We finally made it to the Lighthouse! Other than the prickly pear incident (see part 3) we were in rather good shape. We still had plenty of water left for the hike back, and still had energy enough to explore around the Lighthouse itself.

Once the young girls finished their photo shoot up on the rock, we approached the formation. You can see in the photo below that there is a bit of a climb to get up to it, and then about a three foot “step” that we had to climb up to get onto the formation. We contemplated for about 30 seconds whether it was worth it before deciding that we had hiked nearly 3 miles to get here, we’re doing this! And with that, the Lighthouse was mounted!

Once on the formation, we found a shady area where we could set down our backpacks and look around. While there were still no clouds in the sky, the scenery in all directions was outstanding! And the size of the hoodoos was massive. It is one thing to see them from a distance and yet an entirely different context to see them up close and personal.

A couple of young men were there at the same time and said there was a way to climb all the way to the top of one of them. We passed on that adventure but wished them well. When they came back, with one of them claiming to have made it at least part way up, they told us of a formation around the back side that looked like a pulpit. We made our way around and sure enough, it looked like it could pass for a pulpit with room for a congregation.

And even in the most rocky and apparent dead environments, Karen will still find a flower, or at least a colorful weed to shoot. And as you can tell from the shadow, the sun was approaching straight up in the sky at this point.

Standing on the Lighthouse, we had an unrestricted view of a good portion of the canyon. We could see for miles. In the photo below you can see just how unusually green the floor of the canyon was during our visit. This was certainly something we had not expected, thinking of this area as being more of an arid or desert area. Maybe we’ll have to come here again someday to see what this place looks like in a normal year. (Or I guess I could just google it. There are way too many other places we want to see first.)

After spending some time on the Lighthouse and taking in the scenery, as well as making several photographs, we climbed down. Near the base we found this rock formation and we were left to wonder how many millions of years it might have taken for the rocks to arrange themselves in this manner, and just how lucky we were to be here at that moment in time to witness the event! (sarcasm and humor intended)

As we began our hike back to the trailhead, as you can notice from the above photos, there was still not a cloud in the sky. The sun was high and the UV rays were brutal. But we had plenty of water, clothing, Michael’s ten-gallon hat, and sunscreen to protect us. And we were not too proud to stop to rest and enjoy the flowers along the way. Speaking of which…

Along the trail, there is a sign telling you to “arrive alive”. This is at a point right before the trail starts getting rough going toward the monument, about three-quarters of the way from the trailhead. It is a “this is your last chance to turn back or die” sign. Several people every year must be rescued on this trail because they were not properly prepared. We were determined to not be part of that statistic. But as the day wore on, to be honest, the heat and sun did begin to wear on us. One of us (I won’t mention who) started getting snippy, but I figured once we were done with the hike and ate something, the “hangryness” would dissipate and all would be right with the world again.

While on our way back we were on the lookout for critters. Remember the ranger yesterday told us to look for the Texas Horned Lizard, matting tarantulas, and even rattlesnakes? Well, we saw none of those. We did see a few regular lizards, and they usually scampered off the trail quickly as we were approaching. It seemed that none of the critters were interested in being baked by the sun any more than we were.

As we got closer and closer to the end of our hike, we noticed several people, even a couple with a baby in a stroller, just starting the hike. Now, I don’t know if they were planning to go all the way to the Lighthouse or not, but this was about 2pm with the sun, unfiltered, and high in the sky. We asked each of them if they had plenty of water and they assured us they did. One young guy was even running! Our thoughts were many, but at least one of them was “Oh, to be young again!”

We finished the hike, had lunch, and headed back to the hotel, where we showered, cooled off, ordered pizza, and reviewed the day’s photos. According to my smart watch, the total time on the hike was a little over six hours. Not too bad considering everything. Overall, it was a wonderful day and one we were proud of. We accomplished something we were not entirely sure we could and lived to tell the tale. And this isn’t the last day. We have an extra special day planned tomorrow, but that will have to wait for part 5.

See you then,

Michael & Karen

All words and photos copyright 2023 M Hampton Photography