Jess and I were invited to a wedding in Yosemite National park for our good friends Johnny and Maddie. This intimate destination wedding was a perfect opportunity for us to explore some different areas of the southwest that one or both of us had never seen before. I want to give a HUGE shoutout to my parents for lending us their brand new Winnebago RV which made everything a luxury. Jess and I had several destinations our list but we also left enough room to decide as we good
Day 1
With a road trip destined for Yosemite National Park in California - there's only one way to begin your trip. And that's by staying entirely within Texas. It's almost inevitable, really, but never a problem I'll claim to have. I'll gladly accept any opportunity to swing through Balmorhea and Fort Davis. We made it to the scenic Wild Rose Pass as the late afternoon descended upon us and stopped for a quick photo op. I told Jess about the first time I made it out there with my dad and brother and showed her where we stopped for sandwiches in just about the same place. I will always cherish those memories.
We made reservations for a star party at the McDonald Observatory that evening which got weathered out. Whenever the skies don't cooperate for telescopes you get to watch different films inside the observatory. We had a nice little one-on-one with a scientist and learned about satellites and how to find them. From there we rolled down the road to the Madera Canyon trail and roadside park to rest for the night.
We made reservations for a star party at the McDonald Observatory that evening which got weathered out. Whenever the skies don't cooperate for telescopes you get to watch different films inside the observatory. We had a nice little one-on-one with a scientist and learned about satellites and how to find them. From there we rolled down the road to the Madera Canyon trail and roadside park to rest for the night.
Day 2
We didn't have a specific plan on Day 2 but I knew I wanted to go through the Gila National Forest area, which is a scenic drive. We drove from the Davis Mountains through the Gila National Forest and just barely crossed over into Arizona where we stayed at Luna Lake.
Madera Canyon is a small nature preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy and open to the public. It's adjacent to the main Davis Mountains Preserve which is open a few times a year. I'd recommend checking it out if you ever have a chance because pine forests in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert are a sight to see! The Madera Canyon trail had some barrier tape, I think from some recent fires, so we didn't go in but it was nice to do a little bit of birding in the picnic area. Jess found a Cooper's Hawk which was very COOPERative to get good looks at. The Western Bluebird was very obliging as well.
We stopped for a couple scenic overlooks through the Gila National Forest area and then we found elk! I had never actually seen elk before. We pulled off the road to take photos.
As the evening broke we found the Luna Lake campground. We didn't have a plan and we were still figuring out the way of life in an RV but this seemed like a great place to stop, it was a typical campground and we just boondocked the RV for a second night. We took a short hike to the lake to watch the sunset and we put our newly acquired satellite-finding skills to use!
