Downsizing! Packing Up Our First Home

Hi, folks!

With just 6 over-sized suitcases in tow, we have packed up our lives!

After living in Florida for the past 6 years, and owning our own home for 5 of those years, we had accumulated quite a lot of stuff: a kayak, kayak racks, snorkeling gear, tennis equipment, beach umbrellas, beach chairs, coolers, pool floaties ... Can you tell we lived in Florida?!

Calm Before the Storm (Long Exposure)
Sarasota, Florida, USA
Photo taken my Maree Richardson

We are both people who enjoy a tidy house. Thanks to The Minimalists podcast, I have learnt to appreciate which items have a purpose and bring value to our lives. Some of our Airbnb guests described our house as "minimalist" and were inspired to adapt their homes in a similar fashion. Overall, we were feeling pretty confident that we had everything under control for the big move.

But boy, we were wrong!

The past couple of months have been emotionally, mentally and physically draining. We started to downsize our items about two months prior to the move. It was only in the final two weeks that we began to feel a little "behind", realizing just how much was left to go. We still had to find potential renters (as we decided to turn our property into a long-term rental), prioritize which items to bring, decide what to do with leftover items (e.g., sell, donate, store, give away), and clean the whole house in preparation for rental inspections. All while working full-time jobs!

Goodbye, Home!
Sarasota, Florida, USA
Photo taken by Maree Richardson

We stayed up late on the last night scrubbing the bathrooms, awoke early to clean out the refrigerator, and were still packing and re-packing our bags to the last minute. You know how people in the movies sit on their suitcases to try to get them closed? Yep, that was us!

Before leaving, we walked around our empty house and thanked the space for all of the memories. We took a last minute photo, and managed to squeeze all of the bags into the back of the car. Our Tetris skills leave a lot to be desired!

For me, the most emotional part was explaining the move to my wonderful students. Their reactions were variable. Some of them nodded their heads and moved on quickly, asking "Can we play the game, now?", while others were upset and required some consoling. Fortunately, the sweet Speech Language Pathologist who took my position shadowed me for a couple of days and got to meet most of the students, which helped ease the transition.

Reflections (Long Exposure)
Sarasota, Florida, USA
Photo taken by Maree Richardson

What was also brought to my attention were the beautiful relationships I have made in this part of the world: colleagues, clients, friends, and people who I now call family. As life unfolded over the course of 6 years, some pretty special, lifelong friendships were created. For that, I am very grateful.

So ... where did we move to? That's a story for another time. 😉

Until then, have a great week!

Maree

Texas and New Mexico - National Parks Road Trip - 7 Day Itinerary and Photo Diary

Hi, folks!

With a country as diverse as the US of A, it can be tricky to plan a trip. If you enjoy warm weather and wide open spaces, and don't want to spend a fortune, then you're in for a treat!

West Texas and New Mexico are "hidden gems". In March 2018, Greg and I embarked upon a Tex-New Mex road trip. Our self-devised itinerary enabled us to explore the main National Parks and Monuments in the area.

Walking on another planet.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.

Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

We flew into El Paso, Texas, rented a white Dodge Challenger at the airport (my new favorite American muscle car), and then drove to our Airbnb accommodation: an entire house for $40 per night. Bargain!

Day 1: White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.

About 1.5 hours north of El Paso lies the worlds largest gypsum dunefield. With a colossal amount of space, one does not need to venture far to find peace and solitude across this white blanket of sand. It was recommended to take appropriate navigational gear if hiking long distances, as the landscape looks identical for miles. Many visitors hired/purchased sleds and went sledding down the sandy slopes. There is nothing else like it! 

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.

Photo taken by Gregory Richardson.

Upon returning to El Paso, we drove the narrow, winding Scenic Drive and watched the sunset from the Overlook, which offered panoramic views over El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez in Chihuahua, Mexico. We stayed until nightfall and marveled at the sparkling city lights across two different cities, two different states, and two different countries.

Two different cities. Two different states. Two different countries.
El Paso, Texas, USA / Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

Day 2: Drove 3 - 3.5 hours to Artesia, New Mexico.

Artesia is your stereotypical oil and gas town. It is not pretty. Its main street is home to the Navajo Refinery, the largest refinery in New Mexico. The cheap hotel we had reserved experienced a widespread sewage issue, so they transferred us down the road to the next hotel. It was basic, albeit convenient, and became our "home base" for exploring the nearby National Parks.

Navajo Refinery, Artesia, New Mexico.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

If you stay in Artesia or are simply passing through, make sure to stop by La Herradura for a feed. It is an authentic, family-run restaurant and serves the best Mexican food.  A "diamond in the rough"! The owners/employees spoke very little English, so we communicated with the limited Spanish we had, accompanied by lots of hand gestures and facial expressions. Greg ordered a burrito the size of a truck, and I ordered a combination plate because I like to try a bit of everything.

The best Mexican food!
La Herradura, Artesia, New Mexico.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

Day 3: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico.

A short, 1 hour drive from Artesia are the Carlsbad Caverns. There are two options for exploring these underground caves: you can hike down and up, or you can take the elevator down and up. The elevator was not working the day we visited, so that made the decision easy. We hiked the 2km (1.25 miles) down and the 2km back up: the equivalent of walking up and down a 75-story building. 

The Natural Entrance Trail is in reasonably good condition, however it is steep, dark, and smells like bat poop. We were rewarded with spectacular cave formations at the bottom, including the Big Room which boasts the largest single cave chamber in North America. In my opinion, once you've seen a cave, you've seen them all.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

Day 4: Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas.

A short 1.5 hour drive from Artesia. This was the most "American day" I have ever had! Greg had work meetings scheduled all day, so he stayed in the comforts of our 2-star accommodation while I spent the day on a solo adventure. I proudly drove my beastly Dodge Challenger across the New Mexico/Texas border, enjoying every tough grunt it made while accelerating.

I hiked to Guadalupe Peak, also known as the "Top of Texas". It is the highest point in Texas at 8751 ft above sea level. The hike involved 8.5 miles (13.7 km) round trip, a challenging 3000 ft elevation gain, and some rock scrambling near the peak. Texas ain't all flat, ya'll! There is a rock formation just below the peak called El Capitan which looks like Pride Rock from the Lion King.

Looking down on El Capitan from Guadalupe Peak.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

There were few people on this trail. So few, that when you came in contact with other human beings, you stopped to chat. Plus, it was a good excuse to "catch a breather"! I met a group of college students from Austin, Texas, as well as a young family who were on a pursuit to visit every U.S. National Park. Fortunately, I did not meet any tarantulas or rattle snakes on this day. 

The peak offered 360 degree, panoramic views over the raw, arid Texan landscape. Descending that mountain literally felt like returning to earth, back to reality. I drove my beastly Challenger into the sunset, returned to the local oil and gas town, celebrated the days accomplishments with an ice-cold beer, and enjoyed another delicious feed at La Herradura.

"Top of Texas" - Guadalupe Peak
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas.
Photo credit to the family I met at the top.

Day 5: Drove 5.5 - 6 hours south to Terlingua, Texas.

West Texas scenery mainly consists of flat fields dotted with pumpjacks, also known as oil wells. They release oil (and sometimes gas) out of the ground. They kind of looked like dinosaurs!

Terlingua: cue "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi (play the video below). This area is the quintessential Wild West. A rugged, primitive, desolate landscape. It was once a booming mining town for metal mercury and ore. By 1903, the area boasted a population of up to 3,000. Mining ceased and it is now known as Terlingua Ghost Town, with a 2010 Census indicating the population is currently 58.

Today, the primary industry in Terlingua is tourism, fueled by its close proximity to Big Bend. Each evening, Greg and I shared a pitcher of beer at the local pub, serenaded by a middle-aged cowboy and his guitar. The water in the shower of our hotel room was merely a trickle, and the walls were super thin. We were unwillingly awoken to the sound of bedroom "festivities" from the couple next door, and painfully heard their detailed discussion about Funyuns until 3am in the morning.

Terlingua Ghost Town, Texas.
Photo taken by Gregory Richardson.

Day 6: Big Bend National Park, Texas.

This Park exceeded our expectations! It is now one of our favorites. Its remoteness contributes to it being one of the least visited Parks. It is vast, expansive, and offers diverse terrain from dry Chihuahuan desert, to river plains, to rocky peaks in the Chisos Mountains. The dark night skies offer amazing star-gazing and Milky Way viewing: an astro-photographers dream!

Rio Grande - USA in the foreground, Mexico in the background.

Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

Our first sight of the Rio Grande river was memorable. Contrary to its name, the river is not very grand at all. It is thin and shallow, at least in the portions we saw. It separates the U.S and Mexico. You can literally stand on U.S. soil and throw a rock across the river into Mexico. There is a massive cliff/rock face on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande: a gentle reminder of just how small we and our problems are.

Can you spot Greg?!
Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

We walked the short Santa Elena Canyon Trail. I sat on an American rock, and looked across at the Mexican canyon wall, with only a shallow stream of water in between. Mind-blowing! Such a foreign concept for someone who grew up on an island (Australia) totally surrounded by water.

Sitting on an American rock, gazing across at the Mexican canyon wall.

Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Photo taken by Gregory Richardson.

Next, we hiked the Lost Mine Trail which is 4.8 miles round trip and reaches a height of 6,800 ft above sea level. After a steady incline, gaining 1,300 ft in elevation, we were greeted at the top with panoramic Chisos mountain views. 

Lost Mine Trail.
Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Photo credit to random stranger we met at the top.

Day 7: Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico.

We crossed the border! Legally. 😊

Within Big Bend National Park, there is Boquillas Crossing Port of Entry with a passport control center. We presented our passports to a National Park ranger, and were then escorted across the Rio Grande by rowboat for a day trip to Boquillas: a small village in the state of Coahuila in northern Mexico, surrounded by the Sierra del Carmen mountain range. Some visitors paid to ride a burro (donkey) into the town. We chose to walk the easy 1/2 mile on foot which turned out to be the faster mode of transport. 

Boquillas, Mexico in 0.5 miles.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

Per local recommendation, we enjoyed some tacos, tamales, and the "best margarita in town". The owner of the restaurant came over to our table and taught us to peel the corn husks off of our tamales. We had been attempting to eat the husks - rookie error! We were serenaded by an old man singing out of tune and playing his guitar with missing strings. We were also accompanied by a resident Chihuahua who enjoyed constant attention. 

Tomales, tacos, and the "best margarita in town".
Boquillas, Mexico.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

After lunch, we strolled around the dusty, isolated village of Boquillas. The closest town is reported to be a 4 hour drive away on unpaved roads, only accessible by 4WD. Thus, a solar farm was recently developed to provide electricity for the village. Apparently up to 2000 people once lived here, mining lead, silver and fluorite ore. By 1919, mining ceased and the population declined. A 2010 Census reported the population to be 110, during a time when the border crossing was closed. The border crossing was reopened in 2013, and since then the population has reportedly increased to 200 people, 400 Chihuahuas, and one million scorpions.

Boquillas, Mexico.
Photo taken by Gregory Richardson.

Today, the primary industry in Boquillas is tourism. Many residents were selling hand-made souvenirs out the front of their homes. Others make a living by rowing visitors across the Rio Grande, or selling food and drinks to thirsty tourists at the local bar/restaurants. Many of the houses were small, colorful and shaped like rectangular prisms. We visited the local school, the church, and by then were in desperate need to use the public toilets, which consisted of 3 porta-loos in the middle of the main street which looked like they hadn't been cleaned in years.

Boquillas School.
Photo taken by Gregory Richardson

Temperatures on this day soared to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), and it was only early Spring. Make sure you come prepared with lots of water and sun protection!

Upon returning to the U.S. border, we virtually spoke with an immigration officer via phone/video camera, and were granted permission to re-enter the US. We drove back to El Paso that evening, stopping by to take a picture of the infamous Prada store situated on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. We arrived in El Paso late that night and rented a room in a house via Airbnb for $25. After showering off the days dust, sweat and sunscreen, we got some much needed rest before our flight home the next morning.

Prada store in the middle of nowhere.
Photo taken by Maree Richardson.

In summary, we visited 1 National Monument, 2 Countries, 3 States, 3 National Parks, 4 Airbnb's/Hotels, and drove 1,700 miles. Phew! 

1. White Sands National Monument

2. Carlsbad Caverns National Park

3. Guadalupe Mountains National Park

4. Big Bend National Park

With the sheer size of Texas and New Mexico, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Hopefully some of the above information is helpful. This may be the longest post I've ever written, so if you actually read this far, give yourself a "pat on the back". 😉

Happy traveling!

Maree