during our stay. They said it was even possible we might have to leave the park.

The Mesa Verde entrance road zigzags up iconic Point Lookout on the way to the pueblos and cliff dwellings

While setting up at the national park campground, we took Pap off Percy. We often do this when staying two or more nights as it is easier to maneuver and park the truck without its piggyback friend. The gas mileage also is much better.

It takes fewer than 15 minutes to lower Pap’s four side legs so the camper is above the truck bed, drive the truck from beneath the camper and then lower it about halfway to the ground onto four screw jacks. In case you were wondering, putting Pap back onto Percy takes about 30 minutes.

That evening we drove the 15-mile narrow and winding road to the mesa top and cliff dwelling areas. From the park’s highest point, we could see how Mesa Verde got its name. Ahead of us was a relatively flat expanse covered with green pinyon pines and junipers. It looked like a green table – translated to Mesa Verde in Spanish.

Square Tower House, is a four story, 27-foot-tall structure surrounded by 24 rooms

We viewed the Spruce Tree House and Square Tower House cliff dwellings from the mesa top and wondered, like many visitors, about the ancient Puebloans that built and lived in the structures. How did they get from the mesa tops and canyon valleys to the dwellings? Where did they get water and food? Why was the area abandoned around 700 years ago?

We hoped to learn answers to these and other questions during the tours.

Mesa Nada

Unfortunately, the tours were not to be.

We rose the next morning before sunrise and drove to the meeting location of the Square Tower House tour. Almost there, we were stopped by a gate with road closed signs. We learned the US government had indeed shut down. All of the Mesa Verde’s historic sites were closed and our tours were cancelled.

From past travels we’ve learned that changed plans often yield unexpected surprises and blessings.

We were thrilled to see lots of mule deer and four black bears in the campground area.

A couple of the many mule deer near the campground

A mama black bear and her two cubs seen on an early morning drive

Later, we hiked to the top of Point Lookout, the iconic geological formation that towers above the park entrance. From the point, we were rewarded with views of the distant San Juan Mountains and valleys below.

Climbing the steep and rocky trail to Point Lookout

View of valley and distant mountains from Point Lookout – we were right on the edge!

Answers to the questions above?

Most of the pueblos and cliff dwellings started around 600 AD were abandoned by 1300 AD following prolonged drought and social upheavals. The residents subsisted by growing maize on the mesa tops and by hunting. Narrow, steep trails connected the pueblos and cliff dwellings to the mesa top and sources of water.

Perhaps we’ll learn more complete details during a future visit to Mesa Verde. That is, of course, if the US government isn’t shut down!

The original auto route to Mesa Verde’s mesa and cliff dwellings was described as a knife edge

Onward to the Balloon Fiesta

We left Mesa Verde a week before the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We ate lunch in Farmington, a sizeable town in northern New Mexico with a HUGE Walmart, and continued southwest to a remote Harvest Host location.

Navajo Mission

The Navajo Brethren in Christ Mission ministers to Navajo communities

Numerous buildings and a small church are part of the Mission

Our stay at the Navajo Brethren in Christ Mission revealed various ways the mission reaches out to Navajo residents in the area. The mission offers food, clothing, education assistance and the hope of Christ through their church ministry and fellowship programs. We camped a quarter mile from the Mission where the quiet sagebrush and cactus covered camping area was interrupted by passing water trucks, squeaking oil well grasshoppers and mooing cows.

Cows and oil wells from our remote campsite

Abiquiu and the Georgia O’Keefe Connection

Our travels continued.

We camped several nights at a Corps of Engineers dam near Abiquiu, NM. Our campsite had a great view of the Abiquiu Reservoir and the red rock canyons and mountains in the distance.

Abiquiu Reservoir and distant red rock canyons and mountains

Abiquiu is best known for its connection with artist Georgia O’Keefe, where she had a home and studio. Her work was inspired by colorful and dramatic landscapes in the area that include the Abiquiu Reservoir and Ghost Ranch, a nearby education and retreat center.

My Front Yard Summer by Georgia O’Keefe (1941) captures the beautiful landscapes near Abiquiu

We hiked to a beautiful lookout overlooking Ghost Ranch. The flat top mountain in the background is in the painting above

A daunting reminder of the wilderness around Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch locations have been used in many movies including City Slickers (1991), Cowboys vs Aliens (2011) and Oppenheimer (2024). This cabin was used in City Slickers.

Santa Fe and Meow Wolf

Our final night before the Balloon Fiesta was in Santa Fe (click to see RabbiTRAILS Ep 6 / Ep 7 / Ep 8). During prior visits we walked around the historic downtown square and toured nearby Los Alamos and Bandolier National Monument. We’ll save those for future RabbiTRAILS blogs should we visit again.

Meow Wolf is an unusual attraction in Santa Fe

This time, however, we wanted to visit Meow Wolf, an unusual attraction formed in 2008 as part of an art collective of more than 135 local artists. The venue is a 20,000 square foot immersive art experience, where visitors wander through dozens of rooms and secret passages, attempting to unravel the mysterious disappearance of a family that experimented with interdimensional travel to bring back a deceased family member. (crazy, huh!)

Meow Wolf can be described as a combination of huge escape room and Disney Imagineering. It has been replicated in Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston and Denver. Each location has a distinct theme and narrative.

We weren’t quite sure about the meaning of this and several other rooms

Pat prepares to go through the refrigerator portal to another room. There were also fireplace and dryer portals.

An interesting robot in the Meow Wolf parking lot

Next Week

From Santa Fe’s immersive Meow Wolf experience and Albuquerque’s colorful Balloon Fiesta, our route turns eastward to six state parks in Texas. As we cross the Lone Star State, the RabbiTRAILS vary from deep canyons to mountaintop telescopes to big thicket swamps. And one with a creepy tarantula that crossed our path just before sunset!

(Don’t forget to LIKE our blog posts and to SUBSCRIBE for future updates)

Deep, Dark and Stark

(2025 Balloons and Beyond Ep 11)

As September came to a close, we left Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Colorado alligators for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, a lesser-known national park about a half day’s drive away.

Lots of 5 Bs BBQ – we split a lunch special

We stopped in Gunnison, CO to resupply and to refuel Percy. Lunch was at 5 Bs BBQ, named for members of the Brown family who started a Gunnison catering business in 1991, expanded to a food trailer, moved into a gas station and settled into their current building in 2022. Their restaurant story is as great as the Q they serve!

Tummies, truck and pantry full, we discovered our route through town was blocked off for a high school homecoming parade. After a quick detour, we were back on the road.

Crawford Camping

We endured more than 30 miles of winding highway and finally arrived at Crawford State Park, our campsite for the next three nights while we explored Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Colorado’s Big Four

Utah’s big five national parks are on many travelers’ bucket lists. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands are not to be missed!

Colorado has its own bucket list combination of four national parks that are more diverse than those in Utah: Rocky Mountain, with incredible views at the top of the Rocky Mountains, Great Sand Dunes, with the tallest dunes in North America, Mesa Verde, the location of antient Puebloan cliff dwellings, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison, where the Gunnison River has carved a deep and narrow slit in the earth.

North Rim of the Black Canyon

We visited the remote north rim of the canyon, a dozen miles from the campground. The clear and cool weather couldn’t have been any better as we undertook a 3.2-mile round trip hike to Exclamation Point.

Starting at the ranger station, our first view of the canyon came after hiking about a half mile along the mostly level trail. The trail continued along side arms of the main canyon. We finally reached a viewpoint where we could see the Gunnison River, a tiny ribbon nearly 2000 feet below!

Full canyon view with the Gunnison River far below

Fourteen of the canyon’s 48 miles are located within the park. Varying from 1750 to 2700 feet in depth, the canyon has been carved by the Gunnison River as it falls an average of 95 feet per mile. No other canyon combines the depth, narrowness and sheerness of Black Canyon.

Trails to the bottom of the canyon, called wilderness routes, are steep, unmarked and unmaintained scrambles. We wisely continued hiking the trail at the top of the canyon.

After posing for a selfie at a sign pointing us to Exclamation Point, we continued to a broad rock outcropping where the rugged canyon was visible from three sides. We found shade under a pinyon pine and enjoyed the view as we ate our backpack lunch.

Black Canyon with the Gunnison River far below

The next morning, we returned to the park’s North Rim Road where several short trails took us to breathtaking views of the canyon. At one overlook we could see people, buses and cars on the south rim of the canyon, just .2 miles away!

Next Week

We travel to our fourth national park in Colorado, Mesa Verde NP, anticipating ranger-led tours of several cliff dwellings. Unfortunately, our plans had to change due to the US government shut down.

(Don’t forget to LIKE our blog posts and to SUBSCRIBE for future updates)

Gators in Colorado?

(2025 Balloons and Beyond Ep 10)

Buena Vista

Bad weather and early snows behind us, we continued south through central Colorado. We spent the night and did laundry in the small town of Buena Vista, where we were awed by incredible views of the Collegiate Peaks. Princeton, Yale and Harvard are three of fifteen 14ers (mountains over 14,000 feet) in the range across the valley.

We had a true Buena Vista (good view).

Alligators in Colorado?

The next morning, we drove Colorado route 17 southward toward the cutoff for Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. To our left were the jagged peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. We saw a brownish blur at the base of the mountains and realized it was the dunes – more than 30 miles away.

A road sign caught our attention, and we turned around for a closer look.

How could there be gators in Colorado? A tunnel from the Everglades? Holdovers from prehistoric times?

Nope.

The gator haven, located north of Alamosa, CO, started as a tilapia farm in 1977. In 1987, 100 one-year old gators were purchased to dispose of fish-processing waste. The fish (and gators) flourished in the 87-degree water from a 2050 foot deep geothermal well, and as the gators grew, visitors wanted to see them.

Gators in the snow (from Reptile Park website)

The farm, now the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, was opened to the public in 1990 and has become a home of unwanted, abused and even dangerous gators and other reptiles.

Great Sand Dunes

An hour or so later we arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

From our campsite we could see the dunes, the tallest sand dunes in North America, some as high as 750 feet!

The dunes were formed from sediments from surrounding mountains blown by southwest winds toward the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The dunefield is approximately 30 square miles in size!

We started our dune hike along the top of a ridge

The next morning we hiked a half mile to the dunes. In the spring and early summer, the Medano Creek flows along the base of the dunes and visitors must wade across the shallow creek to reach the dunes. It was late September during our visit, and the sandy creek bed was dry as we began our hike.

We hiked up several ridges and spotted tiny Pap and Percy far off in the campground. As we topped each dune, still higher dunes appeared. People above us were making their way to the top.

Although we had climbed nearly 300 feet, it was still a long way to the top

During a visit to the park in 2004, our son, Phil, took some beautiful pictures from the top of the dunes. The dunes are best photographed in the early morning and late afternoon when the shadows make the dunes stand out from the tall mountains beyond.

A photo from the top of the dunes taken by our son, Phil. in 2004

Viva Zapata!

A ranger at the visitor center recommended a nearby hike to Zapata Falls. The falls’ Spanish name refers to a settlement in the San Luis Valley started by Mexican families in 1864.

Wading the cold waters of South Zapata Creek

We hiked a half mile up a steep and rocky trail to South Zapata Creek. For the final 75 yards, we scrambled over rocks and waded through the VERY cold creek.

Taking a video of the rugged gorge and falls

The marvelous 30-foot falls are hidden in a narrow, shaded gorge.

We thought about how refreshing the falls must be on a hot summer day and how stunningly beautiful they must be when frozen during winter.

Our main concerns, however, were carefully hiking down the creek from the falls and thawing our feet when we changed from water shoes back to hiking boots.

Pat’s feet were pink from the VERY cold water

Happy to have warm feet as we returned to the parking lot

Next Week

We visit Black Canyon National Park, a deep and narrow gorge in central Colorado.

(Don’t forget to LIKE our blog posts and to SUBSCRIBE for future updates)