2019 Aug 14-20 NP Roadtrip

We continued to check off a few more National Parks on our list. It was a 2900 mile trek from Oxnard to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, up to Black Canyon of Gunnison in Colorado and back home. We visited 7 National Parks along the way, Saguaro, Guadalupe Mountain, Carlsbad Caverns, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Petrified Forest. These were some of the smaller parks so we really didn't have a good idea what to expect but I was surprised by beauty of what we did see.

We visited Saguaro West, not realizing that there was a separate Saguaro East park. Temps were in the 100s so the rangers did not recommend any trails but suggested the 8 mile Bajada Loop Drive to see some of the prominent trees and rock formations. Not the most exciting park but you develop a respect for the age of the Saguaro cactus.

On the way to Carlsbad, we noticed a sign to the Guadalupe Mountain NP that I had not known about or planned to visit but the visitor center was right off Highway 62 and was an easy stop. The park is primarily a hiking park with no scenic roads or lookouts. We did a short walk around the visitors center and viewed their "El Capitan" which they claim is older than the more famous Yosemite mountain.
Carlsbad Cavern was amazing as a one of a kind in the world. 80 stories below ground, the Big Room is so large with every imaginable type of underground cave formations. It's a 1.25 mile loop around the room. The dim lighting and the odd shapes made it a little creepy while exploring the cave. Hard to imagine how someone discovered the cave by following bats that far down. It was very nice that there was a kennel for Daisy at the Visitors Center for only $10.

The Great Sand Dunes is aptly named and rises up to 450 feet high. Once in the park, it's a one mile drive to a parking area and a 1/4 mile walk across an almost dry river bed to the base of the dunes. People brought their snow boards to slide down the dunes and we saw some people at the top of the dunes. You are free to do whatever you want there since you really can't destroy a sand dune that large.







Black Canyon of Gunnison was a real surprise. Reminded me of a smaller version of the Grand Canyon NP. Beautiful, deep valleys and steep cliffs. The scenic drive took you to various lookouts along the upper rim of the canyon, similar to the other park. This one was one of my favorites for sheer beauty. Very dog friendly park since there were paved dirt trails to almost all the lookouts.







Mesa Verde was another interesting park. The main scenic drive is the 6 mile Mesa Top Loop, however it's 20 miles of uphill driving to get there from the Visitors Center. The park's purpose is to preserve the Pueblo Indian dwellings in the area. The cliff dwellings are fantastic and stunning in their location. I would skip all the stops of the pit dwellings as very uninteresting. I'd suggest the $5 Cliff Palace tour if you want to walk up to the dwellings but you can get a fantastic view of the Palace dwellings from the lookout right above.

The last park on this trip was the Petrified Forest that I had low expectations of. Didn't know how hardened wood would be exciting. However, it's really the painted desert that is the highlight. It's a 28 mile drive from the visitor center off Highway 40 down to the end of the park at Highway 180. The first 5 miles have many lookouts to see the beauty of the various sections of the painted desert. A few of the lookouts are a little too similar but we stopped at almost all of them. The middle section of the drive has no stops until you reach the Blue Mesa turnout. A few mile drive takes you to the Blue Mesa trail head and a 1 mile walk through some very amazing blue colored mound formations. The last 11 miles takes you to a large petrified tree bridge and a not so interesting Jasper forest that has the largest collection of petrified wood pieces. This park exceeded expectations.