Our First Glitch

     Before leaving Portal, our good Canon camera was not working, so when we arrived in Las Cruces, NM, we made sure to find a camera repair shop. An easy fix, we hoped. We left it there, and went on to Alamogordo to spend some time at White Sands National Monument. Just in case, Lew did a little shopping to find a less expensive small camera (more versatile than a phone camera) to use while the Canon was in the shop. This is what he found:

It's little, but powerful, with a 25-250mm telephoto lens. And, luckily, it takes good pictures, because, as it turns out, the camera couldn't be fixed (we didn't know this until Friday, after we adjusted our plans and spent 3 days in El Paso, instead of going to Guadalupe Mountain National Park). The camera is now on it's way to the Canon repair facility in California. So all our pictures for at least the next month will be taken on this little gem!

     Meanwhile, in Alamogordo we celebrated our anniversary at the only "decent" restaurant in the town (Johnny Carinos!) and we enjoyed the scenery and quiet at White Sands National Monument. It is this expansive sandbox made from gypsum washed down from the mountains and ground fine by the action of wind and water. We took a couple of hikes on "marked" trails - marked by large posts in the sand - and Lew went back for views at sunset.

A giant white sandbox

This hike had a lot of ups and downs.

       We left White Sands on Wednesday and drove to El Paso, hoping that the camera would be fixed in time for Guadalupe and Big Bend National Parks. Instead, we spent 3 nights at the Fort Bliss RV Park and managed a couple of interesting, and challenging, hikes in the local mountains. All in all, we made the most of a bad situation and found we could be flexible when necessary.

Ft Bliss RV Park was very nice.

Looking back down trail to El Paso from Aztec Caves

A difficult climb and more difficult return from Caves

McKilligan Canyon in El Psso

     One thing about hiking in the southwest - you always have to be on the lookout for wildlife. This sign was no comfort to me:

     We left El Paso on Saturday and rather than driving all the way to Big Bend, we decided to stop at the Tumble In RV Park in Marfa, Texas. Why Marfa, you ask? It's located in the middle of nowhere, west Texas. Well, it's because my dad was stationed here for Advanced Pilot training in 1943/44. Unfortunately, the visitors center, which had pictures of what the town looked like then, was closed before we arrived. But it was fun to drive around and try to picture what this place was like for my parents, a couple of 20 year-old southern Californians who had never traveled before.

Original USO building, renovated, and now serving as visitor Center

      All things considered, broken camera, scrapped plans, this has been a good week. Lots of hiking, some pretty (and some dismal) scenery, a look into the past, and time to just relax. Now we are off to Big Bend and three Presidential Libraries in Texas.