Eating Healthy on the Road

Hyatt Place is offering a Hummus Trio plate on their new menu!

I'm on the road up to two weeks in a busy month, and it can be a challenge to maintain healthy practices.

Let's face it:  some days all I want is the comfort of a warm chocolate chip cookie.... am I right? 

Knowing this, knowing my weakness, I try to nip all temptation in the bud and plan ahead:

If I'm driving, I fill a small cooler with veggies, small containers of milk, yoghurt to snack on, and I try to book a hotel with a small fridge in the room.

I also tuck these into my suitcase:

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew packets (unsweetened varieties!)
packs of instant oatmeal
dried fruit pieces and/or nuts
small camping bowl and sturdy plastic utensils
paper towels or napkins
individual bags of tea

Just part of the breakfast spread at the Hyatt Place El Paso
Airport location--fruit, plain and berry yoghurts,
cottage cheese and a variety of fruits

That way I can always control at least one meal a day--breakfast--by heating water for oatmeal and coffee in the room's coffee maker. Some hotels offer great breakfast items, making it easy to eat well, and  not indulge.  One of my favorite places to stay in this regard is Hyatt Place, and the El Paso (Texas) Airport location is a good friend of our Texas Mountain Trail organization.  In fact, they were our first property to participate in our cycle-friendly program!  Yes, they offer indulgences at the breakfast spread that's included with the room, but there's also stonecut oatmeal, juices, cereals, fruit and yoghurt.  Easy, peasy.

Our El Paso Hyatt Place location is among the first 15 nationwide to roll out a new menu with some healthy options, including salads, soup/salad combinations, and my new FAVE go-to dinner item: (pictured above):   

Hummus Trio $7.75  A trio of Red Pepper, Roasted Garlic and Basil Pesto Hummus, served with Kalamata Olives, Pepperoncini, Fire Roasted Peppers, Warm Herb Flatbread & Carr’s Crackers

Yum!

A Great Travel Dress

We're so happy to be in partnership with Stonewear Designs, a wonderful made-in-the-USA women's clothing company specialising in looks for active women. Texas Mountain Trail Executive Director, and Stonewear Design's Grassroots Ambassador, Beth Nobles, tests the Riva Dress.

 

In front of El Paso's historic
Plaza Theatre (click to get
a closer look)

"The Riva dress fell out of my suitcase wrinkle-free--I had been on the road a few days already--and just slipped it on.  Rarely I get such a perfect fit.  It was soft and moved with me all day long, from a public speaking engagement in the morning to bopping around in El Paso's downtown cultural campus and museum to museum in the mid-day sun, to dinner at the end of the day.  The knit was light enough to breathe from the cool morning temperatures to the late afternoon heat, and the long sleeves protected me from the sun."

 "Gorgeous color (now that I've got one in Pomegranate, I want one in Snow and one in Black!) and this is a dress that can take me anywhere.  I'm on the road about half the time, and the Riva is appropriate for visits to the State Capitol, nice restaurants, business meetings and speaking engagements."

 

View a slideshow of our visit to downtown El Paso wearing Stonewear Design's Riva Dress!
 

Our Peak Fitness Challenge Begins!

 We're SO excited about this program---and everyone is invited, whether you're a beginning hiker or experienced trail runner!  The challenge will run a full year, so there's plenty of time to participate in organized hikes in the park, or plan your own adventures with family and friends!  Here's the press release and info about the challenge!  

You'll be able to sign up for the Challenge later today!

The Peak Fitness Challenge, a free hiking program for Franklin Mountains State Park and Guadalupe MountainNational Park launches today, June 21^st   at the monthly meeting of the El Paso Hotel Motel Association.  A joint program of the parks, the Texas Mountain Trail regional non-profit, El Paso’s GeoBetty.com and PhidevInc.com, the Challenge encourages everyone from beginning hikers to experienced trail runners to get out on the park’s trails.  Participants can earn prizes for their accomplishments.

“Hikers can use the program to build their fitness and confidence levels to reach the highest peaks in the Franklins and the Guadalupes, if they want,” says Don Baumgardt, GeoBetty creator and publisher of the El Paso Visitors Guide.  “Participation is easy and free.  Folks can go online to register, log miles hiked and compete for prizes.  This Challenge is for regional residents and visitors to Far West Texas.” 

Information and sign up is available at GeoBetty.com/Peak .   Hikers and trail runners can compete as individuals or team members.  Participants may count the miles they log on organized hikes or adventures they tackle with friends and family members.  Everyone is invited to join the facebook community for the challenge at www.facebook.com/PeakFitnessChallenge

Planning for the Peak Fitness Challenge began last fall, when the new Superintendent of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and El Paso native, Dennis Vasquez, approached the Texas Mountain Trail for assistance in planning the park’s 40^th anniversary.  “The park had ideas for a hiking challenge similar to programs we’d been considering for some time,” said Beth Nobles, Executive Director of the Texas Mountain Trail, a regionally-based heritage tourism non-profit organization serving Far West Texas. “When we invited GeoBetty.com and their developer Phidev, Inc. to join the project and handle the technical aspects of the Challenge, the program really took off.  With the addition of Franklin Mountains State Park, we knew we had a winner.” 

From the beginning, the Peak Fitness Challenge was designed to encourage everyone to get out on our Far West Texas trails, including beginning hikers.  Adrianna Weickhardt, Parks Interpreter/Ranger at Franklin Mountains State Park, started Women’s Only Hikes earlier this year to encourage more participation at the park.  “They’re great opportunities for females of all ages who may feel some apprehension or fear about starting this new activity.  We cover the fundamentals of hiking, and we take a slower pace, starting with beginner level trails.  There’s an experienced guide along for the entire hike to lead them, assist, and answer any questions.”

To encourage new hikers, Nobles began a blog called, “One Foot in Front of the Other,” (www.onefoottostart.blogspot.com)  which features fitness tips and interviews with hikers, runners and cyclists.  The blog has several “Hiking 101” entries already addressing topics such as, “What’s a Trailhead?” and “How do I Find the Trail?”

Some of the trails are labeled “Texas Mountain Trail Heritage Hikes,” to encourage participants to learn about the heritage of the Far West Texas region.  One trail runs past a historic stagecoach route, another was the site of a murder of a Texas Ranger.  The TexasMountain Trail is a regional non-profit heritage tourism and economic development organization, representing the six westernmost counties of the state.  It participates in the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Heritage Trails Program.

In the days after the June 21^st launch, participants may choose join hikes organized and led by volunteers or rangers at the participating parks:

Franklin Mountains State Park:

Make your reservation by calling:  (915) 566-6441

Bring:  Water, snacks, sturdy hiking shoes/boots, hiking stick, camera, binoculars, a flashlight for the tin mines, a map and dogs are welcome on leashes!

Saturday, June 23 –“Couch Potato Hike” on the Lazy Cow Trail   

Start Time: 8:00 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Length: 6.3 miles/ 2 – 3 hours

Trailhead:  Meet at Chuck Heinrich Park/East side of the mountains (call for directions)

*Difficulty Level:  Easy to Moderate.  This single track trail is often used for mountain biking, but is a nice leisurely stroll as a hiking trail as well.  It is not difficult terrain to traverse, however, it is a longer distance and may be challenging for new hikers.  The plant and animal life in this area is readily seen and with the Franklins as a backdrop, this hike is beautiful.

Sunday, June 23rd– Mine Shaft Exploration

Start Time:  8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Length:  1.4 miles / 1.5 - 2 hours

Trail:  Begin on West Cottonwood Springs trail, then enter the mineshaft to explore and end on the Agave Loop. *Difficulty Level:  Easy to Moderate.  Rocky along some sections, with a few short steep stretches.  The exploration into the mineshaft is fun and easy with one initial short belly crawl through the opening. 

Friday, June 29 – Women’s Only Hike – Upper Sunset Trail

Start Time:  8:00 a.m.

Length:  2.6 miles / 1.5 - 2 hours

*Difficulty Level:  Easy to moderate.  We’ll encounter some elevation gains, with some short steep inclines/declines, a few rocky/rough sections, and great vistas as we walk along the ridgeline.

 Guadalupe Mountains National Park:  All hikes begin at 8:00. Bring water, food, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and wear sturdy footwear.

Saturday, June 23-- Devil's Hall

Start time:  8 am.

Length:  4.2 miles roundtrip, moderately difficult, but very rocky, 3-4 hours.  Meet at the Pine Springs Trailhead near the RV campground.  Bring water, food, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and wear sturdy footwear.

Sunday, June 24-- Smith Springs

Start time:  8 am   (2.3 miles roundtrip, moderately difficult, 2 hours) Meet at the Frijole Ranch Trailhead.  Bring water, food, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and wear sturdy footwear.

Sunday, July 1--McKittrick Canyon to Pratt Cabin

Start time:  8 am (4.8 miles round trip, moderately difficult, 3-4 hours) Meet at the McKittrick Canyon Trailhead.  Bring water, food, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and wear sturdy footwear.

Just be thankful it isn't 1895!

Over the next couple of weeks, Texas Mountain Trail will roll out a great story...the story of the first woman to ride a bike around the world and her visit to El Paso on that exciting adventure.  When did it take place?  Exactly 117 years ago.

I am...a new woman, if that term means that I believe I can do anything

that any man can do." -Annie Londonderry

In 1895, cycling was a craze in El Paso as well as many other parts of the country.  At the time, women were starting to ride bikes, but were faced with a serious question...what to wear?  Long skirts could prove dangerous, but bloomers weren't socially acceptable yet.  Here's a clip from the El Paso Herald's front page from June 21, 1895!!

and from June 15, 1895!

Follow the story on the Texas Mountain Trail Facebook page or our Twitter account!