Guadalupe Mountains National Park Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in far West Texas on U.S. Highway 62/180. The driving distance is 110 miles east of El Paso, Texas, or 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Rising from the desert, this mountain mass contains portions of the world's most extensive and significant Permian limestone fossil reef. Also featured are a tremendous earth fault, lofty peaks, unusual flora and fauna, and a colorful record of the past. Guadalupe Peak, highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet; El Capitan, a massive limestone formation; McKittrick Canyon, with its unique flora and fauna; and the "Bowl", located in a high country conifer forest, are significant park features. My first series of pictures is from the hike I took up McKittrick Canyon. I hope you like them, it is an amazing place: desert, mountains, Bigtooth Maple, Ponderosa Pine, Texas Madrone, Pinyon Pine and many cactus and grasses. Succulents found here in Guadalupe Mountains National Park include several species of yuccas, beargrass, sotol, agaves, and ocotillo. There are close to 50 species of cacti including prickly pears, chollas, hedgehogs, and pincushions, and many like the Claret Cup are “show-stoppers” whose brilliant blossoms attract visitors from around the world. Did You Know? The Pinery Station, located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, was one of the most favorably situated stage stops on the original 2,800-mile Butterfield Overland Mail route, and the highest, located at 5,534' in Guadalupe Pass. In 1857, the first trip of the Butterfield Overland Mail stage rolled across the country connecting Missouri to California, and all points in between. On a time line, the two and one-half year operation (1857-1861) of the Butterfield Overland Mail was but a flash in the history of transportation in the United States. But this short-lived operation captured and held the imagination of Americans because it stitched together the growing country from sea to sea. Thanks for all the comments on my last post. God Bless Y'all, Todd