Memorial Day weekend, 2021, just two and a half weeks after our Channel Islands visit, we set off for Texas. Once again Sarah and I were joined by her husband, Jarad, and baby, Peart. With an aggressive itinerary we planned to visit four national parks in less than four days: Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, Big Bend and White Sands.

Sarah and I originally thought we would recreate Neil Peart’s March, 2003 visit to Big Bend National park recounted in his book “Traveling Music.” Here he described in detail every aspect of his journey from the route he drove (round trip from his home in Los Angeles), to the places he stayed in, the restaurants he ate at, and the hikes and activities he enjoyed inside the park. He even provided his road trip soundtrack. As we researched for our own trip it soon became apparent this was impractical for our journey.

Big Bend National Park is located in southwest Texas. The nearest major airports are Midland/Odessa, 235 miles away, and El Paso, 330 miles away. Looking at the map we took notice of White Sands National Park less than 100 miles to the north of El Paso in New Mexico. And there, 115 miles to the northeast of El Paso was Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas), and only 35 miles further, on the same road, Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico). It was a no-brainer. We would fly into El Paso, Texas and instead of one park in five days, we could conquer all four parks in three days.

We flew into El Paso on a Friday evening. We had reserved a rental car but there was a huge line at the counter in the 100-degree open air garage. Looking over we saw another company with only one other person in line and decided to give it a try. There we were able to rent a large SUV for a reasonable price and be quickly on our way. Our hotel was only a couple blocks from the airport. For this trip we would stay in the same hotel for the duration of our visit, a rare luxury for us. After checking in and dropping off our bags, we left Sarah and Peart at the hotel and Jarad and I went to get groceries for the next day. We brought along a small collapsible cooler, but with that and a mini fridge we could only buy a few things at a time. By the time we returned Peart was asleep and we quickly organized our things and went to bed. The next morning we got up early to drive to Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks. In his book, “Far and Away,” Neil Peart mentions spending time, and collecting his first passport stamps for Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains during time off from the full production rehearsals for the Time Machine Tour in June, 2010.

Our first stop was Carlsbad Caverns, located in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns is our nation’s 18th national park, and the main attraction is the namesake cavern. There is no lodging inside the park, but at the junction to the park we noted a small convenience store, gas station, RV park and post office. At the visitor center we joined a queue waiting for it to open. Most of the visitors were hoping to get tickets for the cave tour. We had already purchased ours online for a nominal $1 fee, but were told we would need to get in line anyway to check in. While Jarad did this, Sarah and I went to the bookstore to get our passport stamps and then with a little extra time until our scheduled entrance we all explored the large visitor center.

We opted to walk into the cavern, a one and a half mile descent, 750 feet, 8 stories, underground. We would take the elevator back out. As our entrance time approached we made our way along a short trail to the amphitheater. Here we were greeted and briefed by a ranger who took our tickets and directed us along our way. The foreboding entrance from the theater was a series of switchbacks right down into the dark cave. Initially there was a weird smell, probably like how the inside of a cave smells, but we soon got used to it. The walkway was smooth with plenty of handrails and adequate lighting. Occasionally I turned on my headlamp for better visibility. Since we were one of the first groups in, we didn't run into many people coming the opposite direction. In places the trail was steep and sometimes damp and a little slippery. We were glad to be in our hiking shoes. There were plenty of benches to rest along the way, which would be especially handy if you were hiking up and out. The cave itself was beautiful with all of the stalagmites and stalactites and tastefully placed lighting on featured formations. It was a busy morning at the park, but we didn’t feel rushed or crowded as we made our way down into the depths. At one point we ran into a ranger coming up who reported we were about two thirds of the way down. Sarah asked him about the elevator and he said “it usually works.” We think he was joking.

After going the remaining distance we were surprised to come around a corner and see a sign pointing to restrooms ahead. I didn’t go in. It was hard to imagine how they even built the trail let alone all the handrails, benches and lighting. A restroom? Well, I’m sure the elevator helped. Another sign to the elevator led us to a chamber where we were even more surprised to find kiosks set up. A large round kiosk in the middle operated as a gift shop. Another smaller kiosk offered limited drinks and snacks and more souvenirs. To the side we saw another area where tables and chairs would normally be set up for people to sit and rest or enjoy the refreshments. Neatly placed trash receptacles and more benches completed the underground rest area. Of course, due to COVID the seating area was temporarily closed. It all reminded me of Disneyland, like I was exiting the Indiana Jones caves. The elevator, which was working just fine, soon deposited us above ground. We exited into the bookstore, now looking even brighter after our sojourn into the darkness, and as we walked into the neatly organized gift shop, I had the strange sensation I had just been on a ride, like Indiana Jones. Who wants to go again? This was not a bad thing at all and we give the park high ratings for its entertainment value and family fun atmosphere. Not to mention the neat and tidy buildings and grounds. We happily purchased some coffee in the cafeteria and headed out feeling like this is a park that is great fun for many ages and abilities.

Our next destination, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the nation’s 36th national park, was less than 40 miles away, back the way we had come. Also located in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas, it is known for beautiful scenery and the tallest mountains in the state. We had driven right past it that morning. Unfortunately, half of the park was on fire — the first two entrances we came upon had road closed signs. At the third entrance we made it in, but only just. The parking lot was closed and we did little more than circle around and head back out of the park. This is not the way we like to visit a park, but under the rules of our Neil Peart Inspired National Park Road Trips it would still count. Often Neil Peart made a quick stop in a park just to get a passport stamp on his way to a venue where he was performing with Rush. We had made it inside the park. Under COVID restrictions, Sarah and I had run into visitor center closures from time to time so we had created our own stamp to deal with just that situation. Alas, our passport books would be stamped. The other reason we weren’t overly disappointed is because we would have done little else that day in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This park is known for its rugged terrain and difficult trails and combined with the heat, the fires, the baby, and my own limited abilities (I am out of shape and afraid of snakes) we didn’t intend to go far into the park. We would like to return again one day, if we are ever in that area, at least to go into the visitor center. Sarah points out that on a return visit I might still be out of shape and I’ll definitely still be afraid of snakes! For all of these reasons we drove out less disappointed than we may have imagined and stopped a little way down the road where there was a covered picnic area with a view of the park. We cheerfully hopped out to eat our lunch then quickly ran back to the car to avoid the weird flying, stinging, biting, insects that were about. We finished eating in the car and headed back to our hotel.

That afternoon while Peart napped Jarad and I went back to the store to get more groceries for the following day. In the evening, despite the mixed reviews from family and friends, I thought we would try a Cracker Barrel restaurant for dinner, a chain not having made its way yet to the Pacific Northwest. We called in our take out order on the way. We thought it was simple enough; we each ordered a deluxe cheeseburger which would come with lettuce, tomato, onion, condiments, and french fries on the side. We had fun in the restaurant gift shop waiting for our order. They had a great Americana selection of clothes and old fashioned toys, candy and treats. I bought Peart a John Deere trucker hat and my granddaughter a cute gingham shorts outfit. When our order was ready we headed back to the hotel, but Peart fell asleep just as we pulled in. Not wanting to wake him, we decided to eat in the car. The food was not good. Our deluxe cheeseburgers were huge, but little more than a burger smothered in way too much melty, processed cheddar cheese, the other fixings seemingly forgotten. I only made it about half-way through my burger before the cheese became repulsive. Sarah, who was exclusively nursing Peart (he wasn’t even eating solids yet since he was only 5 months old) and starving at the time, raved about her burger from the back seat and got through half before she got that queasy feeling. I don’t remember how far Jarad got. I looked over to see a sad little shriveled piece of green, maybe a quarter the size of his burger, and asked “what’s that?” He said he wasn’t sure, maybe lettuce. I asked where it came from and when he said it came off of his burger. Sarah and I started to laugh and, well, haven’t stopped since. Sarah watched the whole thing from the back seat — he tried a bite of it, then slowly took it off with a disgusted look on his face. We understood how they could forget all the toppings for all three cheeseburgers, but it’s funny to think they would add that one tired piece of shriveled up lettuce to only one of them. Shortly after that we all stopped eating, and I still feel nauseous thinking about that cheese. We gave them 4 stars for the gift shop, one star for the food and 5 stars for making us laugh harder than we maybe ever have. And now I can say I tried it (which makes us laugh hysterically) and I will never have to again. I have heard they do make a really good breakfast though.

Sunday morning we were up early, even by our standards, before 4am, and headed to Big Bend National Park. As we drove east out of El Paso, we could see lightning flashing to the northeast, but our route soon turned south and away from the storm. At Van Horn we turned onto US-90 following the same route Neil Peart took, passing locations he wrote about such as the “From Here to Eternity” roadside art in Marfa. We stopped quickly at a McDonalds for coffee and breakfast, but otherwise kept to the highway and focused on our destination. It was not exactly a fun drive and it was certainly long. There were very few other cars on the road and not many places or towns along the way. It was hard to imagine this as a main thoroughfare to a national park. Of course, Big Bend is not as popular a destination as some of the other parks. Located in southwest Texas it is our nation’s 25th national park and the only park which contains an entire mountain range within its borders. Likely due in part to the remote location and accessibility, it receives far fewer visitors.

We entered the park around 10:30 that morning via US-385 and headed to the Panther Junction Visitor Center. We got Peart out and ready and headed into the small building for our passport stamps. The rangers that morning weren’t very friendly. After a quick snack we headed up to the Chisos Mountain Lodge. The road was steep and curvy and we were at the top quickly, where it was crowded. Jarad circled in the car while Sarah and I ran in to get souvenirs and snacks. Here they were extremely friendly, and we thought it would be fun to stay in the lodge there. The only lodge in the park, it provides incredible views and access to many trailheads nearby. On this day there was nowhere to park and stay. Every pull out and trailhead on the way back down was crowded with cars and people.

We made our way along the scenic drive to the Rio Grande River stopping along the way at various viewpoints. We eventually ate our lunch at one of the higher points overlooking the valley. From these higher viewpoints the enormity of the park is breathtaking and you can see for miles. We found a place to park at the river and got out and put our toes in the water. This was not easy as the path to the water was very muddy and one wrong step would have you sinking half way up to your knees. On the way back out we stopped at the village and bought a bag of ice to replenish our small cooler. We gave the rest of the bag to some other grateful travelers.

We exited the park via TX-118 but the road soon met up with the same US-90 we came in on, past the “From Here to Eternity” art and back to Van Horn. We had considered stopping here for dinner, at the same place Neil had eaten, but it was probably a good thing it was closed. The hotel he had stayed in next door was now a residence for people who appeared to be somewhat down on their luck. Several of them sat in lawn chairs in the parking lot outside their doors and eyed us suspiciously as Sarah and I hopped out to take a picture under the sign. Another thing we noticed when planning this trip is that a lot had changed in the 18 years between Neil Peart’s trip to Big Bend National Park and ours. We continued back on Interstate 10 to El Paso. Peart had a hard time for the last hour and cried hysterically til we got the hotel — he’d reached his max — but Sarah insisted we push on. Back at the hotel we got him comfortable and after he went to bed we ordered tacos from a local restaurant.

On Monday we were up early again, albeit not so early as the day before, and on our way to one of the newest national parks, number 62, White Sands, having just been upgraded in 2019 from a monument. Neil Peart first visited this park in November, 1998 when it was still a monument. The park is located in New Mexico surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range which sometimes causes road closures to the park. Sarah told us she had checked and nothing was planned for that day. We arrived well before the visitor center opened and drove to the dune recreation area. Along the loop drive there were many areas to pull out and play or walk on the dunes and trails - lots of water and a compass are recommended. Some of the spots had covered picnic tables and restrooms close by. We parked near the end of the loop and took a short walk out onto the dunes, already losing sight of the trail we started on within the first hundred yards. But we kept an eye on our car and easily found our way back. On the drive out we stopped and walked along an informative boardwalk trail. White Sands felt like it would be a fun day-use recreation spot. There are no hotels or restaurants in the park nor overnight lodging.

Back at the visitor center we were first in line and the large crowd that formed behind us grew surly and rude when they were told they would only allow two in at a time. (They did allow the 3 ½ of us to go together.) It turned out that most of that crowd actually needed to be at the gift store next door where they could purchase or rent sleds for the day. Purchase price was $20 for a sled you could buy for $3 at Walmart so we recommend bringing your own — that and you can avoid the long line. After collecting our things in the bookstore we slipped in the back door of the gift shop which was now full with the impatient crowd. They apparently did not have a limit on visitors in the gift shop. I found the white sand “egg timer” I was hoping for. National Monument items were also still available half off. We quickly made our purchases and headed back to El Paso. We picked up a late breakfast and coffee on the way and went back to our hotel.

Sarah had arranged for a late checkout since we had an early evening flight. The hotel gave us until 3pm and said not to worry if we needed to stay even longer! This gave us plenty of time to rest up from our busy weekend before heading to the airport and back home. Three days, four national parks, one round trip flight, and 1400 road miles. We had now been to all of the national parks in the western continental U.S., 36 in total.