Southwest AdVANtures: Day 5

Day 5, Wednesday, March 2nd

photo cred: Frank

photo cred: Frank

If you want to start back at Day 1, click here.

Although it can be dangerous navigating new lands at night, there is something kind of cool about arriving in darkness then waiting until morning for the site to be fully revealed. This site in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, was AMAZING. It was a dirt pullout within the Lincoln National Forest, situated in the Sacramento Ranger District, near the Sleepy Grass Picnic Area, just off Apache Canyon Road. In the light of day, we could see the mountain ranges along the horizon, and realize just how high up we were (something like 8,500 feet). Upon getting the full scope of this landscape, we knew this would be another few-night spot. If you'd have told me our first stop in New Mexico would be snowy, mountainous, and covered in Juniper and Pine, I wouldn't have believed it. This was far from the barren, flat, dusty, monotone desertland I had imagined, and I Loved it.

The morning birdsong was bustling, revealing a few more life birds: Pygmy Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, and the stellar Steller's Jay - what a beautiful bird (though, true to jay form, a raucous, talkative sort). We took a few short hikes and a bit of stationary birding, to which Frank was quite dedicated, and I was quite impressed! More bird discoveries included the dapper Williamson's Sapsucker, Red-naped Sapsucker, a heard-only Northern Pygmy-Owl, and, not a lifer, but still cool, a single Red Crossbill. We also saw some sort of cat we first misidentified as a bobcat, but then, realizing it had a longer tail, wondered if it could've been a mountain lion. We settled on "I don't know," because it was dark in color and seemingly smaller than a mountain lion, but much larger than the average house cat. I believe it's alright to let some things remain mysteries. On a more certain note, we watched wild horses and groups of Mule Deer roaming through our campsite. It was another amazing day feeling relaxed, connected, and full of wonder.

Mountain Chickadee

Steller's Jay

Williamson's Sapsucker

Red-naped Sapsucker

Sleeping Spot: Near Sleepy Grass Picnic Area, off Apache Canyon Road, Sacramento Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest, Cloudcroft, New Mexico

New Birds: Pygmy Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, Steller's Jay, Williamson's Sapsucker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Northern Pygmy-Owl

Other Notable Wildlife: Red Crossbill, wild horses

Southwest AdVANtures: Day 4

Day 4, Tuesday, March 1st

photo cred: Frankie

If you want to start from Day 1, click here.

After two nights in Oklahoma, we were ready to hit the road again. We took one last peaceful sit on the rocks along the river, then spotted a few more birds, including vultures, Kestrels, and Eastern Meadowlarks.

Black Vultures

Eastern Meadowlark

Today's plan was to exit Oklahoma, enter Texas, and end up in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. The drive through Oklahoma and Texas brought flat, mostly-brown farmland, tons of cows, and a prolific amount of roadside raptors perched atop fenceposts and trees. During one stretch, Loggerhead Shrikes seemed to decorate the telephone wires, each bird evenly spaced a few minutes' drive past the last. As we were almost through Texas, the scenery started to change again, gaining color and texture. Some of those browns gave way to washed-out greens, paving the way for rock formations that grew steadily taller. This visual shift recharged us.

the drive

Texas doodles

Once we entered New Mexico, "The Land of Enchantment", we stopped at a second Planet Fitness for another workout and shower. Next, we visited a grocery store to stock up on food and water. We drove another few hours, where we spotted our lifer (first-ever sighting) White-winged Doves and a dead hog of some kind (possibly a Peccary/Javelina?). Unfortunately, dead things don't really count as "lifers". RIP, pig.

photo cred: Frank

As the sun faded and more mountains loomed into view, we realized the Lincoln National Forest was going to be set within and atop those mountains, a fact we hadn't thought to consider when choosing our camping spots. Undeterred, though slightly nervous about the conditions (darkness, ice, snow, deer, and whether camping was even accessible this time of year), we forged on. This was a slightly treacherous drive, though in retrospect, an exciting one. We saw Mule Deer and a female Elk, HUGE, bearded, and so close to my side of the car I could've reached out and touched her. Apparently, when it comes to deerlike animals, Elk are only second in size to Moose.

We continued to creep up the mountainside, following my lonely GPS pin. The closer we got, the more unsure we became about the passability of those snowy, narrow roads. Just about half a mile shy of our marker, we abandoned the plan, turned around, and settled for a safer area close by. When my nerves settled and we got out of the car, we realized this was an epic spot. Yes, we were probably the only ones camping up here. Yes, there was still snow on the ground. However, much of that snow had begun to melt; the mountainous landscape and towering conifers were absolutely gorgeous; and the starry sky was breathtaking.

When we set up our Stargazer chairs and looked up, I realized it was the quietest place I'd ever been, as quiet as that cave in Missouri had been dark. I had to fight to keep my tongue, teeth, breath, and heart from making sounds, so as not to break the vastness of that silence. It came to me then that all those bodily sounds are things we usually never hear in our noisy home lives. I thought to myself, "Sometimes, you have to get away from the noise of the world in order to hear yourself again."

Sleeping Spot: Near Sleepy Grass Picnic Area off Apache Canyon Road, Sacramento Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest, Cloudcroft, New Mexico

New Birds: White-winged Dove

Other Notable Wildlife: Mule Deer, Elk

Southwest AdVANtures: Day 3

Day 3, Monday, February 28th

amethyst & palo santo

If you missed Days 1 & 2, start here.

Waking up along the Blue River, we could see just how amazing the spot was. We definitely wanted to stay longer than just overnight. The river itself is actually one of the largest free-flowing streams in Oklahoma, unassisted by manmade structures or interventions. The Nature Conservancy owns a preserve along the banks called "Oka' Yanahli", or "water flowing" (in Chickasaw).

Blue River (Frank's pic)

my pic

Throughout the day, an epic amount of Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures glided overhead, suspended between the clouds and treetops. We had a relaxing day reading, napping, birding, hiking, and in Frank's case, fishing. There were rapids, beautiful views, and lots of rock outcroppings to climb. At one point, I took off my shoes and stuck my feet in the red-skin-making water, stepping over lichen and under rippling water until I shimmied up a sizeable tree trunk. Barefoot and climbing up a tree always makes me feel more like myself.

When darkness fell, we settled in for more stargazing and fireside relaxation. A Barred Owl called from a distance, while nearby, another visitor was about to appear. We were deep in campfireside conversation, when suddenly, we heard a rustling in the leaves nearby. We took out our flashlights and followed the sound until we caught glimpses of a little white possum-like creature scurrying about, which we soon identified as an armadillo (a Nine-banded Armadillo, specifically). This was a first for both of us, and our consensus was - it was adorable!

I did a little research to uncover the spiritual symbolism and scientific background about this creature. Both proved fascinating. As for the former, the animal is said to represent digging down to the heart of a matter, probing toward the truth, sensing, exploration, self-protection, and rest. These themes really fit in with the conversations we'd just been having. As for the scientific bit, some facts to follow... Armadillos excavate and maintain up to 15 burrows each. Instead of rolling up into a ball when scared, as many people might imagine, these guys actually jump straight up and take off running. They almost always have four babies per litter (same sex quadruplets). Aside from all their burrow building, digging, and jumping, armadillos sleep for most of the day (about 16 hours). Finally, they make this sort of ungodly scream, which we soon heard ringing out in the dark woods (to which we acted like those people in scary movies everybody yells at; you know, the ones who go investigating toward the horror).

What a magical sighting to top off a beautiful day!

photo cred: Frank

Sleeping Spot: Blue River Fishing & Hunting Area, Tishomingo, Oklahoma (PROs - the river itself, not many people around/privacy, all those vultures and other wildlife, great rocks to sit and climb on, nice areas for hiking, birding, fishing / CONs - no major ones to speak of!)

Notable Wildlife: Nine-banded Armadillo

Southwest AdVANtures: Days 1 - 2

My boyfriend, Frank, and I just recently had the adventure of a lifetime, something we'd both only dreamt of until this point. We spent an entire month living in our converted Ford Transit Connect, traveling around the country, sleeping on public lands and in national forests, and exploring the American Southwest. I documented as much as I could in real-time, but later had to add photos and make tweaks, which made the whole thing quite a massive document. I've broken down these reflections into smaller sections which I'll be sharing here, with up to a few days' entries per post. I hope you enjoy these recollections of our adVANtures, and remember, we all have the power to discover beauty and magic every day. Sometimes, the scale is not as big, but it's up to us to feel the wonder anyway.

Day 1, Saturday, February 26th

This was it, our long-awaited departure date. Big events don’t really sink in for me until they’re about to happen, so the whole idea that we were leaving home for a month to travel around the country finally hit; it hit me hard. To soften the nerves and get our bodies moving, we decided to start the day with yoga at our home studio, More Than a Mat. This was a good call, for day one was going to be all about driving and covering lots of ground. We were eager to get down to those new-to-us, unchartered southern territories. We did our yoga, followed by our final packing and organizing, then said our goodbyes to the kitty boys (and again… oh, and one more time).

Finally, it was time to leave. I did a little blessing over our van like my grandma used to do before our family road trips. Frank read a prayer he authored, and it was beautiful and made me cry; that, combined with the whole “leaving the kitty boys and home and everything familiar for a month” thing, but it was all good. We needed to leave the familiar. Sometimes the familiar feels so safe, but not so… alive.

Day one included lots of driving, but our stopping point changed from the original plan. Our first thought had been to drive to Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. Instead, we decided to keep it direct, skipping any long stays until we got further south. We drove from around 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., then found a Planet Fitness in Indiana where we got in a little movement, a shower, and a quick bite to eat. After that, we drove another few hours, until exhausted, rolled into a Walmart parking lot in Rolla, Missouri. It was there we slept for the night, our mission to cover ground successful.

Sleeping Spot: Walmart, Rolla, Missouri (PROs - no one bothered us, it was easy / CONs - obviously not a "real" campsite, but fine for this leg of the trip)

Day 2, Sunday, February 27th

The next day, we woke up, promptly found a coffee shop for our caffeine fix, then headed back on the road. Our plan was to drive to Arkansas and stop somewhere for the night, but after revisiting the iOverlander camping app, I discovered a spot in Tishomingo, Oklahoma that looked promising. This spot, the Blue River Fishing and Hunting Area, was rated by one of the app users as “the best free camping spot in Oklahoma”. I believe the claim now, but more on that later. With the new coordinates plugged in, it’d be another long traveling day, but we were ready. We drove deeper into beautiful Missouri, that place where the Midwest so gracefully shakes hands with the South.

We kept seeing signs for a place called Fantastic Caverns. Frank lightheartedly asked, “Should we go?” which I first dismissed but then started to ponder. I looked it up online and the pictures and reviews looked amazing. It’s the only drive-through cave tour in the country, and the caves are vast and expansive, with beautiful formations of different shapes and sizes. We decided to go for it, be spontaneous and adventurous! We weren’t going to be slaves to some arbitrary agenda. Why should we? While I had some anxieties about being crammed into a small space, in a small vehicle, with a bunch of other people, I still felt excited over facing that fear and seeing something beautiful. Frank cheered me on, as did my older brother, via text, who gave me this advice, “Clear your mind, or what I call ‘taking a recess of the shitty committee’.” I like that.

The caves were amazing. Frank bought an amethyst crystal from the gift shop, which we read apparently has properties meant to stave off alcoholism and encourage sobriety. I’ve also heard it’s tied to themes of water, flow, and the astrological sign of Pisces (which we were in the midst of). In the cavern, our guide did this thing they did when I went to Mammoth Caves a few years back. They turn off the lights for a moment and allow you to see the most ultimate darkness you’ve never seen. You can’t see anyone, anything, anywhere, anywhen, just encompassing, universal, embryonic darkness. It comforted me, and I think Frank too. The coolest part, in my opinion, was when our guide told us about the original entrants to the cave, a group of 12 teenaged girl cave explorers, who made their entry and wrote their names on the wall on none other than February 27th, 1867 (the same date we were there)! What were the odds of that!? Well, I calculated it, and they were one in 365, which weirdly ends up with another “27”, at 0.27 percent.

After the tour, we took a stroll around the grounds, following signs indicating “The Great Missouri Birding Trail”. Truthfully, it didn’t seem all that great, but it was a trail, and we enjoyed it. We found a little table in a corner in the sun and did a short meditation there. 

Then, it was back on road for the rest of the day. The rocky, hilly, lush lands of Missouri quickly changed upon entering Oklahoma. This state was much flatter, browner, and dustier. The whole vibe of Oklahoma was slightly forlorn and abandoned. There were smatterings of few-block towns with boarded-up businesses interspersed with gas stations and medical marijuana dispensaries. At least the abundance of cows and hawks along the roadsides and fields gave a sense of life to the land. Around 7:30 p.m., we arrived at the Blue River area in Oklahoma, though to me it felt much later. We couldn’t see all the details of the land, but we could hear a roaring river and found some really cool dispersed camping sites. In case you’re unfamiliar, dispersed camping isn’t camping in a campground with toilets, running water, or other amenities; it’s parking on National Forest or other public land. It’s free of charge, typically pretty private, and perfectly legal, as long as you follow parameters like not being too close to actual campgrounds or parks. This is the type of camping we would do for our entire trip.

Tonight, we settled on Designated Campsite 4, which sat along that rapid river, tucked under the shade of mixed deciduous and conifer trees. We set up camp, made a fire, sat in our new Stargazer chairs to... well, gaze at the stars, then went to sleep.

Sleeping Spot: Blue River Fishing & Hunting Area, Tishomingo, Oklahoma