Hello from New Mexico!
The days are flying by! Hard to believe we are getting married on Wednesday. Hard to believe how much ground we’ve covered. I guess it’s no wonder that we have both already lost track of time. Trips like this are like cooking a delicious meal from scratch: you spend hours and hours in the kitchen putting it all together, and then you sit down to eat it and it’s gone in 15 minutes.
As I write this, we are on day 6 day of our 17-day weddingmoon, driving through maybe my favorite part of the country: New Mexico. After the first couple days, we started getting pretty far south into Texas where there was little-to-no service, and that’s when things really started to melt together! So here’s a recap, maybe more for my sake than for yours:
Day 1 (see: last blog post) - Drove from Nashville to Hot Springs National Park. Got in super late for our first night with the camper, but we managed to get it all set up and level, and we even managed to cook a delicious dinner!
Day 2 - Woke up early to a beautiful scene at Lake Catherine State Park, made breakfast, went and climbed a tower at Hot Springs National Park, drove to Austin to eat delicious vegan tacos, then crashed at a HipCamp spot near Wimberley.
After walking a million flights of stairs to the top of the Hot Springs Mountain Tower!
Day 3 - Woke up early, found a cute coffee truck in town, then drove to just outside Big Bend National Park for one of our favorite stops on the trip so far: Stillwell RV Park, home of the Hallie Stillwell Hall of Fame. We got in early enough to fully set up camp, cook dinner, and hang with our RV neighbors around a fire under the Milky Way. Watched the moon rise over the mountains. Truly a magical evening.
The cutest little coffee truck in Wimberley, TX
Day 4 - Woke up early (are you seeing a theme?), made breakfast, checked out the Hallie Stillwell Hall of Fame, then hit the trails at Big Bend National Park for a 5+ mile hike round-trip on the Window Trail. I nearly overheated, then we hopped in the van and drove to the Tumble In RV Park in Marfa, TX. Took our first hot showers of the trip (!!!), grabbed take-out from Stellina, then went to the lookout spot for the infamous Marfa Lights, which we did not see. Prepped our overnight oats for an early morning.
Hallie Stillwell Hall of Fame! She was one tough lady.
Day 5 - Woke up super early, ate our oats and pre-purchased cold brew coffee, then hit the road for a few stops: the Prada Marfa art installation, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We only got to drive through Guadalupe, but we did the full Natural Entrance Trail and part of the Big Room Trail at Carlsbad Canyons (about 2.5 miles total one-way with an elevator ride back to the top), and this was our favorite hike/experience of the trip so far. Headed to Roswell, NM, after that, where we stayed at the adorable Red Barn RV Park.
Quick stop outside Carlsbad Caverns for a photo op with some aliens and a mysterious light halo!
Day 6 - This brings us to today, I think? We tried to sleep in, but alas, we were up early again. Thankfully it had been a great night’s sleep, so we felt pretty well-rested. After grabbing local coffee in town, we hit the road for our long drive to another HipCamp spot outside Tucson. Along the way, we found our first Del Taco of the trip, and immediately pulled over and ordered $20 worth of Beyond Tacos. Continuing our drive, we stumbled upon a National Park that we didn’t even know existed — because it just became a National Park last year: the White Sands National Park! Of course we had to stop. Luckily we made it to our campsite before sunset.
Hanging with my alien friends at the Red Barn RV Park in Roswell.
It’s been very interesting traveling during this time, with everything that is happening in our country. It makes interacting with other humans quite awkward at times, but it also helps me remember that other humans are just that — humans. We can be respectful and polite toward one another without needing to have any other information. We can take care of each other without first passing judgment on each other. We can be kind for no reason. We can find what we have in common, and celebrate that.
On day 3, we stayed at a quirky RV park near Big Bend National Park. We were one of three vehicles in the big lot across from the general store, and we got to meet our friendly neighbors. There was a couple from the northwest who, it turned out, had also gotten married at Yosemite, and had just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary! Then there was the mother-and-son duo on a renovated school bus from Austin. He was in his 60s and decided he wanted to take his 97-year-old mother on a road trip to see all the places she had never been. The six of us met for a bonfire that night and talked about our travels while watching shooting stars in the Milky Way overhead. We didn’t need to know each other’s political stances or opinions about anything in order to want to enjoy each other’s company; wanting to enjoy each other’s company was our first instinct. We all had a great time and exchanged contact info in the morning before we went our separate ways.
It’s a whole different story, though, when looking out on the landscape of the country right now. Every town we have driven through has felt like a ghost town. Restaurants and businesses closed, lights off, for-sale signs up… it feels like dust has gathered on everything. You can really see the toll that this year has taken on these rural areas. It’s tempting to want to blame someone for this mess, but in the end we are all a part of both the problem AND the solution. Now if only we could find a way to unite around the solution part. Sigh…
And then, oh yeah, there’s the whole point of this trip: we’re getting married! Yes, we are getting married in the middle of a pandemic during the most stressful election of our lives, following months of civil unrest. Phew! It’s no wonder we’ve had some stressful moments and some deep conversations so far on this trip! 😂
Getting the news on day 5 about the election really shifted things for us. We had both been sleeping poorly and feeling agitated, but when the rush of that news swept over us, we were both caught off-guard by the powerful feeling of relief that came. This had been affecting us much more than we thought. We sighed a lot that day, and laughed, and cried, and held hands, and found ourselves talking about the importance of gratitude — no matter the circumstances.
Speaking of gratitude, we have a lot of shout-outs to catch up on, so I’ll stop rambling for now.
Thanks to everyone whose donations helped fund the first 6 days of our trip!
Fancy (and/or indulgent) meals: Carla, Mel
Local (and/or fancy) coffee: Randy, Jill, Cheryl
Souvenirs: Gina, Trina, Richie & Anna, Tammy
Supplies: Elizabeth, Dani, Chris & Jennifer,
Campsites: Megan, Mel, Rachel, Clint, Jenni,
Gas: Janelle & Eric, Richie & Anna, Heather, Randy, Jonathan & Heather
Groceries: Michele, Tarri & Chris, Fred
Also, in case you missed it: We are keeping a pretty detailed account of our trip on my personal Instagram Stories. Click HERE to view from the beginning!
And now for some “fun facts” about our trip so far:
Things That Have Kept Sarah Awake Each Night:
Night 1 - raccoons trying to break into the van/camper
Night 2 - coyotes trying to break into the van/camper (and then screaming and howling all night)
Night 3 - the vent covers on the camper dangling in the wind and tapping against the camper
Night 4 - extreme cold, followed by extreme heat from Jeremy blasting the space heater
Night 5 - actually… nothing! I slept great that night lol
Favorite Campsites So Far:
Lake Catherine State Park in Hot Springs, AR (for the lakeside view in the morning)
Stillwell RV Park outside Big Bend (for the quirky history, the friendly neighbors, and the view of the stars)
Red Barn RV Park in Roswell, TX (for the amenities, cleanliness, and charm)
Biggest Disappointments So Far:
Did not see the Marfa Lights
Marfa’s surprising lack of vegan options
Did not have time to hike at Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Did not see any aliens in Roswell
Biggest Happy Surprises So Far:
Foggy lake view on the first morning
Insane vegan tacos in Austin, TX
Unexpected hang with strangers at Stillwell RV Park
A brand new national park that we didn’t know about and got to stop by on our drive today: White Sands!
Favorite Coffee:
Stellar Coffee in Roswell, NM, had a really cute vibe and delicious decaf espresso!
Tonight we are staying in Arizona, east of Tucson. Tomorrow we head to Saguaro National Park, and then to Joshua Tree!
❤️ Sarah
This crazy tree-flower-thing that grows out of cacti in this part of the country has been blowing my mind on this trip!