6/10/08 Austin to Guadalupe Mtns. National Park

Day two started out with a bang - we picked up delicious breakfast tacos from Taco Express on our way out of Austin. A bearkfast taco is apparently like a soft taco wrap with "breakfasty" items inside. The main difference between a taco and a breakfast taco is that you eat a breakfast taco early in the morning. Angela and I would both wholeheartedly recommend that everyone passing through Austin stop at Taco Xpress on S. Lamar Blvd. for the delicious treat and for their unique spin on a Southwestern motif.

We spent the rest of the day driving across most of Texas. Several hundred miles later we cut North right before the Mountain Time Zone line and drove up to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I had visited this park about three years ago with my brother and his friend Jeremy. On that trip we climbed up to the top of Guadalupe Peak, the tallest peak in Texas. On this trip, we didn't have time to make a summit, but we did have time for a quick hike before the sun went down. At the suggestion of a park ranger, we took the Guadalupe Peak Trail to the Devil's Hall Trail, which took us down into the valley between the peaks. It was a great introduction to hiking in the Southwest.

After the hike, we set up camp, ate a few sandwiches, and attempted to use a star chart. I say attempted because it was sort of cloudy and by the time we actually figured out the star chart, we realized that the mountains were hiding what the clouds were not. Angela and I also began an audio log of our trip highlights. I hope to edit this audio to have a new podcast ready by the time we return. Tomorrow - Carlsbad Caverns National park, Roswell, and Bottomless Lakes State Park.


Today's picture of the day is the potato, egg, bacon, and cheese breakfast taco from Taco Xpress. The water tower photo of the day was taken in Van Horn, TX.