Guadalupe National Park
Forgot to reserve my spot in Carlsbad, so I decided to spend the day at Guadalupe National Park, which is right down the road! Did a pretty cool hike through a river bed to a place known as Devil’s Hall. The riverbed was fun since there was no set path, so you got to choose your own. Lots of great mountain views, and the Hall was a great place for lunch! Had the opportunity to speak with a member of the mountain rescue for a while at the really cool trail head. There is a strange beauty in a conversation made between strangers who will never meet again that fills my soul for some reason.
The plant focus is Choisya dumosa, or Mexican Starleaf Orange. Native to the area, it is often found growing among the limestone. It is in the Rutaceae family (Rue Family), which is actually a new plant family for me. The flowers smell like orange blossoms, and the star-shaped leaves give the plant its name. Supposedly, this is a very fragrant plant, but I wasn’t getting any strong smells on the trail.
The Fools Journeys 
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