[at-l] 3 weeks and 4000 miles -

[Jim and/or Ginny Owen]

from Maryland to Phoenix ---

The first part of this year's trip was a leisurely wander from Maryland to 
Arizona.  Not quite a thruhike, but it was a really good.  Part two - our 
two month hike on the Grand Enchantment Trail - will hopefully commence on 
Wednesday.

Three weeks ago we left Maryland in the middle of a snowstorm.  We were 
hoping that the snow would stop as we headed south, and sure enough, as we 
crossed into Virginia (a very slow two hours later) the snow turned to rain. 
  It was an interesting beginning to the adventure though.  We drove down 
the coast to visit Jim's cousin in South Carolina, with a brief stop at Kill 
Devil Hills and the Wright Brother's Monument (of particular interest to 
Jim) and a walk on the beach.

We really enjoyed our visit with Peg and Ernie, but chose the wrong day to 
leave - we passed through the Smokies in the middle of a torrential 
thunderstorm - but fortunately missed the many tornados that were in the 
area that day.  From South Carolina we headed to Mammoth Caves NP, where we 
played tourist and did some hiking.  Neither of us had ever been there 
before, and it was a good detour.

We then enjoyed a leisurely drive down the 440-mile Natchez Trace Parkway.  
That was fun, since we really took our time, doing a little hiking, a little 
touring - and even managed to catch the lunar ecllpse from the campground.  
The Indian mounds were new to us - so we stopped at several along the way.

Then came more family visits - Ginny's Dad in Houston and Jim's cousin in 
Austin.  Both were a lot of fun.  We got a chance to visit Galveston and 
walk along the Austin River Trail - but mostly we just enjoyed good 
conversations.

Finally we made our way to the mountains, and discovered that Spring Break 
is not a good time to visit Big Bend National Park.  It was very crowded, 
and all the front and back country camping was already reserved when we got 
there.  Still we enjoyed a couple of very nice dayhikes - the Lost Mine 
Trail and the South Rim loop.  We also drove all over the park, getting a 
feel for the place.  We'll be back when it's not so crowded.

We then headed north to Guadalupe NP, which was a little less crowded, but 
not much.  We avoided the hordes going up to Guadalupe Peak by heading 
instead up to the Bowl, which was at about 8000' so felt a bit cooler than 
the desert below.  We also did a short dayhike along the Devils Hall Trail 
which led to a really nice slot canyon.

Still playing tourist, we really enjoyed a long visit to Carlsbad Caverns.  
We spent about 6 hours underground, doing both self-guided tours and one 
ranger led tour.  That is an incredibly beautiful cave system.  I have no 
desire to be a caver, but I do understand the attraction.

We took our time crossing New Mexico, with a long stop at Three Rivers 
Petroglyph site - a mile-long ridge covered in petroglyphs. We had fun 
looking at the many variations.  We've been to other petroglyph sites with 
my brother and elsewhere, and have been struck by how many different kinds 
of petroglyphs there are. Each site has been quite different.  Some have 
lots of deer and bighorns, some have lots of geometric shapes, this one had 
lots of human faces.  Fun.

Saturday we arrived in Phoenix, where Ginny's brothers welcomed us back.  
Jim has an ear infection, so we need to get that cleared up before we hit 
the trail, but we think we can leave on Wednesday.  That would be ideal, 
since it has been very hot here (100 degrees on Saturday) but it is supposed 
to drop to the 70's on Wednesday.  It may even rain, which wouldn't be all 
bad.  Wildflowers have begun to appear - both here and in Texas, but we were 
told that the display wouldn't be abundant this year because of the lack of 
rain this winter.  Still, we saw a lot of brittlebush, globemallow and 
desert marigold on the way into town.

We are looking forward to hiking the Grand Enchantment Trail, despite the 
early heat.  Last year the first thruhiker (aside from Brett, the trail's 
creator) hiked the trail.  There are a half dozen of us who will attempt it 
this spring. We'll let you know how it goes.

Walk softly,
Ginny and Jim




http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/

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