Making our way up the Mogollon Rim one can almost feel a Zayne Grey or Louis L’Amour character hiding somewhere in the Coconino sandstone and Kaibab Limestone bluffs towering thousands of feet above on the Colorado Plateau rim. Then the terrain turns into the high plains. Our rumbling tummies were singing the hallelujah chorus as we pulled into the La Posada Hotel where we ate breakfast in The Turquoise Room. La Posada hotel was one of many Mary Jane Colter’s brilliant creations in the southwest. Built in 1930 it became a famous haunt for celebrities traveling along the Santa Fe railroad lines from Chicago to Los Angles in the comfort of Super Chief’s luxury domed cars.
After finishing breakfast we went out to the railway platform where we watched trains going east and west in “front” of the La Posada Hotel. The BNSF railway terminal averages around 100 trains a day. Some come to a slow stop, some roar through, and some are being assembled and disassembled along the side tracks in a back and forth movements.
Of course, no trip to Winslow would be complete without standing on the corner.
After 471 miles we reached Villanueva State Park on the Pecos River where the river briefly changes its flow back to the north. It was very peaceful and being parked right on the Pecos the sound of the running water had a calming affect on our nerves after all the interstate driving. Our 10:00 departure reflected a short 291 mile drive to reach Guadalupe National Park the next day.
Arriving at our parking lot site in the Pine Springs Campground in Guadalupe National Park at 4:30 we had time to relax and for Fred and Ricky to hike up the Guadalupe Peak Trail to near the Stock Trail Junction. It was a beautiful day and night.
An early start the next morning put us at Frijole Ranch in the most excellent morning light since Bryce Canyon. We walked around the ranch house and Manzanita Spring before going to the Mckittrick Canyon trailhead arriving shortly after the access gate opened.
We set off to see the Pratt Cabin and the Grotto on the Mckittrick Canyon Trail. As early birds we got there first.
On to the Grotto where the seeping water produces cave like deposits under the rock outcrop overhang.
I promised Fred before the hike started we would see trout in the clear waters of the Mckittrick Creek and it all seemed so …. fraudulent …. until we bushwhacked off the trail and saw the trout in the clear cold water. As it flows towards the desert the water disappears into the limestone gravel wash resulting in a bone dry arroyo further down the trail.
As you progress further up the canyon the faunal change is amazing. From Chihuahuan Desert to the stranded Pleistocene Fauna of the upper Guadalupe Mountains. As the trail climbs into the canyon it passes an increasing amount of Maples, manzanita, alligator oaks, and assorted conifers casting a welcome shade over the trail.
Regrouping after resting up a little bit at camp we struck out for the hike to Smith Spring, the hidden jewel of the park. While resting in the shade at the spring we made a toast to Fred’s retirement.
It had been an eleven mile day and we were all tired and knew tomorrow was a 390 mile drive to South Llano River State Park.
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I remember the La Posada fondly. Best railfanning activity anywhere