Off to the Carribbean

In our quest to see all 59 national parks,

we picked Virgin Islands National Park for January.

Good idea, huh?

This is Trunk Bay in the park, listed on many sites

 as one of the top ten beaches in the world.

The visitor center.

The park takes up about 2/3 of the island of St. John.

You can camp in the park,

but since its only accessible by ferry, you may want to try glamping, 

so you don't have to lug all your stuff along!

In addition to all the water activities you can do here,

you can also visit the old sugar mill ruins.

There are many hikes too.

You might see some giant termite nests in the mangroves.

But the beach is what this park is all about!

What a fun place to visit in winter!

Everglades National Park

National park number 42 is Everglades,
a land of water, sawgrass, exotic flora & fauna.

We stopped several places, including Shark Valley
where we rode a tram out into the marshes of the park.

The tram takes you to an observation tower overlooking the park for miles.

We could see alligators floating lazily in the water.

Along the way we saw many wading birds such as this wood stork.

This is a beautiful anhinga.
The turquoise ring around its eye indicates it is ready for breeding.

 Close up of an egret.

We even saw baby alligators.

 We stopped at pull-offs around the park and saw typical sights.

I even watched from a pier as this anhinga dived underwater after fish.
This park is so diverse and has tons of wildlife.

Touring Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Roosevelt National Park is located in the North Dakota Badlands.

The South Unit has a 36 mile scenic drive loop

where you can see the wildlife & geology up close.

 We saw Mule deer

 Pronghorn antelope

 Wild turkeys

And bison

The Little Missouri River winds through the park

There are mushroom shaped formations called rain pillars.

 And you can visit Theodore Roosevelt's first cabin in the Dakotas

which was relocated to the park.

The park is vast & magnificent.

Wind Cave National Park

Just a few miles from Custer State Park is Wind Cave National Park.

Wind Cave is park number 39 for us.

It is the 7th dedicated national park and the first cave.

 The cave is famous for its boxwork formations which are only found here.

Although the cave was interesting, I thought both

 Carlsbad Caverns & Mammoth Cave were prettier caves.

It was a a very narrow cave with few other formations other than the boxwook.

Badlands

 We explored the Badlands National Park.

Even though we have been here before, its always awe inspiring.

You are driving across the plains and suddenly the bottom drops away

 and these colorful formations appear.

 Colorful layers of rock are exposed.

We hiked some of the trails, like the window trail shown.

And spent the night in a cute cabin.

Everywhere we went we heard meadowlarks singing.

And we saw lots of rabbits everywhere,
some of them just dozing in the sun.

Big Bend National Park

Continuing south all the way to the Rio Grande River, 

we finally arrive at Big Bend National Park.

I was expecting a vast desert and was surprised to see lots of craggy mountains.
These are the Chisos Mountains in the center of the park.

We spent time in the southwest part of the park.
Off in the distance, we approach the Santa Elena Canyon
where the Rio Grande breaks through the mountain range.

The entrance to the Santa Elena Canyon.

 Overlooking the Rio Grande River from the Santa Elena Trail.

By hiring an outfitter,
we were able to canoe the Rio Grande.

It was fun floating through the canyons.

  We spotted some wildlife, like this Big Bend lizard.

And a vermillion flycatcher in the Cottonwood campground.

And the roadsides were filled with lots of bluebonnets and other wildflowers.
Spring is a wonderful time to visit the park.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Just a mere 42 miles down the road from Carlsbad Caverns

is the little known Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

 The park includes Texas' highest peak and is significant for its geology.

  This is El Capitan Peak in the park.

 Our campsite

We hiked the Devil's Hall trail which follows a rocky wash.

Rock cairns & arrows kept us on the trail.

 The hike culminated in the devil's staircase & a tenaja, a natural cistern.

It was a fun hike.

Carlsbad Caverns - National Park #36

Continuing our travels in Texas, we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns,

just a few miles over the Texas border in New Mexico.

There is a reason it is called a cavern instead of a cave!

This place is huge.

We hiked the self guided trail in the cave's "Big Room" which cover 14 acres!

This formation is called the Totem Pole with the "Chandelier" in the upper left corner.

 The "Lion's Tail" was my favorite formation.

A huge column

An old wire ladder leading to the lower cave.

Carlsbad Caverns was very impressive.  I thought it was prettier than Mammoth Cave

and much more spacious.  The big room was huge with a ceiling height of 285 feet in some places.

In contrast, Mammoth Cave is longer but its passages are much narrower.

Both parks are worth visiting though.