Space Camp isn’t just for Kids
An early Friday morning flight took me to Huntsville, Alabama to the US Space and Rocket Center. Space Camp, or Adult Space Academy, consisted of 14 adult participants. We were a diverse group of nine men, five women aged 30 to 82 years old from the US, Spain, Pakistan and Russia. Some there just as an item on their bucket list, and a few worked in the space industry. The 82-year-old actually worked on Gemini 8.
We checked into our rooms in the “HAB”, which felt a little like a prison. Usually there’s 1200 kids that descend on each camp, so each room has seven bunk beds. I luckily had a room to myself. The HAB looks industrial, more like the underground living of the Dauntless in “Divergent”, but there is a hotel next door if one prefers. You do have to bring your own pillows and linens like a real camp.
We had a packed agenda for the next 48-ish hours. After a short orientation we were right to work with our first group mission. This entailed an ISS stimulation where the shuttle would dock and exchange astronauts and return home. We did 2 missions, with a one hour practice before the real thing.
Each person receives assignment to a different job, from mission specialist and pilots to pay comms. Everyone had distinct activities to complete and time allotted to call it a successful mission. The tricky part were anomalies that are thrown in when you least expect it. This is when it came down to staying calm and communicating to fix the problems and get home safely. These simulations give a better understanding of Apollo 13, when all the red lights are flashing and you’re really limited in resources and reliant on those on the ground for support. Even though my pilot didn’t quite get us on the runway and many red lights were flashing, the experience helps you understand how challenging each mission is and how much time and energy is put into making it as safe as possible.
After completing our first mission we headed straight to rocket construction. Although we would complete them the following day, due to rain we weren’t able to launch until Sunday. An 8:45 p.m. lights out seemed early, but my brain was already ready to rest. With a 6:30 a.m. wake up, we are immediately back to rocket construction. But our next activity of “breakfast with a docent” was a real highlight. We asked lots of questions and heard experiences of those who’ve been around the NASA space program since its inception. It helped us understand the advances and the technology that we’re able to use today because of the space race.
What I didn’t expect was to immediately go to the MAT, the multi-axis trainer, right after breakfast! Although they explain you won’t get sick or lose your stomach because you never rotate on the same access, I was not convinced. We each got about a minute in the MAT and as someone who doesn’t ride roller coasters I was a bit nervous. The sensation was like none other and all of us wanted to go again, even though I was screaming half of the time. And luckily we weren’t tasked with attempting to right ourselves, as astronauts would, it barely seemed possible.
Before lunch we did a second mission, this one to Mars. My job was driving the Rover out to collect equipment, kind of like a video game. Then we got on the Orion capsule to take us home. Again having to handle anomalies on the journey. We toured the rocket museum, and learned more about the upcoming Artemis missions and the sustainability projects that go into that, like getting protein from bugs as a food source. We toured an ISS replica and learned how astronauts exercise two hours every day to maintain their bone density in space. Getting to see archives like the astronaut’s Apollo boots, although they wouldn’t let me try them on, and an invitation from JFK for a dinner that would never happen due to his assassination were another highlight.
Control Station
Another fun activity was the 1/6 chair, for the Moon’s gravity ratio to Earth. It was fun to bounce around in but really quite difficult. But before wrapping up the day we had to build thermal protectors for our eggstronaut. We bought equipment to ensure they wouldn’t get charred or worse! Although my egg survived, it’s definitely interesting to think about the budgeting of the space program and how human life plays into those economics. Our last day was another early morning but we finally got to launch our rockets! Most of them didn’t work out how we wished which is why there’s a rocket Hall of Fame in the trees nearby. Our last activity was the planetarium. We selected the James Webb telescope presentation to view the amazing recently captured photos of stars and planets.
After a short graduation ceremony, our weekend was complete. I definitely learned a ton of information, got to see replicas of rockets, shuttles and simulate the tough job of an astronaut and all those that make NASA a success. Definitely worth it no matter what your age!
Exploring the variety of Texas State Parks
I already spend a lot of time outdoors, but like many people during the pandemic, I was looking to spend more time in the state parks. Texas has 51 state parks, compared to its 2 National Parks. So, this was a good year to invest in a Texas State Park Pass and state exploring. Here’s a few of the stops I made.
Bastrop State Park – This is a small park super close to Austin, and the proximity makes for an easy camping weekend or day hike and keep this park quite busy. Many will remember it was ravaged by wildfires 10 years ago, and the burnt trees still standing are an important reminder. There are few miles of easy hiking trails and good paved trails for biking, or hook up with the neighboring Buescher Park for some hilly road cycling.
Palmetto State Park – This little park was a great day trip but camping is also available. You can SUP, they even have rentals, or enjoy hiking some easy flat trails through the Palmettos.
Goliad State Park – This historical park has short trails but is right on the San Antonio river, where you can camp, paddle and learn more about Cinco de Mayo. Spend time exploring the mission and the museum down the street. Even if you don’t hike or camp, it’s worth a stop for the beautiful mission.
Caddo Lake State Park – Close to the Louisiana border, this park was definitely worth the drive. We booked a shelter only because it was the last camp stop available, which was lucky when a thunderstorm rolled in the first night. I couldn’t believe it didn’t flood and wasn’t very muddy, and the shelter was just enough to keep up dry. And the bathrooms were clean. Make sure to SUP or paddle, weaving in and out of the spooky baldy cypress trees takes you to the river. There’s only about 2.2 miles of trails, but we spent most of the day on the water. For the scenery and water fun, this was an excellent road trip.
Inks Lake State Park – Another very popular park in the Texas hill country. On a calm day you can SUP, but it’s very hard on a windy day! Lots of people enjoy hiking and boating here, and there lots of shaded picnic tables for day or overnight use.
Palo Pinto Mountains State Park – I signed up for the Ultra Expeditions Hidden Hills Race specifically to check out this new state park that’s not yet open to the public. The race gave us a small glimpse of the park with fields of wildflowers galore and also a lot of mosquitos. The hills weren’t too bad, and there were good stretches of the 10k that were relatively flat. I can’t wait for the park to be open, but that will probably be a few years out.
Mustang Island State Park – The Padre Island National Seashore protects 70 miles of beach, in addition to that there are other protected areas. Indoor and outdoor showers, and covered picnic structures make beach days even better.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge – We went for the whooping cranes, but got to see so much more wildlife than I expected. Deer, alligators, and a variety of birds like spoonbills can be seen from the trails or view points. Bonus – this park is near the oldest tree in Texas.
Lost Maples State Natural Area – I’d been wanting to go here for years, and even though I thought the timing was right the maples weren’t showing off just yet. This park is very popular for day or overnight camping. The primitive camp sites are an easy mile+, but some of the hikes that offer amazing views are very steep. I’m glad I finally went, but it wasn’t more amazing than many of the other parks.
Hill Country State Natural Area – I was here for a trail race and what most struck me was the trails I explored were all exposed. Which is something to consider in the summer, although my primitive campsite was shaded. Well marked trails and nice vistas, and close proximity to Bandera, but otherwise not a park I’d go out of my way to visit.
Guadalupe River State Park – An easy two hour drive from Austin, but definitely in a flight path, as we heard many planes passing overhead. Even though Guadalupe River State park is close, it was my first visit and definitely worth it. I’m sure with the easy river access, it’s a popular park in the summer. We rented a teardrop camper for the two night trip, and it was a lovely sunny couple of days. 70 degree high in February is perfect camping weather. Our camper had a bed and kitchen, so the clean and brand new bathrooms with private showers were very ideal. It was an easy 6 mile afternoon hike, although there were more miles of trails on the other side of the river you can drive to. The wildlife was pretty good – 3 does, more armadillos than I could count, one possum and lots of birds – although it wasn’t golden cheek warbler season yet.
What’s your favorite Texas State Park and why? The vastness of the state lends itself to a variety of parks, so get out there and enjoy!
Tips:
- Make reservations well in advance.
- Make it a day trip, if you aren’t into camping. Take a picnic and enjoy the great outdoors.
An Ultimate Hike in the Wonderful Woods of Arkansas
Five years ago I started coaching hikers to complete a one day charity hike with Cure Search’s Ultimate Hike, raising money for children’s cancer research. One of those years Hurricane Harvey hit, which closed down Sam Houston Forest’s Lone Star Trail and delayed our hike a couple months. This year a pandemic hit and delayed our hike, well canceled our hike really. But we decided to ride the wave this year has been and hike the Ozark Highland Trail in Arkansas, 6 months after our original planned hike. With about 6 weeks notice, we started training for the 23 miles of multiple mountain peaks. However, the Texas Hill Country doesn’t really have adequate mountains to prepare one for the trail. But we soldiered on, because at the end of the day this hike would not be about us.
After a few training hikes, the most I’d hiked was 10 miles (not recommended). I was excited for the new scenery, terrain and cool weather. About 25 hikers, coaches, and volunteers socially distance together for the weekend, temperatures were taken and high fives were discouraged. I keep coming back to hike with Cure Search because it starts to become a family when you see the same people year after year and get to meet really cool new people each hike.
We started before dawn at 5:00 a.m. from Fane Creek concerned about our first water crossing, shortly after the trailhead. Luckily there wasn’t enough rain the day before to fill the cree. So we were able to cross without it filling our hiking boots and start our ascent.
After a couple hours, the sun started to rise, birds chirped and when the autumnal colors showed themselves we were awestruck. Coming from Texas, where it was still practically summer, I realized this is why people think October is Fall! We arrived at our first aid station about 6 miles in, 3 hours later. We stopped to refuel our water and have a snack, making sure to mask up before getting too close to any volunteers that might have to bandage our blisters.
Normally, now that we had light, we’d hike faster but the next section was the hardest, at 8ish miles. That took us up and down two strong peaks, across some shallow water crossings, and by waterfalls. We even met a couple that saw a bear a couple miles ahead of us but we never encountered it ourselves. Although we’d done all right following the blazes in the dark, in the daylight the trail was well marked with mile markers also, making getting lost one less worry!
Our second aid station was at the top of White Pass Mountain, a campsite of stunning views of the forest with bright reds and oranges and greens as far as you could see. Even though we were exhausted we didn’t spend too much time resting. We still had the last 8 miles to Dockery’s Gap. Our goal was to finish by dark, plus sitting around made us cold. So after I chugged a cup of Gatorade and had my third Uncrustable for the day, we set off. At that point I was hiking with three other Texans. Even though the last section was demanding with constant climbs and significant elevation change, now every tiny hill felt significant.
The last section always seems longer, but hikers sign up for this type of event because they know they can survive it. Many hikers have survived cancer themselves or with someone they love, and pushing your body for one day is nothing compared to the grit they’ve already demonstrated. And it’s an honor for me to remind them of that. So when the sun set, we put our headlamps back on for the final push. Unfortunately this was straight up another mountain! We were greeted by the cheers of the waiting volunteers shortly after sunset, 13 and half hours after we started. We were emotionally and physically spent. And I may or may not have eaten a whole pizza before sleep overcame me.
The next morning we shared battle wounds, tears and laughs before departing for the one of our many home states. But I was still on a high from the weekend. So I decided to drive to Mount Magazine and tackle the state’s highest point. Lucky for my legs, I was able to drive most of the way, and the round trip hike was only 1.5 miles! The area was gorgeous and worth the detour despite it being so foggy but I didn’t get to fully appreciate the stunning views I’d heard you get at the lodge.
During the pandemic, I’ve found myself even more thankful for parks, nature and so much outside space to explore. In that, Arkansas has a lot to offer. Driving home, I passed many signs for state parks and couldn’t resist also stopping at Devil’s Den. Also, a wonderful pit stop, if you are in the area. Trails vary in length and that take you to caves and waterfalls. All in all, Arkansas has some superb parks. I know I’ll be back to explore more on foot and bike.
Tips:
- Hiking poles are highly recommended for this trail.
- Check out one of the Ultimate Hike info sessions at REI or calls to learn about to join a hike.
- The more you hike, the more snacks you get to eat. It’s just a fact.
Through the Gears: Dirt Bike Enduros
I’ve completed many different races, and I’ve spectated many races, but when my husband started racing dirt bike enduros we had a lot to learn. Many get into racing because they know someone doing it, but if you don’t maybe this can shed some light. In the past three years, we’ve had a blast traveling from middle-of-nowhereville West Texas to Oklahoma to Colorado. But no matter how demanding each race is, it felt difficult to just get started in the sport. Hopefully I can share some helpful information, from a racer and spectator’s perspective, to get you from casual rider to podium killer. Okay, okay, maybe not the podium part, but as I tell my husband, having fun is practically a win.
Getting Started
Probably the most intimidating part to any sport is transitioning from rider to racer. But if you are already into dirt biking then you are used to being challenged, go ahead – take the leap! If you want to get into dirt bike riding for racing or just for fun, send an email here for lessons info.
Before the first race, I had a million questions. TSCEC, or Texas State Championship Enduro Circuit, is Texas’ enduro series which hosts a number of races each year. But since we are usually driving many hours to get to different race sites anyway, we also went to a RMEC race, which is the Colorado circuit, and Blackjack, out of Oklahoma. The organizations are volunteer run, and those volunteers do an amazing job organizing and maintaining the safety of the racers on trails that may cover 100 miles.
Most of those race-day questions though may not be answered. As a racer, I’m used to knowing the route, terrain, and elevation changes. For these races you may only get the mileage, because part of the challenge is being able to adapt. If the mileage seems daunting, it is broken up into tests with a short rest time of 5-10 minutes between each depending on when you finished the last test. It’s still tough but it’s not full throttle the whole time. Racers are divided into classes based on ability. AA and A being the top classes and C being the jumping off point for newer racers. C class riders usually have a shortened version of the A/B tests, called the “short course”, or “super-short course” for the younger racers. Classes are then broken up further based on age or your bike’s engine size.
Race Day
Once you’ve put time and mileage on the bike and are ready for your first race, what’s race day like? Every race day will start with a rider’s meeting about an hour before the official race time start. However, based on your number you’ll start that many minutes after the official start, as riders are released in rows every minute. So, if your race number is 12, the rider’s meeting will be at 8am, race starts at 9am, and you’ll start on your first test at 9:12am. From there you’ll follow the marked course until the end of that test, where you’ll line up again just like the first test. The marker tape and arrows are your life line to stay on course, and more info on that is typically given during the riders’s meeting. There may also be a designated gas stop break, to allow refueling of your bike and your body.
If you are feeling nervous, don’t worry you won’t be alone. Everyone had their first race once, and although there’s sadly few women racers, there are men of all ages and abilities. And the camaraderie is as good as any other trail sports I know. Eventually, after 4, 5, 6, or even 7 hours you’ll finally finish! Time to eat!
Spectating
Enduros are mostly not spectator-friendly. There may be a few spots where you can see your racer at the start or end of a test. But most of the hours I read or hike around. Most races are held at private ranches, where there’s probably no cell coverage. There also may or may not be food trucks, so always take snacks. The race may also be quite a few miles from any town. Plan to stay at the race site for many hours, and plan to not be able to get food immediately after the race, unless you traveled in an RV. I mostly go to provide my husband some company on the road trip, since he’s done the same for me.
Tips:
- Bring your own food and drinks for racers and spectators.
- Bring a towel.
- Wear boots for the cactus, mud, mesquite needles etc.
- Bring cash for a race shirt, which are usually provided by the sponsoring area riding club.
- Check the TSCEC website for the race schedule. About a month before each race a flyer will be posted with the race’s mileage.
- During training, practice being on the bike for 5 hours.
Alaska: Land of the midnight sun
My husband’s dream to ride his motorcycle to Alaska was finally realized this month. It would take him about a month to ride from Austin, Texas to Fairbanks, Alaska and back. For me, this was too long to be apart, plus, I also really wanted to go to Alaska! So, we decided I’d meet him there about 13 days into his trip, and we’d spend four days together before he began his return trip home. With only four days in Alaska, visiting Denali National Park was at the top of my list. So, I flew into Fairbanks, the closest major airport, with a stop in Seattle which is at least a 10 hour trip.
Fairbanks
I arrived in Fairbanks at 1am wearing my sunglasses. I couldn’t get over this “midnight sun”. I’d been traveling for 23 hours at that point, and was incredibly disoriented even though it’s only a three-hour time difference. Even with an eye mask, after five nights I never got on a regular sleep pattern.
It rained the first day, so we took the very touristy train ride to Gold Dredge 8. It was touristy but still a lot of fun to learn the gold-mining history and pan for gold. Together we found $28 of gold that they’ll conveniently put in a $30 keepsake necklace. For lunch we headed over to The Cookie Jar, which everyone recommended because it was on “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”, I loved the name but didn’t find it to be anything special.
Since it was still raining, our hopes of kayaking were dashed, we headed to North Pole. It’s Christmas year-round in this tiny town. Christmas banners hang from the candy cane light posts in July. We stopped into the Christmas store to take a picture with Santa, and see the reindeer.
We stopped in the sleepy downtown of Fairbanks. There’s a nice paved hike and bike trail along the river, and rentable bikes to check out parked all over. We wandered into the visitor’s center which offers a small museum and lots of local trail maps. I picked a few trail maps, and we ran back to the car in a downpour. What do you do on a rainy Sunday? That’s right – we went to the local Hoodoo brewery. This was a great little spot with a nice outdoor area and a food truck. It’s was a really long day considering we slept so little, so we went to the historic Pump House for an amazing salmon dinner.
We slept 11 hours that night! This was surprising since our VRBO cabin didn’t have curtains and it was so bright. It was a clear day, so we headed down Chena Springs Road outside of town to hike Angel Rocks. It took about two hours round trip on clearly marked trails. The parking lot was full, but mostly we were by ourselves except for the mosquitoes that just wouldn’t quit. Even with the bug spray and pants I still had lots of bites. We headed a few miles up the road to Chena Hot Springs. As soon as we got in the springs, it started raining again but it was quite nice. I wasn’t too impressed with the Springs themselves, it was just one big pool with moss covered rocks and no where to sit, so we didn’t stay long. There’s also an ice museum that looked interesting, but we wanted to start the 1.5 hour ride back to Fairbanks. We stopped into the Banks Alehouse for dinner, and I got some sad halibut tacos with one piece of fish that was half the diameter of the tortilla. It was good, but I needed a second dinner. I did try this weird gummy bear beer that smelled just like gummy bears and had them soaked in the bottom, but it wasn’t that great either. But I was super excited to head out to Denali the next day.
Denali National Park
We were on the road by 6am the next morning so we could make the most of our two days in Denali National Park. It’s about a two hour drive from Fairbanks. I wanted to get to the visitor’s center when it opened so we could sign up for the following day’s discovery hike, an off trail hike with a ranger, but it was booked up. You can only sign up for them two days in advance but with the fourth of July holiday I knew it would be a slim chance. Denali is over six million acres, but only has 35 miles of trail, so off trail hiking is promoted. I don’t have any experience with that so I wanted to go with a guide. You can only drive the first 15 miles of the only park road, so buses run regularly to different spots in the park. We got tickets that would take us to the Eielson visitor center at mile 66. This would normally be an eight hour trip but we had an extra hour waiting for a rescue bus when our’s broke down. It was a warm 78 degree day and the the mountain was out so it wasn’t a big inconvenience. 
For our patience, we were rewarded with lots of wildlife sightings! We saw at least eight grizzlies, including two cubs, countless caribou, and a moose with two babies right on the side of the road. We were also able to see the Denali mountain, the highest in the U.S. Only 30% of people actually get to see it due to the storms and cloud cover.
I didn’t understand the bus thing as first, but after a long day it was nice to sleep on the way back and wake up when someone yelled at the driver to stop for a bear! The buses cut down on traffic and wasted resources, and it was helpful to have 30 pairs of eyes looking for wildlife. If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic in Yellowstone because a buffalo was crossing the street, you’d appreciate it! And although it wasn’t a narrated tour, the driver answered all our questions and offered some info on the park. Once on a bus you can get off anywhere and pick up a bus going in your direction anywhere as long as there’s room, but after seeing all those grizzlies I wanted to stick to the trails.
The following day we hiked the Horseshoe Lake Trail near the visitor’s center before grabbing a bus to the kennels for the dog sled demo. This is definitely a highlight for animal lovers. You can pet and hug the dogs, and learn about how they are bred and see them screaming around a short track pulling a ranger. It was a warm day for the dogs but they were very exiting to see in action.
We only had a few more hours, so we decided to take a bus to hike the Savage River area. Although this is the farthest spot you can drive your own vehicle, we took a bus because we had such a good experience the day before. This was a mistake. We picked up the bus at the visitor’s center and it made about four stops including returning to where we were picked up before heading out. The 15ish miles took us over an hour and one bus driver’s life story. So word to the wise – check the bus schedule. The Savage River area was beautiful and worth the effort to check out those trails. And we were able to quickly catch a bus back that took less than 30 minutes. Before we left the park, I turned in my Junior Ranger activity book and got my Denali park badge. My 10-year-old self was super excited about this!
Heading back to Fairbanks for our last night, we stopped at the 49th State Brewery for dinner. The “Magic Bus” from the “Into The Wild” movie sits here with an Enter At Your Own Risk sign. The real bus still sits deep in the back country as a refuge for hikers, just as it was for Chris McCandless until his death. Entering that bus was heavy, and reminded me how wild the wilderness can be. I headed to the airport at 4am the next morning with my sunglasses on.
Tips:
- Take bug spray. Yes, the mosquitoes are as bad as they say.
- Take an eye mask for sleeping, our VRBO didn’t have curtains.
- Don’t forget your towel for the hot springs, or pay a $5 rental fee.
- Even adults can be Junior Rangers! Ask for an activity book at any state or national park, and once completed you’ll receive a badge.
What is this? These exhaust vents are beautifully painted all over downtown Fairbanks.
No this isn’t an electric car. Some cars have plugs so they can be plugged in during the winter to keep the engines from freezing.
Hike to the Top of Texas: Guadalupe Peak
You’d have thought we were just another Thelma and Louise, without the Brad Pitt part. I woke at five a.m., eager to start our eight hour road trip to West Texas. You’ll understand if you’ve ever driven through West Texas, it’s a flat, high-speed expanse of big sky ruralness. But a perfect place to escape it all, a place to soothe your soul and an inopportune place to run out of gas. My husband might describe it differently, using more romantic and dramatic words, and perhaps that’s the point. It’s a place that will fill you up with whatever you need, that is except gasoline.
My friend, Kimberlee, and I set out to bag the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the highest natural point in Texas in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. At an honorable 8,715 feet, it ranks 14th out of highest state points. We took Friday off of work, arriving around noon, hoping to get one of the peak’s five backpacking permits. Even though we got pulled over just outside Fort Stockton by a very kind highway patrolman, we still made great time. He reminded us to slow it down a bit and then sent us on our way. We were able to snag one of the last backpacking permits, which are free, knowing it would be a busy weekend for the Veteran’s holiday. We wanted at least four hours of daylight so we wouldn’t have to set up camp in the dark. The backpacking campground sits about a mile from the summit. We planned to be at the summit the following day in time to catch the sunrise.
We rolled into camp in just under three hours after many stops. The weather couldn’t have been better, it was hot when we started but after rounding the bend, the trail becomes shaded and windy and a comfortable temperature. Although it was barely five p.m., Kimberlee cooked up a very tasty chicken and dumplings Mountain House dinner. By 6:30 we were snug in our Big Agnes Fly Creek tent (on clearance now at REI, plus footprint). Exhausted from the drive and hike, we fell asleep immediately but woke up often to the howling winds. My friend had recently summited, so I was well-versed in the high winds and took extra heavy duty tent stakes. But I was still nervous each time the side of the tent was mashed against my face. You could hear the wind gathering force like a giant wave, roaring up from the valley and threatening to rip the rain fly right out of the ground.
Eleven hours later, I unzipped the tent to a stunning fire banded sky – one dazzling red strip between the black. I was gobsmacked. As we headed up the summit, I kept stopping to watch the sky but had to wake myself back up and keep going. It took less than an hour, and we had enough light about halfway to turn off our headlamps. As I rounded the last corner, I saw the summit marker just above me. Victory! The wind was ruthless, but I found a small spot behind some rocks that allowed me to sit and watch the sunrise in peace. It’s a very humbling and spiritual thing to reach a summit, to see the Earth as the big beautiful thing it was intended to be, to shut out the noise and just be present.
After a short time of book signing and selfie taking, we headed back down to camp. We left our packs inside the tent to hold it down while we were gone and luckily our tent was still attached to the earth. Another backpacker said his tent had flown halfway down the hill. Our Mountain House Mac and Cheese breakfast was a fail, but nothing could break out spirits after that sunrise. We passed a lot of people on the way down hiking the peak as a day hike, but I’d highly recommend catching the sunrise or sunset at the top. It really is the best view, and you won’t have to share the moment with many others. There was only one other person for part of the time at the top with us. All in all, it took us about six and a half hours with packs.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is one of the least visited national parks, probably because of the remote location near the Texas/New Mexico border, and also because it doesn’t have many camping spots. All 20 tent spots are first-come-first-served with no reservations. When we got to the trailhead in the campgrounds about 10:30am, we were lucky to snag a campsite from someone that was just leaving. We ditched the backpacking tent, and set up a more spacious home, complete with a spot to hang my Madera Hammock.
After resting a bit, we headed over to the visitor center to check out the exhibit. It had lots of really good info on the park, and animal replicas. We also discovered that you do NOT have to be a child to become a Junior Ranger. We diligently worked on the provided workbook, and earned our first Junior Ranger badge!
We were so excited about our new badges, we set off to hike Devil’s Hall Trail. Although, it took us less than two and a half hours, this trail did required some scrambling. It’s an easy first mile to the wash, then it’s mostly unmarked, but just keep going. If you follow the wash, you’ll eventually end up at a pretty cool site. But make sure you take a torch or keep an eye on the daylight because you are in the shaded creek bed.
Then lucky for us, there was a star viewing party that night. Two astronomers had set up their telescopes, as if the stars in that dark sky weren’t amazing enough. They pointed out some amazing sights, and we took turns on the telescopes. It was an excellent cap to the day. Some deer joined us for our Sunday morning breakfast before we packed up. Besides one roadrunner, we didn’t see much wildlife. We headed a mile up the road to the Frijole Ranch. From there, Smith Springs is about an hour easy hike that offered us some beautiful fall foliage. Not something we get a lot of in Central Texas.
We wanted to hike the McKittrick trail, which may have the best viewing for fall colors, but we were having a minor gas crisis. No matter what direction you come from, the nearest gas station may be 30 miles or more from the park. Even knowing this we failed to fill up and found ourselves driving 40 miles out of the way to Dell City. It’s a small town with two gas stations, both of which are closed on Sundays, but we asked someone on the street and they directed us to a small credit card station, so we were able to get gas before we were on fumes. It was a wonderful weekend being in nature, but I was ready for a shower. And it’d be eight short hours before I’d finally get one.
Tips:
- The Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in the Mountain Time Zone (MST), right on the border.
- Expect high winds at the top and prepare accordingly. Take extra tent stakes if you are camping, and a headband to keep your hair from whipping you in the face.
- Plan to take at least a gallon of water for Guad Peak. There is potable water near the trailheads, but not on any trails.
- The nearest gas station is at least 30 miles away from the park, plan accordingly.
- Fires are prohibited in the park, take a camp stove.
- Take trekking poles, the made a huge difference to me and I don’t usually use them.
Nashville: From one music city to another
48 hours isn’t nearly enough time to explore any city, but I did the best I could in Nashville. I arrived with the specific goal of finishing the Nashville Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, anything else would be a bonus.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon was my makeup race from the Mississippi Blues fiasco. Since that race was cancelled, they generously offered a free race entry into a handful of Rock ‘n’ Roll branded races. I decided on Nashville because I hadn’t been there in 20 years, and knew it would offer a tough but fun course. Unfortunately for me, all the half marathons slots
were taken by the time I made a decision. So I signed up for the full with no real intentions of doing anything more than a half. The Rock ‘n’ Roll races are great in that you can change to a shorter distance without notice, if needed. Plus, I’d never run a full marathon before and figured there were better things to do with six hours!
About a month before the race, and no, I have no idea why my brain did this, I thought to myself, “Well, what if I do the full?” I figured since I was going to Nashville alone, no one would be waiting for hours for me to finish, and I had nothing else to do and nothing to lose, except some lbs. (NOTE: No pounds were lost in the process.) That was a mistake. There was A LOT I could have been doing. It must have been one of those irrational things you tell yourself when faced with fear.
So, I started training for a full marathon…for a month. To be fair, I didn’t start from square one. I knew I could run 13 miles, but friends, just because you can easily eat half a pizza doesn’t mean you should just eat the whole thing. I planned to train for the full and then make a decision. My longest run was 19 miles but I decided to go for it, my mind was made up. And then the week before the race
, emails were sent to the runners warning us to take precautions and plan for a hot race day. My last run, the weekend before the race, was 50 degrees in Austin. I knew the race was going to be brutal, but I do love a challenge.
I landed in Nashville Friday morning, and hopped on the local bus ($1.75) which dropped me right at the convention center for the expo. After collecting my race packet and bag of random samples, I headed to The Stillery for lunch. I found this place on Yelp, and headed upstairs after the hostess pointed me in the direction of live music.
The musician sang the required Johnny Cash hits, as I tried to eat a huge hamburger…you know, carb loading. Then I walked over to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I spent a couple hours browsing the instruments, costumes, stories and Elvis’ gold-plated car. Then I realized I’d been up since 5am, and should really get off my feet. So, I jumped on a b-cycle. I could bike to about a half mile to my hotel, then I’d have to walk the rest.
My sweet friends ordered some snacks to be left at my hotel, so as I lay in bed eating chex-mix and gummy bears I decided I was too tired get dinner. About 9:30pm, I saw fireworks over the Nashville Sounds baseball stadium. I was bummed I didn’t think to go to the game, but I had a big day ahead of me.
Runners on the big screen, as we rounded the bases. That was a home run for me!
It felt like just a couple hours later, I started walking to the starting line. I met a few other runners heading to the race, a couple ladies ordered a taxi who then couldn’t get there because of the road closures. I expected as much, and headed to the nearest B-cycle station, and biked to a couple blocks from the start. They were right about the heat, I was already sweating as I entered my corral. The race had great spectators, and there were lots of sprinklers and other water stations to help keep us cool, but the hills and the heat were wearing on the soul. The race course took us through many neighborhoods, down Music Row, we even got to run the bases at the Sounds’ stadium, and ended at Nissan Stadium, the home of the Titans. The miles went on and on, but after five plus hours, I rounded the last corner and earned my medal. Now, I just had to walk a mile back to the hotel! But for the moment I was jazzed. 
Now I was ready to have some fun. That evening I treated myself and took a Lyft over to Tailgate Brewery for pizza and beer, neither of which was super great, but it was nice to sit on the patio and not move. I grabbed a b-cycle and headed to the Ascend Amphitheater for The Band Perry concert. The Rock ‘n’ Roll races always have a headliner 
band in addition to the live music on the course. They put on a high energy show and included covers of Freddy Mercury, Cee Lo, and the Eurythmics. I was quite impressed. After the concert, I headed down Broadway to check out Music Row. But it didn’t take long for me to realize I was beat. This is definitely a city I would enjoy visiting again, just without racing next time.
Tips:
- A rental car is not necessary if you plan to stay around downtown. They have good and some free public transportation, bike rentals and ride-shares.
Treble clef bike racks of course.
Art murals in Austin and B-cycles Just Because
I may be biased having grown up here, but Austin is a great city. While known for it’s live music and delicious BBQ, there is always something to do – and oftentimes it’s free! Sometimes it’s hard to find all the hidden gems as a tourist, so I’m here to help.
3700 Guadalupe
A mosaic of shells and wood and stuff at Sparky Park, 3701 Grooms St
One of my favorite things about the city are all the murals, statues, sculptures and art installations. There are a handful of murals that are extremely popular like Daniel Johnston’s Jeremiah The Innocent, or more commonly know as the Hi, How Are You? Frog, and the Greetings from Austin postcard mural (1720 S 1st St.). It’s a common sight, and rightly so, to see people taking their pictures with the Willie Nelson or Stevie Ray Vaughn statues.
A couple of years ago we hosted a foreign exchange student; she was a lovely 15-year-old. And what did this 15-year-old love? Taking selfies. So, we took her cruising around town to a bunch of murals for photo ops, and she loved it. After I finished patting myself on my back for being such an amazing “parent”, I realized I loved it too.
East Sixth somewhere, we just happened upon this one.
The reflective surface is like a carnival mirror. 30°16’32.8″N 97°44’00.8”W
So, when a dear friend of mine decided to move, I knew exactly what we should do. I planned an Austin Art B-cycle tour. We all love riding bikes, and the bike share system is just a fun way to get around. I planned an almost ten mile route with as many stops, including a stop for beer and jumbo pretzels – you know, to carb up for our ride. This actually took a bit of planning. I had to find addresses of the murals, lay over that a map of the B-Cycle stations, then plan a bike friendly route where we could see a bunch of art in a reasonable amount of time. We ended up biking about three hours, and still hadn’t hit all the planned stops, but only because we really enjoyed our beer stop.
United Way 2000 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
At the end of the ride, not only did we have tons of laughs, a little exercise, an excellent tour of Austin from a friendly local (that’s me), but some amazing photos we could all treasure. Other notable murals stops include the ever-changing Hope Gallery, and if you climb to the top there’s a great view of downtown, the all things Austin mural on the frontage of 1-35 and 6th, and the I love you so much script at Jo’s on Congress, and perhaps the most Austin-ish of all is the Matthew McConaughey Alright Alright Alright mural.
And we were. E. Cesar Chavez & Waller
Tips:
- Spend time pretending your a tourist in your own city, and just do the touristy stuff.
- Selfie sticks would come in handy, I totally get them now.
- Here’s the actual map: https://goo.gl/maps/6ehCrWAdn9S2 There’s a B-Cycle station at the starting point. (Not all murals shown, so you can see them on your own.)
2000 E 12th St
Probably my favorite stop. The glass mosaic at Shipe Park, 4400 Avenue G
Cotopaxi Questival: A Questivus for the rest of us
There’s a difference between a race and an adventure race. You can’t train, you can’t really plan, your nutrition is likely to go out the window. But you still need a competitive spirit, endurance, and “llamazing” teammates and supporters. Without giving away all the surprises, here’s some of our adventures and mis-adventures on the Cotopaxi Questival.
Breakfast at a moon tower. Austin is the only city in the world known to still have moon towers.
When my hiking friend, Kimberlee, told me about this race, I was in. And yes, as a matter of fact I do have four other crazy friends, Kari, Rich, Dana and Bill, who would be up for it. This is the pitch: spend 24 hours with little sleep traveling around Austin c
ompleting unknown tasks. I feel like I should have asked more questions, but surprises make the journey. Kari, Bill and I competed in the Cap2Coast Relay together, so spending many smelly hours in a car with little sleep wasn’t new to us.
Even though you don’t know what the tasks are until 24 hours before the race start, we did know they would fall into the categories of camping, teamwork, food, service and adventure. Basically the challenge is to do things you don’t normally do – and some of those things are for good reason.
The first step was to come up with a clever team name. We chose “Llama said knock you out”, since Cotopaxi’s brand mascot is a llama. The night before the race we met up for about four hours of strategizing. We finally called it a night knowing we needed a good night’s rest. We only planned for a mere four hours of sleep during the race (we ended up getting less than three).
The race started at 7pm on Friday, and most of the team took off work to pack, plan and organize. We arrived at the race start at 5pm, and would end at 7pm the following night. Each team is given a totem that must be in every task’s picture or video, so you don’t try to complete any tasks before the official start. We downloaded the Questify app, which listed each task, every team page and rank and sent notifications. Being unprepared for technology to fail was part of the mis-adventure.
Every adventure should start with a dance party!
Two hours in, we had already completed five tasks. Each task is assigned points, so completing many tasks is as important as completing high value tasks and we could follow our ranking in the app. And then we got a flat tire. None of us had a vehicle big enough for the six of us, so we had to take two cars. After changing the flat, we switched out that car with another, so we wouldn’t waste time getting it fixed.
From beginning…
to the end. We took a lot of selfies.
We arrived at our camp site about 12:30am, and were on our way again by 6 so we could catch the sunrise. It was nice when we could take a few minutes to be still and enjoy the journey. I was worried we would be so stressed trying to complete the challenges that we would stop having fun, but for me that wasn’t the case. When I looked back at the photos we were laughing in so many of them, and we are still laughing about some of the stunts we pulled.
Our expressions speak volumes. Yes, he ate worm and yes, it was horrible.
Getting creative with our photos.
Not only were we tasked with completing as many challenges as possible, we also wanted to take creative photos. If you
make the top ten teams, then you judged by your peers based on the photos and videos you submitted. While we weren’t even close to the top ten, we finished in a respectable 69th out of 523 teams. Considering my goals were to finish top 100, and to have fun, I feel like we won.
The Questival is stopping in about 45 cities this year, and Austin was just the first stop. The organization of the event had some hiccups, but for the $35 entry fee which included a Cotopaxi Luzon backpack we didn’t have much to lose. The backpack itself is pretty cool because the seamstresses who make them pick the colors, so no two are exactly alike.
The race is chose-your-own-adventure style, and you can stop at any time. We competed until the very last minute, but there were so many tasks we wanted but didn’t have time to do. I have to say I was definitely stretched out of my comfort zone with the lack of sleep and having to talk to strangers, but for all the laughs we shared it was worth it.
Tips:
- Decide ahead of time what’s your mission; to have win or to have fun. We are super competitive but wanted both.
- Bring healthy snacks. It was a long day and we had no real meals. High brew and candy only get you so far.
- Have fun! I was worried we’d kill each other, but nope I just adore my teammates more!
Photo credits: Bill Maroon, and Kimberlee Arce
When it’s just not meant to be: Mississippi Blues Race
I hadn’t planned to blog about this weekend, but the ridiculousness of just getting to Jackson, Mississippi warrants a few words.
I signed up for the 10th anniversary of the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon, which would have been my sixth half marathon in as many states. I picked this race, because I’d only spent about an hour at a time in Mississippi. That’s how long it takes to drive through the small part on our way to Florida. I thought this would be a short juant to collect another medal, but give us 48 hours to check out the city’s famous Blues music and civil rights history. Not only would there be music along the race route, there would be a blues crawl the night of the race. And when I heard we were getting jackets instead of shirts, I was more than excited.
It was a warm 70 degrees for my last training run the weekend before the race. But January came in with a bang. Friday, the day before the race, brought a severe cold front to the South, especially to major cities that aren’t prepare for icy conditions. Our second flight to Jackson was already cancelled when we arrived in Houston at 9am. There were three flights later that day, but the next two we could only get on standby. By about 11am, both of those flights were also cancelled due to the severe weather. At the same time I received an email from the race that everything was still on. So, while I’m also trying to work at the airport, we now have to figure out a new route to Jackson. Surrounding area airports were still open, and the closest was Monroe, LA with a two hour drive. This would also require us renting a car to drive to the Jackson airport to get the rental car I’d already paid for. A handful of people in front of us in the customer service line, were also planning on flying into a different city and driving the rest of the way.
It sounds complicated, and it was. Luckily my husband was super supportive and agreed to this plan, knowing instead of flying into severe weather, we might now be driving into it. Our flight to Monroe was a short 35 minutes, and we got the last two seats on the flight. My seat was 1A – practically first class, if this regional jet had such a thing – but I was actually the only seat in row 1. So now, after two short 35 minute flights, we just had to drive two more hours. The first hour was fine, but it started to sleet as we entered Mississippi.
Practically first class, except the plane was so tiny the first row only had one seat: mine.
The next hour was slow going. We passed at least ten vehicles in ditches, so we took our time along the slushy roads. Our first stop in Jackson was packet pickup. While there wasn’t much of an expo, they did have live music and I got my race jacket! The roads were a bit icy, and we almost slipped just walking into the convention center. Now, we had to get to the airport to exchange rental cars. While it was only about ten miles, the traffic and ice made it a tense drive. As we got near the airport, we realized it was kind of dark and quiet. At that moment I realized, if our flights were cancelled the whole airport might have closed down. The rental car attendants were still there, and even though my original rental was through a different company, they let us keep the same car. And we found out that indeed the airport had been closed the whole day.
All in all, it took us about ten hours to get to Jackson. That’s double what I thought it would take, but at least we made it. That’s also a couple hours more than if we had just driven the whole way in the first place, not to mention the cost. After such a stressful day, we needed nourishment. The Iron Horse Grill was giving a racer discount, and it did not disappoint. It was also the top stop I wanted to hit on the Blues Crawl the next night.
I got the email about 9pm that the race was cancelled, I was disappointed to say the least. The road conditions were only going to get worse over night. So, I turned off my alarm and crashed. It had been an exhausting day. I couldn’t even image how the race director must have felt.
The next day, I figured we’d do all the things we planned to do the day before and didn’t do. The first guy I talked to in the elevator said he’d already ran that morning. Well, challenge accepted! I mentally added a run to the day’s activities. He also told me I could still pick up my race medal. Now, this might be a little controversial, but yes, I still wanted my medal. I came to this city to run, which I did do maybe not a half marathon, but sometimes just getting to the start line is medal worthy. And if nothing else, I wanted it to dedicate to my husband. The medal has ten guitars and I told him five were his. A lot of us have supporters, encouragers and those that make us dinner so we can eat as soon as we finish our long runs. I would never have even gotten to that start line without him. So, yes I will take that medal, thank you very much. 
We ice skated out of the hotel and to the car – definitely dicey road conditions. A sheet of white slush covered the roads, but of course there were people out running! After picking up the ginormous medal, the first place I wanted to go was the Medgar Evers Home. I had originally booked a tour with the curator, from Tougaloo College, but called her from Houston when I knew we wouldn’t make it. There are a couple informational signs outside the home, and I was glad we could at least pay homage to a man that fought for civil rights and social justice. A fight we are still fighting this day.
The Evers’ home has no front door. They thought it would be safer, but he was still killed in his driveway. His killer wouldn’t be convicted for over 30 years.
Next we head over to the Lucky Town Brewery. We drove by it about three times, until we noticed the tiny sign. There were no cars around, so I called – no answer – and then looked at their Facebook page, which indicated they were open but just use the back door. My husband wasn’t sure about walking into this abandoned warehouse, but as soon as we saw the “Christopher Walk-In” sign on the walk-in cooler, we knew we were in the right place. This little brewery has only been around a few years, but they had eight beers on tap! The “tour” costs $10 for a pint and six 6 oz. pours, plus there’s a tap room, and plenty of games. We ended up playing corn hole against a few other would-be marathoners we met. It was easy to make new friends because it was so cold everyone was wearing their new race jackets. We spent almost three hours there before we left to find lunch. They also gave us tickets for a free beer at a local pizza joint. 
Our new friends suggested Pig and Pint, but it was closed when we arrived. The roads were drying up and we didn’t have any issues as long as we stayed off bridges, but we guessed most people opted to stay home that day. It was a bitingly cold day, but the sun was out and the roads were mostly dry now. So, after a quick consult with Yelp, we went around the corner to Saltine, a cute oyster bar in an old brick school building. We were treated to oysters, gumbo and blackened catfish – a yelp success.
We cruised over to the Mississippi Museum of Art next. When I picked up my medal, I noticed a sign saying they’d be open later and admission was free. The museum was small, but a nice exhibit and really we had nothing else to do, since the city was mostly shut down.
Abandoned gatorade at the would-be race finish, outside the Museum of Art.
It wasn’t going to get any warmer, so I went for a six mile run. I came to this city to run and I was determined to earn that medal. As long as I kept moving and stayed on the sunny side of the street it was bearable. My run took my by the Mississippi War Memorial, the Old Capital Museum, the Capital, a cemetery, and a Wing-stop.
The race’s Facebook page notified us that the Blues shuttle was not going to be
running after all. Some of the venues were even closed. Hal and Mal’s was nearby, but when we walked in we were told there’d be no live music since the musicians cancelled. We figured that’s about how it was going to be everywhere so after some amazing Jambalaya nachos, we headed to Sal and Mookie’s for dessert. Actually that was the third place we went to but the first two were closed. My husband summed up the weather best: underprepared for the first day, and over prepared for the next. By now the roads were a non-issue.
The next morning the airport had re-opened and our flight left on time. But as we sat on the runway in Houston, waiting for our gate to open, our connection was already boarding. We sprinted to our next gate, only to be told the doors closed five minutes ago. So, we ran to the customer service desk to try to get on the next flight leaving in a hour. Well, that flight already had nine people on standby. We were booked on the next next flight which was already delayed. We didn’t even get lunch vouchers because our original flight was less an hour delayed, even though we’d now be spending over four more hours in the airport. I crazily thought getting home would be easy. It’s tough to sit in an airport knowing you could just drive home faster. After about ten extra travel hours, no race, and no live music, I definitely had the blues.
I can’t help but wonder what the rest of the year is going to be like.
Tips:
- Check out Lucky Town Brewery. They even have games for the kids and live music every third Saturday.
- Call Mrs. Watson at Tougaloo College for a tour of the Medgar Evers home, and let me know how it is.
- Follow the self guided civil rights trail.
- Check out a blues artist featured at local venue, and again let me know how it is.
- Make the most of it – whatever that means to you. And when everything is going wrong, I hope you have a friend by your side that helps you laugh about it. If not, a giant dessert might help.