Hueco Tanks

 
Driving straight through Texas with a brief overnight stop in a rest area, we saw desert, mountains, drove through a wind storm that had us driving 40 miles an hour and even a little bit of snow. Texas is huge and diverse and it took us about 18 hours to drive through it.. Wow. Not a drive I would like to repeat.

We arrived in Hueco Tanks State Park, a bouldering mecca of the US. Friends from Kentucky were there and graciously allowed us to park at their campsite within the park boundaries. For those of you who have been to Hueco, you know of the rules, regulations, processes and steps required simply to boulder. In short, a big pain in the ass. We were fortunate to be staying within the park boundaries with a friend with a state park pass which allowed for last minute reservations or at worst, getting up at 7:45 and driving to the office, to beat the crowds outside the park. All said and done, we bouldered and stayed, for free. Our only expense was driving outside the park every morning to Hueco Ranch and paying 2$ for Whipper to run around outside on an open property, having the time of his life. And of course, beer to thank our friends.

That being said, Hueco was beautiful, amazing bouldering, wonderful views and great friends. Though not in any good shape, we still managed to work on problems and enjoy watching our friends send some hard problems (see photos). Whipper broke his tail, but otherwise, had a good time hanging out with other doggies and being free. We also enjoyed the short break from being responsible parents.

We left, sad to say goodbye to our friends and the relaxed lifestyle, and started the drive towards Arizona. We stopped in Cochise Stronghold, New Mexico, a grouping of boulders and mountains of rock, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, with a lot of Native history. Beautiful spot with some free camping in the national forest next door (which actually had trees) , we played around on a couple of boulders, had our first campfire in a long time and relaxed.

A quick stop in Tombstone, a town known for Wyatt Earp’s showdown at the O.K. Corral (often referenced in country and western movies, for those, like me, who had no idea). We wandered down the semi-restored, semi-tourist fabricated street that was meant to give an “authentic” western feel. It was cool to see, but after an hour or so, most of which was spent learning about the Birdcage (saloon/brothel/casino) that was open for 24 hours/day, 7 days/week for 8 years in the late 1800’s, surviving 7 shootouts on the inside (with bullet holes to prove it) and the worlds longest running poker game (lasting as long as the saloon was open), we were bored and it was time to leave.

Driving out of Tombstone, we hit our first of many border checkpoints (looking presumably for Mexicans coming through illegally) and met a border guard from Kentucky who spoke to us about his families’ experience through the ice storm.

For photos: http://picasaweb.google.ca/tjkuenzli