Yesterday was the first day when we started noticing a distinct shift in the vegetation as we cruised by. Without regard for the topography much of the first third of the US looks very much the same from a vegetation standpoint. At our stops to and in Missouri I saw many of the same plants that we have back home in Maryland...including unpleasant ones like stinging nettles and poison ivy to the pleasantly familiar like honeysuckle and mayflowers. The trees up until yesterday were tall and green, with a broad mix of conifers and deciduous trees. About midday yesterday we started noticing the yellowing of the land and the shrinking of the trees. I don't know what the tree type would be called. Their size doesn't exactly compare to the scrub oak and mesquite of the desert , they're much larger than that, but the trees and shrubs are definitely not of the same stature of those in the well watered East. The ground-cover is also starting to look decidedly brown.
Whup! Looks like it's time to head out. Onward to Carlsbad!
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5 comments:
I don't know if you remember, but there is a very nice National Park campground just south of Carlsbad (just over the border into Texas) called Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
MarylandDad
More photos my dears ... and where do you think that you are going? The Amazon? Check out the local Dairy Queen's in the towns you pass through; you know how rural we are and our Dairy Queen has free Wi/Fi ... you can sit in your car and surf!
WisconsinAhnty
Did you guys think of Guadelupe National Park on your own or because Dad suggested it. It was a great park mostly because it was fairly high (and therefore cooler) in a very hot part of the country. We thought it was great on our last trip.
Hope you liked the caves. I think they are fascinating. I can't wait to be able to take a trip and see Karchner Caverns in AZ. (Dad and TL got to see them a couple of years ago.)
What is Gravel? Did you pick the name - what does it mean
Hey everyone -
So real quick before bed -
1. Gravel is the title of an Ani Difranco song that I like. I thought it would be a good travel blog title.
2. We got lucky with Guadalupe NP. We were heading for Lincoln but happened to see the nice brown sign for Guadalupe first. It was a GREAT place to stay. Very cool and nicely breezy.
3. No, we're pretty sure we're not going to the Amazon on this trip but we had a pretty hard time getting any kind of reception today. We're in and around Durango now for the next two days so wifi should be easier to come by.
4. Wait until we tell you what we did today. I really should get to bed now but it was really cool and VERY adventurous.
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