Guadalupe Mountains National Park

When we left Las Cruces New Mexico we drove south to El Paso and then east to make a stop at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. In doing research prior to the trip we knew this was just going to be a short stop because this national park is all rugged land which can only be explored via hiking. With no campgrounds that will fit a RV our size within a hundred miles, combined with the temperature between 90 and 100, as much as I love to hike, hiking here wasn't in the cards on this trip. We were able to squeeze through the parking area of the Pine Springs Visitor Center and snuggle along the side of the road long enough to go in and find out what this park is all about and get information for a future hiking trip. 

The Guadalupe Mountains are among the best examples of a marine fossil reef formed 260-270 million years ago when a tropical ocean covered the area. The park preserves this extraordinary phenomenon and hosts geologists from around the world that come to marvel at this rare wonder. Over half the park, 47 thousand acres, is designated as protected wilderness. 

We did take time to do a little walk to the Butterfield Stagecoach Station ruins. The walk is a 3/4 mile paved nature walk that ends near a couple of stone walls. It got the blood flowing again after a 3 hour drive.