HOUSTON TO CANADA TO GLACIER MAY28-JUNE

Tuesday, May 29

Houston to Canada to Glacier and Back

We have delayed our departure date a bit so that we can have our mechanic in Seguin, TX take a look at the Trek again.  There is apparently an elusive bug in the electrical system which we thought was fixed in April but…not.

We leave about 9AM for a 12-1:00 appointment in Seguin.  79 degrees already.

Michael takes a look at things and of course can’t duplicate the problem we were having at home.  He double checks several items, finds one little non-related thing, but nothing else.  So we hit the road with a hope and prayer…and his phone number!

Getting out of Texas is always an issue, and we take a different route through the center of the state – lots of goats (Mohair and wool companies), some hills, and some oil wells.  As we near Sweetwater, we pass thousands of wind turbines whirling away.  At Sweetwater – the Rattlesnake capital of the world - we stop at a Walmart , so no need to worry about the snakes.  Even at 8:00 it is hot, so we have a salad, Beth walks to a nearby Wendys for a bit, and we spend a warm night.

Wednesday, May 30

It is 79 degrees at 6:45 this morning as we continue north and west – “heading for the hills” in Colorado.

We go through Lubbock, Matt’s old stomping grounds, and stop for a Jiffy Lube oil change.  More wind turbines and lots of mesquite gives way to fertile (irrigated) fields, some just planted (sorghum) and plowed but not yet planted.  Lots of cotton  is grown around here.  We end up on the “Ports to Plains Corridor” which runs from Port Lavaca on the Gulf Coast all the way up to Canada.

As we get into a little corner of New Mexico, rain showers come and go.  Things are so open that we can see the rain around us.

We see quite a few antelope among the sagebrush.

Finally we get to Colorado and then turn west to Great Sand Dunes National Park.  We are kinda sorta trying to hit  all of the National Parks and this one we’ve missed (we have 36 of the 59).  We see several elk and deer on the drive in.  It is around 6:00 when we arrive and the visitors center is closed.  We had called ahead and were told that there were no campsites available, but cancellations sometimes open, so we should go to check.  There are several empty sites, but because they are reserved and paid, they can’t release them. 

So we have a look around the dunes.  They don't look very big until you walk to them and realize they are small mountains!

 Lots of deer coming out for an evening graze.

The dunes look pretty and dramatic despite the cloudy lighting.  We walk a little, but will come back in the morning for more.  We talk with Mom and with Matt, who is deciding whether to accept a job offer from another soccer club.

On the way in, we had passed a sign for another campground at Zapata Falls.  It is   “only” three miles on a crazy rocky rough road up Quinta mountain. Nice views and we are able to beg our way into sharing a campsite with some tenters, as nothing else was available.  It is blessedly cool, falling to the low 40’s over night!

  Mom tells us that it was 110 in Houston yesterday!