Pioneering the Fern Cave

The Conquest of the Summit

If you think the journey to the Caprock Canyons summit has finally been conquered by yours truly and her adventurous bunch, think again. We haven’t even really begun! In this pic you could see Joe on the very pointed summit of one of the taller canyons on the South Prong Primitive Camping area. I know I can be reckless (and I’m not afraid of heights) but it’s just too damn dangerous to scale that thing up. Joe admitted he slipped a couple times and hurt himself.

Haha, how ridiculous. In Texas, the outdoors can be so harsh. We were on the northwest side of the Texas map, conquering the Caprock Canyons that to our amazement, were pretty wild with a few surprises ahead. We camped out during the night and the actual 4-hour hike started at 9:45 in the morning.

There were lots of stray mosquitoes along the way. The first two miles we encountered a wall of recently fallen boulders. The grasses were still fresh and the rocks looked like they would still break off the cliff. Suddenly we were hit by the realization that if we had hiked an hour earlier and came over by such a spot, we would have been victims of the collapse…probably crushed to pieces…with no immediate rescue around.

But then our morbid thoughts were wiped out with euphoria when about halfway through the hike we spotted the Fern Cave, a little oasis in the middle of the desert.

The Fern Cave, Caprock Canyons, northwest of the Texas map

Although we found the Fern Cave in the little Texas map that the travel personnel gave us, it was unbelievable that park rangers who have taken care of the Caprock Canyons for more than a decade have never seen it. That is what they told us. In this cave, you could climb up and take a “quick shower” under the cold droplets of water trickling on the wall of the fern-infested cave. Now that’s exactly what we needed!

The Un-Texas Las Vegas

Wow. It has been a month since my respite from the Texas outdoors. But there’s really no such thing as a respite. Even though I haven’t made a sojourn within the boundaries of the Texas map, my wanderlusting feet were still able to make it at least several hundred miles away from home. Up north is where we headed, where the weather could be chilly or skin-parching, depending on which town you stop. The road trip to Las Vegas isn’t really that predictable. Back in Spring, we had a flat tire in the middle of Pinta Road. This time around, we didn’t blow up anything, but we were so zonked that I left my teeth retainers at Kirtland Air Force Base Inn in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I’ve got a few things to ponder about. Even though in Texas, gambling is illegal, those who live on the border up north or way on the east and west will always have access to casinos, if they really wanted to pay a visit. Outdoors-wise, Texas is still more attractive compared to many areas of Nevada. Texas is also near the ski mountains of Colorado, the Grand Canyon, and other natural wonders. Yet the one thing I regret is the absence of adult amusement such as casinos.

Heck, I’m not addicted. Someone has already accused me that I am, but that’s not true. This is a Texas map blog, and yet I’m proud to say that I learned a few good things on our out-of-town trip to the Sin City. A few good things you might actually find useful!