Yes, I know we said we were headed directly to Florida but
upon leaving Tucson we decided that a detour to Carlsbad and Roswell, NM was
something we must do. After all, when might we get this close again? Perhaps we
could be abducted by aliens and get a real sightseeing tour? Both are
considerably north of our itinerary but we feel it is worth the time and
distance. When in Tucson Kathy and I had decided we were about traveled out and
wanted no more adventures but the allure of the largest cavern and aliens was
too much to resist and our imagination
and travel passion was rekindled.
New Mexico was a novelty to us as neither had been there
before and we had no idea as what to expect. We encountered vast spaces
stretching impossibly to the horizon. Despite the limitlessness of the prairies
we still were required to ascend some impressive elevations so it wasn’t all
flat. At times it looked like Texas or Oklahoma with thousands of rocker pumps extracting
precious black gold. It was also noted that there seems to be a flurry of
drilling as we saw numerous seismic crews locating drill sites and drill rigs
along the way. At other times, as we looked around it seemed that we were in
Georgia because of the many groves of pecans and great farms of cotton.
Having made reservations at the Carlsbad KOA Campground,
thinking logically that we would be camping in Carlsbad, we were stunned to
discover that our campsite was about fifteen miles north of the town and some
thirty miles north of the caverns. Oh well. Actually it worked out pretty well
as Roswell was another fifty miles north of the KOA and we ended up being
somewhat centrally located.
Saturday night we made a quick run to the caverns to witness
the bat flight. Each night, until they migrate in mid-October, the bats leave
the cavern at dusk for their nightly feeding frenzy. Over the space of an hour
thousands upon thousands of bats spiral out of the cavern natural entrance and
fly south in great clouds of beating wings. I wish we had photos but we were
threatened with expulsion and ticketing for any electronic (cell phones, iPod’s,
cameras, etc.) activity. And the Nazi-rangers stood guard to enforce
compliance. It was worth the trip as it was a fascinating phenomenon to
observe.
Sunday we made our way to Roswell and to the UFO Museum and
Research Center. It was an intriguing encounter with history, mystery, and mystique.
Upon reading the many certified firsthand accounts from residents and former
military personnel involved with the Roswell incident there is little doubt of
a government cover-up. Yes, there is a lot of hokum about alien abductions and
such but much of what happened at Roswell is plausible and well documented. The
homogenous nature of the varied accounts could not be explained except with a
concerted collusion. The possibility of such collusion defies the imagination
given the diversity of witnesses involved and improbability that they could
coordinate a cohesive story. It was fun.
Monday we again visited Carlsbad Caverns to make our descent
into the netherworld. We hiked for miles and miles underground and in the dark.
Impressive in size Carlsbad, in no way eclipses Luray Caverns in beauty, because
she lacks the numerous formations of her eastern cousin. Carlsbad is definitely
one of the wonders of the world but I like Luray better.
Being adventurous we dared the 1 ½ mile descent by foot into
natural entrance instead of employing the convenient elevators to make the 750
foot descent. Halfway down we regretted the decision as I discovered that I very
badly needed to visit the restroom. Leaving Kathy to enjoy the walk I hied to
the lower level Rest Area missing much of that portion of the cavern because of
my haste. Joining up again we discovered together the various attractions of
the Big Room. It was acres large and the immensity swallowed us up.
Being caverned out we still had some time so we visited the
Living Desert Zoo on our way back to the KOA. There we were able to see some
rescued native wildlife, such as bison, cougar, elk, bear, etc., and much of
the regional flora was on display.
Tuesday we departed Carlsbad venturing to San Antonio, TX
via an overnight at the Junction, TX Good Sam Park on the Llano River. If it
were not so sad I could find humor in reading the “Swim at Your Own Risk”
signs on the riverbank as there was no water. Yep, dry as a bone. This area has
been hard hit by the drought.
Wednesday we arrived in San Antonio.
Carlsbad & Living Desert Photos below
