Spelunking, American style

This post was written on Wednesday, May 4th. I didn't have adequate bandwidth to post until now.

May 4th, 2016

I figured it out.  Carlsbad Caverns are actually Carl's Good Caverns on the way in, when you are descending 800 feet in the first mile of your walk.  They are Carl's Bad Caverns when you are on the way out and have to climb about a zillion feet in 20 miles! Well, OK, so it's the same 800 feet in a mile, but I tell you, you will not need to visit the gym and spend time on the Stairmaster after you get out.

Other than that (they usually have an elevator working, but it is broken), this was one of the most incredible places I have ever visited.  The inside of the cavern is massive, with a floor that covers as much area as 17 football fields and ceilings as high as 130 feet, the entire NFL could play simultaneous games. But it's better than that, it is like a fairy land underground.

Unfortunately, the Apple people did not make the iPhone 5S powerful enough to capture it all, but I offer a few photos to whet your appetite for YOUR trip to the largest known cavern in the western hemisphere.

Hard to believe we would see anything more inspiring than this young lady.

I have no idea.  They're just very pretty.

This sunbather was sitting on the rail around the area where we entered the cave complex.

Yes, that is the entrance. Notice how many (steep) switchbacks there 

are on the path. We've only just begun.

Looking across the cavern mouth at our first stalactites.

Kinda looks like icicles. 

I thought this was a peculiar shaped rock, until I looked more closely and realized it is a wheel off of an ancient mining cart, probably used during the construction of the paths that lead you through the caverns. 

Some impressive stalagmites.

Kinda reminds me of a bunch of snow covered Christmas trees. 

After we got past the "twilight zone," the light no longer penetrated into the cavern, and we appreciated the artificial lighting.  I was surprised to see fog in the cave, until we read a placard that indicates the temperature is 56 degrees F. year round.  You could store a lot of wine in this cellar!

Jill overcame her claustrophobia to pose for this one. 

 All of this is calcite deposits caused by dripping mineral laden water.

This area reminded me of a coral reef.

I believe these stalagmites were in the area called "Temple of the Sun."

This is hard to photograph. It looks like a bunch of miniature trees 

sprouting out of the ground, but it is all calcite deposit.

This pond is called "Mirror Pond." The sign is written in mirror image and reflects in readable form in the pool, although water drops fall from the ceiling and disturb the surface, as they did here. 

 If you click on this picture of a placard describing the area called the "Bottomless Pit," you may be able to read it.  In summary, it says the pit is actually 140 feet deep and the ceiling is 370 feet above it.

I thought the top of this stalagmite looked like the face of a gnome.

Are those ferns hanging down? Nope. Calcite.

Another face atop a stalagmite. Kinda reminds me of Jabba the Hutt.

I was very much taken by this little pool.

This fellow is part of an area dubbed "Chinese Theater." 

See how happy we are? You think it is because of the immense beauty 

we just saw. Actually, we were celebrating the fact that 

we made it out of the 800' deep hole...alive. What a climb. Well, the beauty was pretty cool, too.

Here is a link to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park website.  They have much more information and better pictures. I heartily recommend adding this place to your bucket list. It is well worth the effort.  If you are over 62, get a Senior National Parks pass for $10, and there is no charge to enter the park, or any other national park for that matter.  Maybe by the time you get there, the elevator will be fixed, and you won't have to make the climb to the top.

Ah, wi-fi in the morning

Early morning seems to be the time when the wi-fi works best around here, so here are the pictures I promised in yesterdays post.  They were (mostly) taken by my dear wife from a moving vehicle, so please be kind!

We saw this interesting mound between Las Cruces and El Paso.

This is the beginning of our ascent into Franklin Mountains State Park north of El Paso.

On the other side of the pass, we could see El Paso in the valley below.

This is the kind of landscape we expected to see in Texas

As we drove, however, things began to change.

 We stopped for lunch just before ascending into the Guadalupe mountains. US62 has a number of these areas that are referred to on the signs as "Picnic Areas." Very handy.

Shortly thereafter, we passed this white sand, which is common to this region and is actually gypsum.

I don't know the name of this impressive peak that welcomed us to the Guadalupe mountains

Looking back down a canyon from the Guadalupe mountains.

We didn't stop at the national park, which seems to be mainly a large natural area with campgrounds.

More changing terrain

It would be interesting to know the history of this striated rock formation.

We passed the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but we will be returning today.

I will try to post more this afternoon, if the wi-fi will cooparate.

Trouble with my wifie...er, wi-fi

Today we were traveling again.  From Las Cruces, we headed southeast toward El Paso, TX.  Just over the border, we stopped at a tourist information center and picked up a map and some literature about Texas attractions. The info center was  very nice and the bathrooms were so clean and posh, I almost hated to use the facilities.

Loathing big city traffic as I do, we took a detour through Franklin Mountains State Park, which took us around the northeast side of El Paso.  We never did see anything to indicate we were in the park, nor did we see a park entrance, although we saw some signs that said “Park Entrance Closed” and “Park Entrance Detour.”

As it turned out this was a great choice.  We saw the outskirts of El Paso, which is a city of about 650,000 inhabitants. We saw El Paso International Airport, and the highway (TX375) was beautiful: four lanes of smooth pavement. The only slight hitch was an 8% downgrade from the pass down toward El Paso, but even that was short lived. 

Heading east out of El Paso, we saw what we both agreed is what we have always imagined Texas to be: broad expanses of desert with nothing but yucca plants.  That eventually gave way to greener areas, and we enjoyed seeing the transitions happen. We stopped at a roadside picnic area and had lunch in the trailer, walked the dogs and had a nice break from traveling. 

As we climbed into the Guadalupe Mountains, the terrain became a spectacular cascade of cliffs and hills and canyons. Jill was on the job with her camera.  The route took us back into southeastern New Mexico.

Eventually, we arrived at the Carlsbad (NM) RV Park and Campground, where we are parked under a nice shady tree, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.  Tomorrow, we plan to visit the Caverns and have a picnic with the dogs at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  Since we have senior passes, we should get in for free.  If the wi-fi will cooperate, I may be able to post pictures tomorrow.

Shady judges and gunfighters

Las Cruces, NM is another gem of the Southwest.  We spent the day exploring the town. In fact, we crisscrossed the town doing some shopping at various places. Having no local knowledge of where things are, we wandered back and forth until we are pretty well acquainted with the streets near our park.

We went to La Mesilla (little table) in the heart of Las Cruces. It is a very old section of town, which apparently was the original settlement here.  It reminded me of the central area of Santa Fe, but on a smaller scale.  There is a Zocolo (town square) in the center, and across the street from there is the Basilica de San Albino. It is a beautiful church which has a bell tower. At noon we heard it strike a Westminster chime, which was beautiful. Then it chimed the hour.  Immediately following that, carillon bells played a hymn.

We shopped in the little gift shops until all the offerings began to look alike to us. We purchased some roasted, local pecans, a jar of Chipotle salsa and a pecan praline. Then we wandered the streets around the area and ended up at La Posta. This is a large, old, adobe building which, apparently, served as a kind of fortress.  A sign on the corner of the building proclaims:

This building is the original La Posta. For more than a century and a half, these adobe walls have withstood the attack of elements and man; they have sheltered such personalities as Billy the Kid, Kit Carson General Douglas MacArthur, and Pancho Villa. Now Mesilla  sleeps, but La Posta still offers its traditional hospitality to all.

La Posta.

There is a restaurant in La Posta that claims to be the oldest Mexican restaurant in the country, having been established in 1939.  Since it had been recommended by locals, we decided to have lunch there. Well, it is easy to see why they have been in business for 77 years.  The food was wonderful. The decor is charming and our server was as sweet as she could be and very helpful.

Not only that, but the girls are beautiful!

Jill enjoyed the La Posta Compuesta Salad

My choice was the Marinated Steak Fajita Salad. Don't miss this restaurant if you are in Las Cruces.

  Here is the front door of the La Posta de La Mesilla restuarant.

According to the La Posta Restaurant website, the history of the building itself is as follows:

Earliest records indicate the La Posta Compound was originally constructed in the 1840's. Sam Bean and his brother Roy Bean, operated a freight and passenger service line to Pinos Altos from this building in the 1850's.

After the Civil War, The La Posta Compound became an important stop on the Butterfield Stagecoach Line. During the 1870's and 1880's, the Corn Exchange Hotel, one of the finest lodges in the Southwest, operated from the building. John Davis, the proprietor of the hotel, died in the late 1870's, however, his wife Augustina continued to operate the hotel, a restaurant and other businesses in the building until the early 1900's.

The references to Roy Bean and Billy the Kid above and the obvious enthusiasm of the locals for Billy the Kid (as evidenced in part by the local "Billy the Kid" gift shop) got me to wondering whether Roy Bean had sentenced Billy to hang.  As far as I can tell, that was not the case, although both men were notorious in Southwestern history for their outrageous behavior. Billy, of course, was a gunfighter, and Bean was famous as a justice of the peace in Texas, where he was known as "Judge Roy Bean: the Law West of the Pecos." He was also famous for his unusual court decisions, such as this one:

In one case, an Irishman named Paddy O'Rourke shot a Chinese laborer. A mob of 200 angry Irishmen surrounded the courtroom and saloon and threatened to lynch Bean if O'Rourke was not freed. After looking through his law book, Bean ruled that "homicide was the killing of a human being; however, he could find no law against killing a Chinaman".^[10] Bean dismissed the case.^[10]  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Bean)

Whatever the case, it is fascinating to come face to face with history. I guess that's why we love to travel.

Tomorrow we will be on the road again, headed for Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Don't miss the next thrilling adventure!

Who knew New Mexico?

Today was a travel day.  We moved from Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM.  The trip was informative for both of us.  We had had the mistaken notion that most of Arizona and New Mexico amounted to nothing more than miles and miles of sand (read: desert).  Well, we have been disabused of that notion.

Our route was along I10 all the way into Las Cruces. There are few other ways to get here from Tucson. Nevertheless, we were treated to a variety of terrains and some interesting sights along the way.

Jill took this pic and said, "And you thought Big Sky country was in Montana." 

I told her she should get a job as a wallpaper photographer for Microsoft. 

The rock formations were varied and fascinating. If I were into geology, 

I would research how they were formed, but I'm not.

Jill was particularly taken with these "balanced" rocks. 

  

Here's a typical hill/knoll/mountain along this route.

Jill took this one after we saw several signs indicating that dust storms frequently 

occur in southern New Mexico.  You can see how hazy it is in the distance.  

We were grateful not to have to deal with diminished visibility today.

Sand dunes and camels?  I don't think so. This is not what I expected to see in the Arizona desert.

  

We passed numerous nut orchards (no they didn't take us to the nut farm) in New Mexico.

Rolling into Las Cruces, we were surprised to see such a large city in such a green valley. 

This evening we are parked at the Sunny Acres RV Park, which we found with our RVParky phone app. It is a beautiful park...all except for the space we are in, which resembles nothing so much as a gravel parking lot. That's what I get for NOT making a reservation in advance.  I think Jill has forgiven me, but I will try to get a better space in the next park. 

Stay tuned and see what we discover in Las Cruces tomorrow.