Winter weather wreaked slight havoc on our original plans. We had originally planned on camping at Guadalupe but the winter storm projection of temperatures ranging from a HIGH of mid-30s and a low of high teens and sleet put paid to the idea. There was really no chance of getting warm and that's really not fair to us.
The park was amazing but most of the trails are long (4-6 hours to complete) and some are meant for more serious hikers than L or me. After spending the morning at White Sands, we made it in time for a still sunny but pretty windy hike of the Smith Springs trail at the Frijole Ranch. It was quite fun because we encountered various ecosystems from flat prairie to the more lush mountainous type. Winds gusted near 20-30 mph and that made it more interesting as did the remaining ice/snow from a recent winter weather event.
We managed to catch another beautiful sunset before heading to the wee town of Van Horn - our home for the next two days. We had originally planned on staying in Carlsbad because Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns are only 30 minutes away from each other. However, a recent oil boom skyrocketed prices past the point we were willing to pay, especially since we had an extra day of hotel we weren't counting on.
Because of our ambitious itinerary, we didn't get to spend a ton of time at all of the parks - Guadalupe is one I'd definitely revisit!
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