I went to
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in West Texas, after Carlsbad Caverns. I hiked a four mile loop trail, in the middle of which it started to rain. I haven't really been rained on at all on this entire trip, and now I'm rained on in the middle of the desert. Very strange. I saw several fascinating bugs that were too quick to photograph: a big black fly with bright orange wings, and a brilliant metallic green beetle that flew by occasionally. Not much other wildlife, a rabbit, several lizards, no snakes. I thought I heard something whinny or neigh at one point, but I thought I was hearing a lot of things thanks to the noisy rain jacket I had on.
Oh, and I did something stupid. In the past several parks, I've seen lots of
prickly pear cactus. And I've been so tempted to pull off a "pear" and try it. So here, with nobody around for what felt like miles, I decided to pluck one off and eat. The first thing that happens is pain, as several fine, barely visible, hairlike spines enter the thumb and forefinger of the plucking hand. More spines follow suit as I pull out my knife and start peeling. After making enough peeling progress to taste it, I am gravely disappointed. It's slimy, sticky, and tastes about what I'd expect aloe to taste like. And now my hand is full of spines. I manage to get most of them out, but for the rest of the day, I occasionally feel a sharp pain or itch in my hand thanks to the smallest spines that are still stuck there somewhere. At night, I end up buying a pair of tweezers to get the rest, a feat not fully accomplished until I wake up the next morning and try again.
I went to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in West Texas, after Carlsbad Caverns. I hiked a four mile loop trail, in the middle of which it started to rain. I haven't really been rained on at all on this entire trip, and now I'm rained on in the middle of the desert. Very strange. I saw several fascinating bugs that were too quick to photograph: a big black fly with bright orange wings, and a brilliant metallic green beetle that flew by occasionally. Not much other wildlife, a rabbit, several lizards, no snakes. I thought I heard something whinny or neigh at one point, but I thought I was hearing a lot of things thanks to the noisy rain jacket I had on.
Oh, and I did something stupid. In the past several parks, I've seen lots of prickly pear cactus. And I've been so tempted to pull off a "pear" and try it. So here, with nobody around for what felt like miles, I decided to pluck one off and eat. The first thing that happens is pain, as several fine, barely visible, hairlike spines enter the thumb and forefinger of the plucking hand. More spines follow suit as I pull out my knife and start peeling. After making enough peeling progress to taste it, I am gravely disappointed. It's slimy, sticky, and tastes about what I'd expect aloe to taste like. And now my hand is full of spines. I manage to get most of them out, but for the rest of the day, I occasionally feel a sharp pain or itch in my hand thanks to the smallest spines that are still stuck there somewhere. At night, I end up buying a pair of tweezers to get the rest, a feat not fully accomplished until I wake up the next morning and try again.
3 comments:
OMG - you are a NUT. My neighbors in Houston had a Cactus "Garden" with rocks for ground cover... They had several prickly pears - and I NEVER once wanted to eat one - especially after I sort of touched one of the fuzzy spine locations and experienced the pain - NUTS I tell you - there are soo many better things to eat in the wild in Texas - like the evening primrose necter - Pink Flowers, pull the long thing out - it is just like honeysuckle!
Your metallic green beatle sounds kind of like something we used to call a "June Bug", but that name has several interpretations. This one looks kind of like what I'm used to.
Alright, way to persevere! Go Bear (Grylls) Doki!
No surprise it rained on you in TX. Yeah, we still hold a grudge :)
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