Exploring an Ancient Reef: Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Panoramic view of Delaware Basin from the Guadalupe Mountains.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park isn't one of the better known national parks in America.  Most people have probably never even heard of it.  But this special and unique area in the Chihuahuan desert, only minutes from Carlsbad Caverns National Park, deserves a visit.

I found these Indian Paintbrush along

 a U.S. Forest Service Road in the

Guadalupe Mountains highlands.

Keith and I explored Guadalupe on our way back home from the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Milnesand, NM.  This is not a park you can tour by car; you really need to get out and walk a couple trails to experience the serenity and fascinating history of this area in west Texas (El Paso is the nearest big city).  There are over 80 miles of trails varying from easy to strenuous.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park protects an ancient reef and basin, dating to the Permian Age, when the Delaware Sea covered the area.  Unlike most reefs which consist of corals, this reef consisted of sponges and algae.  Eventually the sea receded, was filled in by sediments, and the land was uplifted, creating the Guadalupe Mountains.  These mountains include Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,751 feet (my apologies to geologists for the over-simplification of the events leading to the formation of the mountains).  While the reef lies buried beneath layers of rock and sediment in many areas, El Capitan, the eighth highest point in Texas, rises with sheer cliff  faces, exposing the fossilized reef area.  El Capitan (yes, I know there's one in Yosemite too) was an important landmark for indigenous people and white settlers. 

Keith and I hiked the nature trail at McKittrick Canyon and were able to find many fossils within the rocky outcrops along the path.  Chihuahuan desert vegetation, including agave, yucca, creosote, prickly pear, mountain mahogany, and honey mesquite flanked our walk.  Several wildflowers poked out from under grasses and rainbow cactus.   As we climbed the trail, we began to see chinquapin oak and junipers.  Above us on the mountain peaks stood ponderosa pine. 

The Frijole Ranch main house, now a museum.

We visited the Frijole Ranch, the first permanent ranch house in the area.  We were amazed at the ingenuity of the early settlers who tapped into a nearby spring, used a hydraulic ram to pump water, and installed an acetylene gas lamp system.   Not far from the Frijole Ranch are the remains of Pinery Station, a stop along the Butterfield Overland stagecoach mail trail.  I tried to imagine what it might have been like to travel across this rugged country by stagecoach. 

Mexican Fire Barrel cactus in full bloom.

Just outside of Carlsbad, we found U.S. Forest Service roads that led us up into the highlands of the Guadalupe Mountains.  At one point along the road, there is a memorial to Frank Kindel, the "Flying Paperboy of the Guadalupes."  Mr. Kindel, an avid pilot, would fly his Piper Cub across the area and drop newspapers to ranchers and hunters.  He crashed near the area where the memorial was placed while attempting to ferry a minister back home.  The minister survived the crash, but Mr. Kindel, then 71 years old, did not.

Pinery Station ruins.

A Swainson's Hawk perches for us.

Our visit to the Guadalupe Mountains helped us appreciate life in the late 1800's, and the stalwart dedication of early ranchers and farmers who attempted to tame and make a home in this challenging landscape.   I'm not sure that I could have survived back then.  My hat is off to the hardy, improvising and determined people who blazed a trail for the rest of us.