Day 45: Tucson, Arizona

September 9, 2011 - We have officially arrived in Tucson. Driving directly to the base, we set up camp at Bruce's future homestead. With not being sure what the next step would be, I started getting ready to head back home. However, after discussing the situation with Bruce, we decided that I would stay an extra week to make sure that Bruce's move would go smoothly. Plus, who else would help him get the camper off the truck?

Tucson is quite interesting. There are many things that I found enjoyable and many that I wasn't too fond of. That being said, I am not planning on living here any time soon, and as such, I kept my opinions to myself. I won't be listing the items here except to say that I am tired of seeing cactus and mesquite trees everywhere.

A brief snapshot of what it looks like in Tucson.

A golf course near where we stayed.

Local scenery.  If you look carefully, you can see some grass.

The Thing

Along the way from Deming to our destination, I started noticing signs on the side of the road for "The Thing" featuring the enigmatic question "what is it?" quite prominently. Being a sucker for a mystery I would have liked to see what it was, but I concluded that we were on a schedule and I didn't speak up and ask Bruce to head to it. Sad, yes, I know.

Later I found out that The Thing is a modern day cabinet of curiosities that features what appears to be a mummified woman and child and some "interesting" art work and half moldy unknown artefact's. In retrospect, I still would have liked to have seen this attraction. Maybe one day.

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Day 44: White Sands, Not White Plains

September 8, 2011 - Bruce and I left the campground at Carlsbad, New Mexico today and headed out towards our final destination; Tucson. The day started off as hot, and only got hotter as we traveled the desert. However, it was a beautiful drive even if a little bit disconcerting in the beginning.

The Desert is Empty

It literally is. We ended up taking a little used road to get to our next destination, good old Highway 82. The first part of this road is in the middle of nowhere.No cell phone towers, no people, no cows; just plenty of fence and cacti…everywhere. If we broke down here, we could expect to stay for quite a while.  Luckily, we did just fine.

Yep, empty.

We ended up pulling off to the side for a bathroom break, and I took the opportunity to take some pictures of an armadillo. Sadly, the armadillo wasn't real, but a stuffed animal that I picked up from the campground we had just left. However, since this was the only armadillo that I expected to see I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass me by. So I took pictures of the armadillo on the road, the armadillo on the side of the road, and the armadillo in the middle of the road.

The only armadillo in my entire trip.

He's a brave armadillo, luckily there was no traffic.

Bruce then wanted to take pictures of Batman, the gnome, and the armadillo, and guess what…we took pictures of that too. Seriously, there was nothing else to take pictures of.

Humberto wanted in the photographs too and I couldn't find a reason to say no.

Batman showing off as usual.

Group photo.

Somehow, the armadillo got stuck on the other side of the fence, so Batman and Humberto went to rescue him.

Batman forgot his grappling bat-erang, so he had to climb the fence.

Batman saves the day!

Lincoln National Forest and Cloudcroft 

After driving for a while through the desert we noticed that the scenery was subtly changing. Eventually the scrub turned into a few more trees and eventually turned into the Lincoln National Forest. What a sight! It felt like we were back in Alaska again, well, at least in the Southeast. The tree's were impressive in their height and a definite reprieve from cactus and mesquite trees.

Notice the subtle change in scenery?

A forest in the desert?  Inconceivable!

The terrain steadily changed from flat to mountainous as we continued driving through the forest. Eventually we passed through the town of Cloudcroft; a small town situated at the extremely high elevation of 8,600 feet! Because of its high elevation, Cloudcroft enjoys a mild summer in "The Land of Enchantment" and Bruce and I enjoyed watching the temperature steadily go down from around 100 degrees to about 68 degrees. We actually felt a little chilled.

Are those real trees?  Do my eyes deceive me?

The Lincoln Forest is beautiful.

After driving through the town, we started our downward descent out of the Lincoln National Forest. While driving up to the top was leisurely and had a moderate grade, the trip down the mountain was harrowing. At least twice We had to pull over and allow the brakes to cool off; remember, we are carrying a camper and towing a trailer (Bruce and I joke around that we are a small semi). Eventually we passed out of the forest and made our way to the city of Alamogordo.

We didn’t stay in Alamogordo for very long simply because we were just passing through. Our main destination was ahead, but we had one place that we really wanted to see; luckily it was on the side of the highway; The White Sands.

White Sands

What a sight. This National Monument looks like mounds of snow. The "sand" is in fact gypsum that is carried down from the surrounding mountains which are rich in deposits. The gypsum-laden water flows towards two ephemeral lakes. When the water evaporates from these lakes, the minerals are left behind which are then blown by the wind to form the dunes and, eventually, the White Sands National Monument. At 275 square miles, there is a lot of gypsum, making it the largest gypsum dune field in the world.

After browsing through the gift shop and museum, Bruce and I decided to drive out to the National Monument. We drove out on a road that took us to breathtaking vistas. The dunes can move about 30 feet per year, and snowplows are used to keep the roads accessible (Bruce and I got a chuckle out of that one too).

It looks like snow.

The gypsum dunes roll over anything in their slow advance.

Nope, not snow.

More dunes.

We were able to drive pretty far in. Along the way there are different areas where you can walk deeper into the dunes to view the flora and fauna that live there. There are some interesting characteristics of some species, mostly animals that have adapted to the terrain. For example, desert mice will often develop a lighter coloration in order to blend in with their surroundings.

All the way in now; the "center" of the dune fields.

Along the way, we could see that people had written messages on the sides of the dunes by creating letters and images by shuffling their feet. Bruce thought this would be a great idea and made a personalized message on one of the dunes. After taking pictures, I decided that I would like to walk on the dunes myself. There is something fun about walking on the dunes with your bare feet, and it was definitely an experience that I will remember.

We left the White Sands National Monument as the sun was starting to sink into the horizon.  On the way out, I took more pictures of this amazing natural wonder.

I looked and looked but I couldn't find an ocean.

The closer out of the dunes you go, the more local flora is visible.

Almost There…

We ended up staying at the Wal-Mart in Deming, New Mexico for the night. Our next stretch of the trip would take us into Arizona and Bruce's final destination. The trip is starting to wind down, and I feel a little sad and excited at the same time. What adventures would we face in Arizona?

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Day 43: Take Me To Your Leader

September 7, 2011 - Welcome to Roswell, the town made famous for the 1947 crashing of an unidentified flying object! The town definitely seems to embrace its extraterrestrial roots; and anything and everything alien related can be seen everywhere; from billboards to the design of the street lamps, aliens can be found in every corner of Roswell. Even the McDonald's looks like a UFO that crash landed.  If you are looking for aliens or alien paraphernalia, this is definitely the spot to find them.

The International UFO Museum and Research Center

The unassuming front of the UFO museum.

  We took the obligatory tour of the UFO museum located in downtown Roswell. While the layout of the museum was sparse, the amount of UFO research was enough to get you thinking about aliens. The main showcase of the museum was linked to the Roswell Incident and included a collection of documents from 1947. Additionally, many types of alien artwork was found, presumably collected from various parts of the globe from UFO and alien enthusiasts.

Weird alien.

Creepy alien.

A fake alien autopsy.

The most amazing depiction of alien life, however, was the large flying saucer with a group of aliens underneath apparently trying to communicate with the depictions of humans who have come to greet them. The full-sized aliens are something that shouldn't be missed. On the hour, there is smoke that billows out spinning saucer accompanied by an audio clip of weird music (think B style science fiction movies from yesteryear) and a light display. It was fun to watch, but at the same time, you didn't want other people to know you were watching it. Hokey, I know, but it made me feel that I was really in Roswell, New Mexico.

The alien show, sorry no YouTube videos for you.

 As an interesting side note, when you go into the museum you receive a large oval sticker. This lets the staff know that you have already paid the admission. However, Bruce and I did not keep these stickers, but instead put them on a metal depiction of an alien outside of the museum gift shop. It seemed to us to be local tradition since the two-dimensional alien was completely covered with the same stickers we received.

Downtown Shopping
 
After hanging out in the museum for a while, Bruce and I did some shopping. We walked through downtown Roswell to find a vast assortment of shops catering to the tourists. If you couldn't find it in the museum gift shop, you could find it here.

A picture of three aliens.

This is where Bruce and I did the most part of our shopping that day; and believe me, we got a lot of things. Shirts, bumper stickers, toys, and books. We got a lot of it. However, you can't just go to Roswell without taking something back with you; I think it’s a law. Interestingly, Bruce and I picked up more bumper stickers here than anywhere else in our trip combined. Perhaps we felt that this would be our last opportunity to decorate the trailer or, perhaps, we just got caught up in the sheer Roswell experience. Either way, we had enough bumper stickers to choke a horse…twice.

Before we left the museum parking lot I took a couple more pictures of the UFO mecca.

Aliens apparently don't drink Pepsi.

I got a chuckle at this painting on the side of the UFO museum.

Pretty much everything the UFO museum is about.

A strange mixture of Southwestern and extraterrestial.

Back to the Campground
 
We headed back to the campground to get ready for our next part of the journey, one that would finally signal the end of the trip for me.  At the campground we had another campfire and roasted marshmallows. It was a way to relax and hang out with each other in quite company, watching the stars above the dark landscape. We went to bed with the sound of coyotes howling in the distance.

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Day 42: Quick! To The Batcave, Day 2

September 6, 2011 - The morning came quickly upon us, and honestly, we weren't ready.  Both Bruce and I have a hard time waking up some mornings; this morning was no exception.  However, we had an appointment with the deeper levels of the Carlsbad Caverns.  We got into the truck and drove quickly back up the same road we travelled the day before.  One thought was on our minds; were we late for our first tour?

The Left Tunnel Tour

We managed to make it in time for the tour just as the group was sitting in the classroom going over the rules.  Bruce and I were very happy to make it on time and eagerly sat through the discussion of what the tour was about and how to be safe while exploring it with our guides.

The Left Tunnel is an undeveloped area in the caverns especially known for it's pristine pools and stunning natural features.  The tour would last about an hour and a half, and would take us into a part of the cave system that very few people have ever seen.  Even the entrance to the Left Tunnel was hidden and not on any map so as to keep the natural beauty of the cave intact.

This tour is unique in the fact that it is done entirely by candle light.  Each member of the tour was given a lantern with a single candle.  We explored completely by candlelight, which added a different flair from the main tour of the day before.  Additionally, candlelight explains the unique artistic quality of the photographs I was able to take of the Left Tunnel.

Stalactites in the Left Tunnel Tour

This giant column is best seen by candlelight.

A whole in the roof in one of the rooms in the Left Tunnel.

This hole goes into another room in the Left Tunnel.

We later learned that one of the reasons to explore the Left Tunnel by candlelight was to see how it was seen by early explorers and tourists.  They would have only had a candle to explore a cave system devoid of bright lights, a paved walkway, and informational signs along the way.  The Left Tunnel experience was a very exciting way to explore part of the Carlsbad Caverns.

Break To The Surface

With the tour ended, Bruce and I headed to the cafeteria to eat a breakfast (or was it lunch) before our next tour.  I took this opportunity to do some more shopping at the gift shop, including a long-sleeved shirt because spending hours in the caves was getting cold.

The amount of bat items for sale amused me.  They had shirts with bats on them, key chains, toys, jewelry, and even Christmas ornaments with bats on them.  There was so many things you could purchase with bats on them that I was more than a little worried about Bruce; how was he going to carry all of this stuff back to the truck?

The Lower Cave Tour

We had planned everything just right because after we unloaded Bruce's knickknacks in the truck, it was time to start our next tour.  Again, another familiarization with the rules of the caves followed by the actual tour.  A three hour tour in the deeper parts of the cave was only accessible by climbing down three ladders into the darkness.  I was a little nervous at first, but didn't want Bruce to think I was a chicken.

Some of the more memorable features included The Texas Toothpick, The Rookery, and The Bat In The Wall.  We walked forever, following a small path that led us around the enormous cave that sat underneath The Big Room that Bruce and I had seen the day before.

Having learned something from photographing the Left Tunnel, I played around with the settings on my camera and got some amazing pictures of the Lower Cave.

The ground was extremely uneven and, in some parts, a little scary.

This formation looks like giant, pointy teeth.

A forest underground.

Part of a roof in the Lower Cave system.

Private Bat Show

At the end of the tour we headed back up the elevator to the Visitor Center.  After wandering around for a little while we decided to head back to the campground.  It was here that Bruce would have an amazing experience and, of course, I was without my camera.

After dinner I went to take out the trash and along the way saw bats flying around the main lobby of the campground.  They were apparently eating the bugs that clustered around the large halogen light; and they were feeding like maniacs.  I quickly went back to the camper to get Bruce.  Not only did I know that Bruce really wanted to see bats up close and personal, but this swarm was more active and a lot closer than the ones we saw the first night at Carlsbad Caverns.

Bruce stayed there for a while just watching the bats.

Later on that night, once the bats had moved on, Bruce and I enjoyed some quality time around a campfire. We discussed many things and nothing at all, but we both had a good time doing it.  We went to bed late that night, with dreams of underground worlds bathed in soft light and of bats, at least I am sure bats were in Bruce's dreams.

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Day 41: Quick! To The Batcave, Day 1

September 5, 2011 -  Carlsbad Caverns is a place that, until today, I had never heard of.  Bruce was really excited to visit this natural wonder and I was eager to explore another place.  Doing a little bit of research this morning made me even more excited to visit this majestic cave system and I eagerly grabbed my camera as we headed out down the road.

The Drive

After driving through the town of Carlsbad we drove to White's City, a small tourist destination about sixteen miles away.  From here, we would drive seven miles through the Guadalupe Mountains to get to the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center.  In all reality, the drive wasn't that bad and we got to see some amazing sights along the way.

The State Parks sign for the Carlsbad Caverns.

Our first stop was the sign, in which Batman and Humberto were quick to get some photo opportunities.

Humberto got himself stuck for a bit.

Batman and Humberto posing on top of the sign; which clearly stated "No Climbing" on the back.

Oh, the shenanigans of those two.

Continuing on our way, we passed deeper into the Guadalupe Mountains.  This mountain range is located in both New Mexico and Texas and is an impressive site to behold.  Remnants of when this area was an inland ocean; the Guadalupe's include the tallest mountain range in Texas and the iconic El Capitan peak.

The scenery during that part of the drive made for several interesting photo shoots as we went along the winding road towards our main destination.

Yep, this is the desert.

The road to Carlsbad Caverns.

A rock face that contains, I'm sure, a lot of spiders

This cliff probably has snakes living in it.

The Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center

Unfortunately, the gnome got in the way of a good photograph.

The visitors center is located above the caverns.  In here, you can find a museum, a gift shop, and a small cafeteria.  The visitor center itself looks out over the plains as it sits atop the mountain range.  The view is stunning, but looking at the endless desert of New Mexico wasn't what we came here to do.

Descent Into The Caverns

After looking around the museum and the gift shop, Bruce and I headed out to the Carlsbad Caverns.  The path led to a park ranger who gave us a rundown of the rules while we were in the caves, and then we were on our own.  We headed down the easily marked path towards the Caverns.  It was here, at the natural entrance, that we would descend the switchback path and descend into another world.

The natural entrance; which Bruce called"The Batcave".

Descending into the cave.

Once inside, the temperature immediately drops and it gets very dark.

The caverns were formed when naturally occurring sulfuric acid ate away at the surrounding limestone.  Additionally, some of the formations were caused by dripping water.  Since we are in the desert, the dripping water formations are especially magical.

The Carlsbad Caverns are amazing!  There are more than 110 known limestone caves in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but the actual Carlsbad Caverns are the most easily accessible and well-known.  The self-guided tour starts at 750 feet above where it ends, covers one and a quarter miles, and lets you explore a variety of "rooms" with fanciful names; The Iceberg, The Boneyard, The Green Lake Overlook, and The Devil's Spring.

Sadly, these pictures do not do the sights under the surface of the earth any justice.

One of the many natural columns in the caverns.

A formation known as "The Whale's Mouth".

Cave popcorn, as seen above, can be found in most cave systems in Carlsbad.

Not used anymore; these old stairs offer a glimpse into the cavern's past.

The end of the Natural Entrance Self-guided tour ends in what is known as The Big Room.  It is here that visitors can continue their tour and walk around this enormous cavern.  Bruce and I took the opportunity to walk a couple of extra miles and witness the show cave.

The Big Room can easily accommodate six football fields with room to spare.  Additionally, the Big Room is, on average, about 200 feet high and takes an hour and a half to walk around the perimeter.  Some of the most notable natural features are; The Temple of the Sun, The Bottomless Pit, The Painted Grotto, The Rock of Ages, and the Giant Dome.

The combination of stalactites and stalagmites makes a forest in the caverns.

The darkness of the Carlsbad Caverns.

A domed stalagmite in "The Hall of Giants".

Bruce took this amazing picture of one of the features in The Big Room.

Another picture by Bruce; this time, a "melting" column.

After trekking around under the surface of the earth for several hours, Bruce and I ate lunch in The Underground Lunchroom before taking the elevator back to the Visitor Center.  We had a little bit of time to kill before the next part of the tour, so we splurged in the gift shop and stocked up on Carlsbad trinkets.

The Bat Flight Program

At sundown, thousands of bats emerge from the natural cave entrance and hunt for bugs.  They will do this every night until they leave the cave system in the onset of winter and head down to Mexico for the season.  Every night.

Bruce and I took the opportunity to watch them leave the cavern to hunt for food.

In the amphitheatre next to the natural entrance we got our seats and waited for a short amount of time.  Then a ranger came out and introduced the program.  He made sure to educate us on bats, which was both informative and fun to watch and then started talking about the actual bat flight we were about to see.

From the amphitheatre the entire group sat in silence as we watched the bats emerge from the caverns; slowly at first, then more and more in full force.  Afterwards, most of the group left, except for Bruce and I.  We sat there for a long time, enjoying the spectacle of bats flying out of the cave.  We sat until it was almost too dark to find our way back to the truck.

Bruce absolutely loved this.  He was so happy; he found his bats.

Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures because of the mechanical noise of the cameras and the use of flash photography could cause havoc with the bat's guidance system.  However, I will always remember what it looked like for as long as I live; the experience was that memorable.  I am sure Bruce will too.

Headed Back

We headed back to base camp and made plans for the morning over a campfire and roasted marshmallows.  In the early morning we would take another tour of the caverns, but one that not many people actually got to see.  We would descend lower into the caves in the morning and explore the deeper depths of Carlsbad Caverns.

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