A Snapshot and The Scoop: Tiny Bats!

Longhorn Cavern State Park is home to the smallest, most adorable bat I've ever seen! The Eastern Pipistrelle Bat, tiny little things about the size of your thumb, don't roost in huge numbers but prefer to be solitary except during the mating season. I was privileged enough to see a couple of these tiny creatures on my tour of the cavern, and I got way too excited. I love bats, and being able to see such a small one so close was a treat. A side note: I did not shine the light on this little guy, he chose to roost above one of the lights of the cave, so he was lit up already. I was just able to snap a picture of him thanks to his roost choice!

Leave me a comment below and let me know, do you like bats as much as I do?

Taking the Road Less Travelled

Charmed. Let me set the scene: I was driving along a winding mountian highway, reveling in the curves and downhills, when I see a brown sign and a dirt road pointing away to my left. If you're any kind of outdoorsy you know that brown signs usually denote some sort of natural area/attraction. I wasn't really in any hurry to get anywhere, just cruising along in the Ouichita Mountains of central Arkansas seeing whatever I could see. I drove half a mile more up the road before I hit my brakes and flipped a u-turn. I decided to see where the road would take me. Taking that road ended up being my favorite part of the weekend I spent in Arkansas in mid-March. I bounced along National Forest Service Road 177 for miles, pushing my little Yaris up and down the mountainous terrain like it was a highway. Granted, I wasn't going very fast or anything, but it was still a one-lane mountain road in the backcountry. I had my music on as loud as possible, windows down, and heater on. My kind of road!

I wasn't even sure what I was on my way to go see; I only knew I was enjoying the drive and that I had a full tank of gas and all day to spend exploring. I love days like that. I came around a corner and saw the roof of a building, and an empty dirt patch that was clearly a parking lot. I pulled up and stopped, checking out the little mountain stream and the picnic pavillion. It wasn't until I got out of the car and walked toward the wood and brick building that I realized that this was actually a spring, with the pavillion built right over it so that the icy water shot out of the foundation of the building. I decided it was a lovely place to eat my brunch, so I grabbed my food and my camera and spent half an hour at Collier Spring (as I later found out it was named) just hanging out. I'm sure that during the summer the cool spring and mountain stream feel amazing, and there was a little swimming hole in the stream that someone had clearly put some effort into building. I would LOVE to go back and camp there this summer...assumming I can find it again!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Stone Animals Underground

On my recent trip to Longhorn Cavern State Park, nestled within the hill country of Texas, our guide pointed out this unusually-shaped stone. The story goes that the CCC workers who originally excavated the cave during the Great Depression found the rock burried in mud at the back of the cave, shaped exactly as you see above. The rock was moved to the front of the cave once public tours of the cave began. On one such tour, a lady accidentally leaned against the rock and pushed it over, breaking it in two. After cementing it back together, the park staff also cemented to it's rock pedestal to prevent any further damage. Whether the rock was truly found in this shape, I don't know, but its still a neat little story!

Leave me a comment below and tell me what you think: Was this rock eroded to this shape, or did Man have a little something to do with it?

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Suffering Disappointment in the Painted Desert

My winter 2016 trip to the desert was riddled with closures, and I really should have expected and prepared more for them. Instead, every time I got to a road or a park and was turned back, disappointment flooded through me and all I could think was "now what?" I arrived at the final destination for my winter trip, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park, at the exact same time they closed the gates to the park. Seriously?! To be fair, there was a serious winter storm headed straight for the park (story of my life) and it was unlikely that I would have seen anything, but still. I think my biggest problem with this particular park's closure is that I've been there once before, years ago with my family on our first long summer vacation where we drove around the Southwest for two weeks and camped in a pop-up camper, and that time when we visited the park we got caught out on one of the trails in a severe thunderstorm that sent my mom, sister and brother running for the shelter of the truck and left my dad and I stranded under a metal-roofed picnic table cover. We didn't get to see much on that trip, and I was hoping for a little bit more experince this time around. Oh well, third time's the charm, right?

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you've had to deal with disappointment like this. Is it only me who gets sad when I can't visit the places I want to see?

The Proposal

In love. The first thing I saw in front of Diagon Alley was the violent purple triple-decker Knight Bus, with a conductor and all, just up the street. Jared and I were finally on our trip to Univeral Studios in Orlando, Florida, with the sole purpose of going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We'd been planning this trip for a year, and only within the last few month had things fallen together enough to allow us to go. We had arrived in Orlando the day before, and our first and only goal of the day was to get as much of the Harry Potter experience as humanly possible. I practically ran up the street to have my picture taken with the conductor and the talking head hanging in the window of the bus. Once done with the photo opportunity we turned to find Diagon Alley, which was actually made it at an angle right next to the Leaky Cauldron, and once you got inside a little bit the bricks looked like they had just melted away, and the whole alley opened up in front of us. I seriously almost cried when I first saw it; I was so overwhelmed. Everything looked absolutely amazing, colorful, and so detailed! Nothing was forgotten or left out. Just WOW! You looked up the alley and the building at the end was Gringotts Bank, complete with a dragon perched on top. 

Our first view of Diagon Alley

The first thing we both wanted was to buy our wands, so we meandered up the Alley, then turned to the side and entered Ollivander’s Wand Shop. We and a small group of people entered The Wand Experience, where we were taken through the shop by an assistant and met Ollivander himself. The shop was full floor to ceiling of wand boxes and other wizardry stuff, just like it’s described in the book and movie. We crowded into Ollivander’s study and the actor started telling us about wands and how the wand chooses the wizard. Then he picked a girl from the front of the room and had her come stand by him, and he started handing her wands to try. The first thing he had her do was water some plants, and there was a flash and they wilted, so he said no, let’s try another. He had her try to move some wands and they fell, so he said no, then he pulled out a third wand, kept repeating “I wonder…I wonder…” then gave it to her and the music swelled, the lights shined on her and it was obviously her wand. He pointed her to his assistant, and told her they would explain the rest of the wandlore to her, then thanked us all for shopping at his store and out we went. We followed the assistant straight into the actual shop, and there we were met with tons of wand options to choose from. After reading all about them, I decided to get a Reed wand, and Jared got a Birch wand for ourselves. We also picked out two character wands; I got Sirius Black’s wand (my favorite character), and Jared got Voldemort’s (of course). We also wanted interactive wands, which you can use at certain spots throughout the Alley and Hogsmeade, where if you do the wand motion correctly whatever you’re pointing it at will move/make noise/light up or whatever it’s supposed to do. 

It breathed fire!

Once we both picked out our wands Jared took mine from me and told me he’d get them and to go ahead and wait outside. I said no, I’d get my own because they’re expensive and I didn’t want him buying it for me. He was insistent and told me to go take pictures and wait for him outside. That’s when I knew: He was going to propose with my wand!!!!! So I went outside and tried to distract myself, taking tons of pictures up and down the alley, wandering around and inspecting the storefront windows and discovering the entrance to Knockturn Alley. I didn’t go too far, mostly because I was keeping an eye on the front of Ollivander’s for Jared to come out. I was outside long enough that the dragon on top of Gringotts started roaring, and all of a sudden it let out a great ball of fire from its mouth! I could feel the heat from it, and got several pictures. Then the dragon went quiet and everyone went back to their business. I overheard one guest ask a store employee how often the dragon does that, and the employee replied that the dragon (she) was very inconsiderate of the business dealings on the alley and would roar and spit fire at random.

It happened!!

The whole alley was very well laid out: you definitely felt like you were really in the wizarding alley, actually shopping for all sorts of magical supplies. There was Ollivander’s, The Leaky Cauldron, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour and Quality Quidditch Supplies, all of which you could actually go in and buy stuff, but then there were storefronts for Gringotts, Florish and Blotts, and lots more. That was just up the initial alley, not including the other branches of the alley and Knockturn Alley! But I was impatient, and after what seemed like forever Jared finally came out and waved me over. He told me they had a second show for Ollivander’s and that we were going to go back through. I knew this was it! I asked Jared if we could video the show this time around, since we hadn’t the first time, and he agreed and pulled out the camera and started recording. I wanted the proposal on film, damn it! So we went and right after we entered I saw the attendant make eye contact with Jared, and the door closed behind us and they took us and a very small group back to the same room we were in the first time through. A different actor was there, and I saw him look over all of the group and identify Jared and I, and sure enough he picked me to come to the front of the room and give the wands a try. The first time I waved it to water the plants they wilted, and he fixed them with another wave of his wand, then he had me ring a bell, but I made all the other bells in the room ring too which he silenced with his own wand. Finally he did the whole “I wonder” thing and pulled out a third wand and started explaining the attributes of a Reed wand, which is my wand. He handed it to me and the lights shined on me and the music swelled and obviously I found my wand (and also Jared had obviously told them I’d picked out a Reed wand) so I went over to the assistant by the door and we went out. 

I'd prefer this box to a traditional ring box any day

The assistant pulled me to the side of the door and started talking about my wand as Jared came out of the door still recording the whole thing, and once he’d come out the assistant opened the wand box and I looked down at it and my ring was on the wand!! I turned to Jared, eyes wide, and pretty much immediately started to cry. He handed to camera off to another assistant and took the wand box from the first assistant. He looked right at me and told me “You are my magic.” Then he got down on one knee in front of me and asked “Will you marry me?” I was crying so hard I could hardly get “yes!” out of my throat, then I saw Jared was crying too and that made me cry even more. He stood up and hugged me and kissed me, then took the ring off the wand and handed it to me for me to look at. It is gorgeous!! A cushion cut sapphire held by four prongs raised high over a white gold band with two forked branches set with diamonds reaching up toward the sapphire but not connecting to it. The diamonds go halfway down the band leaving the underside of the ring closest to my palm smooth. After I’d looked at it (difficult, because I was still crying and had to blink the tears away) Jared handed the wand/box to the assistant and took my ring from me so he could put it on my finger. Then I threw my arms around him and kissed him again and we both cried some more. I was (and still am!!) so incredibly happy! The assistants, everyone who had helped Jared pull it off, were all clapping and congratulating us, and several of the other guests in our group had hung back and were clapping too. The store manager disappeared briefly and came back with pins that said “I’m Celebrating!” and she wrote “just engaged” on them. She gave them to us, then led us out front so she could take our first picture as an engaged couple in front of Ollivander’s shop. We thanked them all, several times, and left the store. Neither of us could stop grinning! 

I think this pictures says it all for me

We did many more activites that day, but I spent a good majority of my time alternating between staring at my ring and looking at my new fiancé. Even though I'd had the suspicion that Jared would propose at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for several weeks it didn't detract from being in the moment and actually having it happen. No, I wasn't surprised, but I was still overwhelmed with emotion and bawled like a baby. Also, his words "you are my magic"...be still my heart! I have no idea if those words were planned or if he was just winging it, but it couldn't have been more perfect than it already was. Rest assured, this is definitely one for my Happy Jar! Now I'm looking forward to planning our wedding day, and can't wait to spend the rest of our nerdy, goofy lives together. 

Butterbeer for the win!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Fire and Ice

Lava and snow wouldn't typically mix...unless the lava is more than a thousand years old and has since turned into sharp black rock located in the volcanic mountains around Flagstaff, AZ. In that case, bring on winter! On my (very) short stop in Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument I managed to find a pullout on the road through the park that didn't have a snow pile higher than my car and was able to get out and temporarily appreciate ancient black lava flows covered in nearly ten inches of fresh, fluffy white powder. The next time I get a chance to visit the area I'd love to devote more than twenty minutes in the park, and can't wait to hike among the extinct volcanoes and flows that make up the mountains and deserts around Flagstaff.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever seen anything as surreal as (old) lava covered in snow...Craters of the Moon National Monument, anyone? Look it up!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Ancient Volcanoes and Winter Don't Mix Too Well

I didn't get to spend nearly enough time visiting Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument when I was in the Flagstaff area this past winter, but there is no one to blame but shitty January weather and the giant blizzard dumping 10 inches of snow in the area. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever spent less time in a unit of the national park system. I was on my way home from my winter desert trip in the beginning of January and had just left Wupatki National Monument. My plan was to catch the interstate in Flagstaff and head east toward home from there, but I had horrible timing and ended up driving smack-dab into the middle of a blizzard that was busy dumping 10 inches of snow on the mountains and high desert surrounding the city. Unfortunately, Sunset Crater Volcano was included in that area, and I had a fun time contending with my little yaris and the piles of snow along the road. I stopped once to talk to a ranger who had a shovel in hand, and he informed me that while technically the park didn't close, the visitor's center was closed due to inclement weather and none of the trailheads were accessible to any vehicle short of a snowplow. So, there went my plan to hike in the monument. Instead, I snapped a photo of the volcano from the road as I drove past it and promised both it and myself that I'd be back. Hopefully next time it'll be summer.

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you have a jeep for sale...seriously, I need something other than my little peanut m&m for a vehicle!

Getting Back on the Trail

Merry. Boy does it feel good to stretch my legs after a few weeks without a hike! I was busy exploring Hot Springs National Park and had just left the hustle and bustle of Bathhouse Row behind, weaving up a mountain road through forests that were just beginning to wake up after a long winter sleep. I was searching for a trail head hidden somewhere along the road that would take me through the mountains surrounding the city of Hot Springs and allow me to recharge my overworked brain. I actually passed the trailhead at first, and only on my way back in to town, thinking I had misread the map (not the first time) and taken the wrong road, did I find the little two-car parking lot and the trail marker set off from the road. I all but jumped out of the car and sprinted the first few steps up the trail. I just couldn't wait to be back among the woods again!

I planned to hike one small section of Sunset Trail, a loop trail that surrounds the city of Hot Springs, AR that stretches about thirteen miles roundtrip. I only hiked about four miles of it, out and back, but it was enough to make me happy. I set off up the trail, enjoying the sun that shown through the budding trees, hearing nothing but the wind and the occasional bird song. I also travelled faster than I thought I would given the mountainous landscape, though I'm sure it helps that the trail pretty much stayed on the ridges of the mountains, with elevation changes only occuring at the saddle between two neighboring mountains.

I'm still pleasantly surprised at how mountainous the Ouichita Mountains actually are. I was more or less prepared for tall hills that locals try to pass off as mountains, but really they are mountains! No, they're not the towering 13-14 thousand foot mountains of the Rockies, but they're older, more eroded versions that still qualify. Some time I'd like to go back and hike the entire loop of Sunset Trail, though I'm pretty sure I'd need a whole day to do so, not just a couple of hours. For just a taste of the trail, I was very happy!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Frozen Waterfalls in the Desert (Kinda)

The super-easy paved trail to Lower Emerald Pool was a little underwhelming, to be honest, but at least I had it to myself. When I visited Zion National Park in January I had already spent nearly a week in the deserts of southern Utah and had come to expect less people, but when I didn't see anybody on one of the most popular trails in the park, I knew I really was visiting during the off-season. Not that I was complaining. The trail to the pool and the waterfall that fed it was paved and had little elevation gain, and was more like a stroll through a pinion-juniper forest than a hike. I have to confess, I hiked this trail due to the lure of a "frozen" waterfall, promised by the ranger I stopped to chat with when I first entered the park. When I arrived, however, I found that the waterfall itself wasn't actually frozen but the drips and spray from the main falls had solidified into icicles and flow-ice reminiscent of flowstone found in limestone caves. The falls pounded onto the trail, which I'm sure would be a welcome respite in the summer but caused the surrounding trail to become slick and icepacked. The trail itself was closed due to ice, and I turned around at the falls instead of continuing on to Middle and Upper Emerald Pools. I'd do that hike another day.

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you've ever had the pleasure of witnessing a frozen waterfall!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: A Land of Extremes

Want to know what it's like to experience cold, snow, rain, sun and warmth all in about thirty minutes? Take a trip to Wupatki National Monument in northern Arizona during the beginning of January and drive the park road from north to south. Holy cow, talk about a difference in weather! I entered the park from the north, attempting to outrun the forecasted 10 inches of snow that was bearing down on me. I rushed my way through every accessible Puebloan ruin in the highlands of the park, and only when it began snowing so hard everything was white did I admit defeat and continue driving south. Winding my way through black and red cinder mounds, I carefully picked my way along the road and tried not to slide into the ditch. Then, after a large curve and a steep downhill, the snow was replaced by rain, and suddenly all precipitation disappeared entirely as the Painted Desert unfurled below me. The lower elevations of the park were clearly nestled in the rainshadow of the nearby mountains, and I was even treated to some sun as I continued to each ruin and viewpoint along the road. It was actually warm enough to remove my coat! I lingered in the lower part of the park before steeling myself to continue on into the nearby ancient volcanic mountains and the next stop along my way.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever experienced such an extreme difference in weather in a short amount of time. I haven't, and I live in Texas!

Chilling Out on Bathhouse Row

Placid. I normally prefer visiting national parks where I can get away from hordes of people. I seek solitude when I need to rest and recharge. However, in my quest to visit all of the national parks units, sometimes my adventures take me to more urban areas. I deal with the crowds and the traffic, all to see whatever made Congress designate an area as a protected national park. In mid-March I drove up into central Arkansas and explored Hot Springs National Park, the heart of which is Bathhouse Row in the middle of the city of Hot Springs. I was not disappointed! Bathhouse Row boasted several buildings open to the public, including the park bookstore, the visitor center/museum, a functional day spa, and a restaurant/micro brewery.

I spent several hours exploring the buildings and grounds, tracing the paved walkways across manicured lawns to open hot springs and springs with caps over them. Fountains were everywhere, spewing hot water into the cool air, leaving tendrils of mist hanging above them. There was even a fountain where you could fill up your jug with spring water, and yes, it was safe to drink! My experience with hot springs is with Yellowstone National Park, where the boiling hot water sends clouds of stinking vapor into the air. The whole area smells like rotton eggs. Not so at Hot Springs National Park, however. The water is clean and sulphur-free, though it does come out of the ground piping hot. This warmth led those who discovered the springs to create bathhouses, and sell the "healing" spa packages that led to the creation of the historical Bathhouse Row. I would love to spend a day actually enjoying myself at the spa house on-site, but I chose to spend the limited amount of time I had seeing what else the park had to offer. Plus there was a several-hour wait at the first-come-first-serve spa, and I didn't have the patience for that.

Bathhouse Row sits on a narrow street, squeezed between two mountains that effectively forms a bridge from one side of Hot Springs to the other. The city is sort of laid out like an hour glass, with Bathhouse Row the middle point where the sand squeezes through. The sand in this case is the traffic. It is definitely a tourist resort town! There were so many people and vehicles, even at 9am on Saturday morning. You could hear the traffic from inside the museum, though I imagine that inside the functional spa they have some sort of music to drown the noise out. It's sort of funny, though, that once you get behind the row and take a walk in the lawn the noise of people goes away. Or at least I don't remember it. Maybe the buildings block the majority of the noise, or maybe I was just focused on enjoying my walk through the steaming grasses, but I much prefered it to the bustle of the street. Perhaps that's a reflection of me prefering the outdoors?

I do have to say, it was a little unfortunate that none of the hot springs were left in their natural state. I know that development and modernization happen, especially around something as neat as hot springs (that don't smell) but I would have like to see the springs as they originally were found. The park service has done a great job of replicating a couple of the spring's natural states, but there is only so much they can do. With people wanting to bathe in and drink the spring water, they have to cater to what the majority wants. Still, it was a neat little area in the heart of a city that I wasn't sure I'd enjoy. The national park itself actually encompassed the mounains surrounding the city as well as Bathhouse Row, so my next stop on my Hot Springs adventure was to go up!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Weeping Rock(s)

Did you know rocks can cry? Not really, of course, but verticle sandstone cliffs do seep water along the incredible Zion Canyon of Zion National Park, UT. Rare rainwater and snowmelt soaks into sandstone along the upper mesas and clifftops of the canyon, and over thousands of years eventually makes its way down, until it meets a layer of non-porous rock and is forced out of the sandstone in drips and streams. The result is a "weeping" rock, usually hosting a hanging garden of lush green plants and supporting local wildlife. During winter the dripping water forms fantastic icicles and a network of frozen tubes, which I was fortunate enough to see myself when I visited this past January. Seriously, take me back.

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you've ever visited Zion, any season of the year.

Escape to the Hills

Productive. One of the things I love about living in Texas is the near infinite list of places I'd like to see and things I'd like to do. Also, the fact that I can still chip away at that list even in the middle of winter is a huge advantage. So, in my usual style, I took off for a weekend this last February and headed down to the hill country of central Texas. My excuse was that I was going to visit my little brother in San Antonio, but I took a roundabout way to get there, and I didn't even see him until Sunday. Instead, on Saturday I took a leisurley drive west of the Capitol and saw as many sights as I could fit in.

I'd been itching to get back into one of the hill country caves since the last time I visited San Antonio, so on my most recent trip I made a point to stop at Longhorn Cavern State Park. I arrived just in time for a tour, so I tagged along and explored the cave with a group of twenty or so others. If you've ever read my stories about other cave tours, you'll know that I dislike the structure and the crowds, and that I'd rather just go my own pace. I don't need to hear all about the formations in a cave, or how a cave is formed, or any of the typical information a guide usually imparts; I know the majority of it so well I could give the tour myself. The only information I enjoy hearing is any history associated with each cave, and this one didn't disappoint. Apparently, Longhorn Cavern used to be a speakeasy during prohibition, and had once been completely full of mud and debris until the CCC excavated it during the Great Depression. Now that's the kind of thing that's neat to know! There were also adorable little bats in the cave, and I have to say I got way too excited to see them. I spent only a couple of hours at the park, then moved on up the road.

Actually, I only went right up the road. The next park on my to-see list was Inks Lake State Park, a lake surrounded by gorgeous pink gneiss granite that was fed by a little stream that had a waterfall along it's path. Naturally, I made my way up the trail to see the falls, but found myself disappointed when I got close enough to hear a multitude of voices even louder than the falls. Apparently the warm February weather had brought out everybody else in central Texas, and they all had decided to swim and sunbathe around the falls. I kept my distance, having no desire or patience to fight the crowd. Instead, I walked back toward the lake and was able to watch some brave souls cliff jumping into the lake from atop a boulder.

My next stop, after a bit of a drive, was my last stop for the day. I snagged one of the last campsites at Guadalupe River State Park and settled down to make dinner and call it an early night. I went to bed a very happy girl, surrounded by the night sounds of Texas hill country, internally thanking Mother Nature for a fantastic February day. I have to confess I was a little disappointed when I woke up and found a low blanket of clouds obscuring the sky. I had been looking forward to a gorgeous sunrise, but instead received fog with the threat of rain. Counting on the weather keeping everyone else in their tents for a bit longer, I packed up and headed straight down to the river. I had it completely to myself. I spent a long time there, wandering the riverbanks, getting my feet wet and drinking my fill of the lonely, wild river.

Eventually, though, I needed to move on and finally go see my brother. We met at the riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, and spent an hour just walking and talking. Then we sat our butts down on a restaurant balcony overlooking the river, and ate and drank our fill as we continued to chat and people watch. We also checked out the Rivercenter Mall, but before too long it was time for me to go. My hill country get-away was fantastic, and it only made me want to go back again during the "off" season. Maybe next time I'll get to go for longer than just a weekend!