Ok, before we get into the details of our next stops we have to talk about the food we had driving along the way. In our drive from White Sands National Park in New Mexico and Guadalupe National Park in Texas we made a stop through El Paso and there is no way to pass El Paso and not think Mexican food! There was a period where the paralysis of analysis hit us trying to nail down our pick because options are literally on every corner and online reviews are just too much with so many options. We settled on Good Luck Cafe just a few blocks from the Mexico boarder and took our Hispanic baby boy for authentic Mexican food and my oh my was it a good call. Cruz is always a big fan of any Mexican dish and will turn up the salsa at any chance but this was an entirely different level. Our plates didn’t stand a chance against him. His favorite was the chili relleno. He ate all of mine and finished off Evans as well and then cried crocodile tears when the food was gone and the bill was paid and it was time to go. He literally had the time of his life. The other 5 of us loved all that we got also. It was not a fancy place and it had more of a diner feel and a place that locals frequent. It was an excellent choice.

Once we loaded back up Evan noticed we were in close proximity for a National Memorial we hadn’t planned on visiting but we were too close not to. So you know what that means? More Junior Ranger Badges! We went just a few blocks over to Chamizal National Memorial right on the US/Mexico Boarder and the kids received their history lesson for the day about the Rio Grande and how the countries worked together to negotiate a peaceful border over the years.

An hour and 1/2 down the road past El Paso we arrived at Mountain View RV Park in Dell, City Texas.

Mountain View is a newer family owned campground with just 10 or so parking spaces. It doesn’t have a bath house but it is has full hookup, amazing wifi, a great laundry facility and a super kind and helpful owner (he even loaned us a ladder to finish our camper repairs). All this was a grand total of $30 a night. If you are looking for a place with a lot to do/see/find Dell City is NOT for you. If you want desert seclusion with gorgeous sunsets, then come on down. We were in need of a gallon of milk and it turned out to be quite an adventure for Evan to acquire it. But it’s about as close as you can get to Guadalupe Mountains National park and we woke up to the sun rising over Guadalupe peak every morning. A great home base for our 3 days of adventure.

After a good nights sleep, we were out the next morning headed to Guadalupe National Park just 20 minutes up the road.

There are large peaks to climb in Guadalupe but our crew chose the Devils Hall hike that lead up and into a canyon with stacked rocks resembling….you guessed it… a hall. We were worn slap out from the heat by the end of the hike but the kids were champs and kept up great attitudes. This trail is about 4.5 mile round trip up and back down the hill. It’s not a very bad hike on paper but you do have to navigate a long wash area with big boulders for the second half of the trail. It’s not that hard, just a lot more technical that following a well worn path. Just a heads up if you decide to try it out. After we rallied a bit in the car AC we did another short loop at the park to an old homestead, Frijole Ranch and called it a day. Supper waiting for us in the crockpot at the camper was screaming our names and we knew we needed rest for the next day.

An hour and 1/2 from our campground (past Guadalupe National Park) is Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We were up and out the next morning ready to explore. We’d heard that the cavern was pretty cool so the kids were motivated to see it. You have to have a time reserved to enter the cave and there is a $1 per person reservation fee that you make on recreation.gov but with the National Park Pass it’s no extra cost to actually enter the cave.

There is an option to take an elevator into the cave but we chose to take the natural entrance and hike in.

This hiking experience was a total flip from the day before. We hiked straight down into the cave with a nice cool temp of 56 degrees. We were all in awe of what we were seeing. The cave just kept getting bigger and bigger and better and better. The kids kept saying that it was one of the coolest experiences of their lives. We’ve been to other caves but this by far surpassed them all. The hike in took about an hour and 1/2 and then we spent that much time again exploring the trails in the cave “big room” with the folks that had taken the elevator down. We, thankfully, took the elevator back out. Carlsbad is another National Park that we would say is a must see but you probably only need one day to see it. The cave is what it’s all about. There are certain times of year where bats put on a show at the cavern but unfortunately that wasn’t something we were able to experience. After the exploring, we were thrilled to be in a town for a minute so we hit up the grocery store to restock our fridge and pantry and tried out the Blake’s Lotoburger chain. It was pretty good (except for the chili according to Gray who is accustomed to southern style chili). We were also really really hungry from hiking so that might have played into our rave reviews a little.

(We recommend the National Park pass to anyone that is going to more than one park in a year it’s 100% worth it and pays for itself after you enter your 3rd park with fees. it lasts a year and costs $80 and covers the vehicle. They are easy to pick up whenever you enter most national parks, just get the pass instead of paying for single park entry).

Our last day in the Guadalupe/Carlsbad area was spent mostly doing things that life requires even on the road.

Evan needed a day to edit some jobs and I needed to work on Vacation Bible School and surprise…laundry! It’s times like this that make me appreciate the camper and not a hotel room so we have room to spread out and take care of what we need to do without being totally on top of each other. The kids played games and watched movies and were happy to have a down day themselves. A little before Sunset we went out to the salt flat dunes area not far from our campsite for an hour or so. The National Parks recommends using their app and we do. It didn’t, however, mention that the salt flat area only allows access until sunset. We ended up with enough time but it is something we wish we would have known before heading our there.