unrequited love for hueco

well, i waited in line at the gate today for four hours before finally giving up and coming back to the campsite.
not everyone has to wait in line, if you have money you can book a commercial tour and you're guaranteed entry to the park. so basically like so many other places and circumstances in the world, those with money fare better.
second choice is to make a reservation. they're four dollars per person and have to be made via a long distance phone call to the parks bureau in houston. when i arrived in hueco three weeks ago, every day was booked in february. when you're waiting at the gate you're hoping for a reservation to be cancelled so you can get in. reservations are held until 12 noon, and then are processed as "no-shows". then people from the line up are let in.

when i arrived in line today there were six cars and i knew each and every person there. i think that fact alone shows that i've been here a while. five cars had been let in between 8am and 10:30am and the guy at the front of the line, who arrived at 6:30am, finally got in just before noon.

i blame the lineup for my shakey results with climbing. when i want to climb i want to be excited about it and just get on the rock. sitting around on my crashpad on the road is not comparable to climbing. i've met some good people and made some friends in line, but sitting around is not why i went on this trip.

i've sandpapered my fingertips and may have a lead on getting in on someone's reservation tomorrow. otherwise it's back to the line up...