Carlsbad, New Mexico and Carlsbad Caverns National Park

We left Lubbock, Texas and drove to the Carlsbad Elks Lodge in New Mexico.  It was kind of dumpy place to camp on an old road behind the lodge.  All the electrical was on one pole and hard to get 4 RV’s close enough to connect.  Luckily there were only two there when we arrived.   

After we got set up, we went for a walk along the Pecos River.  There was a nice walkway with an area they were setting up with Christmas decorations.

A palm tree with its winter pajamas on!

When we got back to our RV, the motorhome parked nearby was gone.  Good for us.  It was a noisy place with lots of train horns and noise.  Good thing we were only staying two nights.

On our full day in the area we went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and had tickets to enter the cave between 10:30 – 11:30.  We worked on my Junior Ranger book first then went to the cave.  It was a long walk down, down, down……1.25 miles into the cave on switchbacks and then inside the cave before we got to the Big Room.  It was an enjoyable walk with some awesome sites.  It was like walking in a winter wonderland. 

Pathway towards the cave.

Amphitheater just outside the entrance to the cave.

The Descent
You are in the mouth of the cavern.  The Natural Entrance Trail follows many switchbacks along the steep path as it descends 75 stories to the Big Room.  The cavern entrance is a natural opening, created by upward collapse from the cavern below. 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking back up towards the entrance to the cave.

Still climbing down and in to the dark.

We followed the path and saw many, many stalactites and stalagmites as we walked the Big Room trail for another 1.25 miles. 

Whales Mouth

 

Drip by Drip
We all start small.  The trio of stalagmites before you each began as a single drop of water.  Drip water came from the surface as rain and melted snow.  It became slightly acidic as it absorbed carbon dioxide from the air and soil.  This acidic water dissolved calcite out of the limestone as it flowed down along cracks and pores.  As fast-dripping water splashed on the floor, calcite formed thin layers around the point of impact.  This piled up into the shape of a dome.  Slowly the trio grew higher and higher, and now they're the largest stalagmites in the cave!

 

 

See that ladder of fence wire and sticks?  It was made by Jim White, an early explorer.  Imagine climbing down into Lower Cave as the ladder swayed above the dark pit.  Dr. Willis T. Lee did just that in 1924.  Lee's photo expedition with the National Geographic Society covered many miles, revealing new tunnels and rooms.  It followed Lee's first expedition a year earlier, which led to the establishment of Carlsbad Cave National Monument on October 25, 1923.

An old ladder used in cave exploration.

Mirror Lake

 

 

Luckily there was an elevator to get out of the cave which saved us from hiking back out!

 

I earned my 40th Junior Ranger badge with Carlsbad Caverns.  

I wasn't too excited about visiting another cave but Carlsbad Caverns was worth a stop.  We really enjoyed it!  Next we're making a visit to White Sands National Park.  Thanks for following along......

Making Our Way Across Texas

 We left Little Rock, Arkansas and drove in to Texas.

This is our route as we cross through Texas as we make our way back to Arizona for the winter.

This was our route across Texas

After three hours our stop for the night was in New Boston, Texas at a Boondocker's Welcome site called "Candy Cane Corral."  We were met with cute signs so we knew we had the correct driveway.

 

 

The Candy Cane Corral couple were the most gracious hosts.  They already had one couple from Idaho staying in their second home on the property and another RV staying until after Thanksgiving.  They were all staying to help our hosts put up Christmas decorations.  Then after we arrived, yet one more RV spent the night. 

We got parked under this huge tree.

 

We were soon visited by many Lady Bugs.  They were either Common or Asian Lady Beetles.  They are attracted to white surfaces in the fall looking for places to winter.  Since our RV is mostly white they were hoping to hitch a ride with us to Arizona.  Sorry, no freeloaders!  

 

 We tried to help with some of the decorating on the front lawn. 

 

  

 

 

The next morning, Ginny, the host, showed us her Christmas decorations inside the house.  WOW!  Unbelievable! 

Santas from around the world Collection

 

 

This display took up almost a whole room!

Wow, that got us into the Christmas spirit!  How could we help it?

We left Candy Cane Corral and our next stop was near Dallas in Rockwall, Texas, to visit our friend, Cathy.  She made us chili and cornbread for lunch then drove us for a little tour of the area. 

 

 

After visiting with Cathy, we continued west to the other side of Ft. Worth to Azle, Texas to another Boondocker's Welcome site for the night.  We've been to this location several times now and it is always fun to catch up with Sarah and Sam.  They have made some great improvements to their land to host more RV's with hookups (electric and water) and they really seem to enjoy it.  

 

They had a lot of goats born onsite earlier in the year.  

They even added this little building with shower and restroom along with a washer and dryer for campers to use.  They only ask for a small donation.

Next we headed to Amarillo, Texas.  I had a follow up appointment with my dermatologist so she could dig deeper into the bottom of my foot after taking a sample when we passed through in July.  We stayed at our usual spot, the Elks Lodge for four nights.

We took care of some other chores like getting the RV inspected and getting our first booster shot.  We also went to Lazy Gator for an order of yummy Swamp Fries.

Next up was about a 2.5 hour drive south to Lubbock, Texas for the night at another Elks Lodge.  They have a nice set up for RV’s with many spaces.  We paid at the kiosk and didn’t even go inside.

From Lubbock, Texas we're headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico where we'll visit Carlsbad Caverns.  I'll save that for the next entry.