New Mexico

June 8^th

New Mexico. When they talk about the desert I had no idea the weather was so crazy. We arrived at the campground about 5pm and quickly set up. The kids had spent the entire day sitting and had gotten irritable and grumpy and just plain bored. A quick change and it was off to the pool. What a wonderful relief from the 100 degree heat of the day. Holy cow, how can you stand to live out here? The KOA in Carlsbad, New Mexico is clean, nice and well maintained. I highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in town.

As the evening progressed we decided to fix a late dinner. For you experienced campers/RVers this will only make you laugh. The rest of you can learn from what happened next. Thinking it had been a couple of days since I actually cooked a meal instead of sandwiches I thought it would be nice to prepare a pasta with bacon and cheese dish. Now as we all know this requires boiling pasta and preparing a cream sauce on the stove top. What I failed to think about was how incredibly hot an RV gets when it is 100 degrees outside and I have an open flame inside. That poor AC unit did the best it could but it was no match for that stove. By the time dinner was ready no one was very hungry, just hot and tired.

After we managed to choke down dinner we headed outside to take a walk and see the stars. Little did we realize how wonderful it feels out here when the sun goes down and the breeze picks up.  The stars were so amazing. I have never seen so many in my entire life. Ashton had already passed out but I had to get Cameron to step outside and enjoy the view. She was amazed and impressed as we were. There hardly seemed enough sky to hold all those twinkling jewels. It just took a trip half was across the US to see them all.

Friday morning started early as we awoke with the first light. It isn’t so bad to get up before 6 am if you do it to such a pretty day. We quickly ate breakfast, had showers and packed our things into the RV. We were headed for Carlsbad National Caverns. Upon arrival I was a bit disappointed because we could not get into one of the small guided tours. However, we were able to make a spot on the 11am “Kings Palace” tour. We spent the first hour and a half walking around “The Big Room.” When we first talked about coming I expected to spend an hour or two walking around and seeing the same thing in the caves. I could not have been more mistaken.

After a 750 foot decent we were deposited in the main entrance of “The Big Room” which was actually several caves connected by chambers and winding walk ways. The photos do not give a perception of the size and beauty that lies beneath the surface of this mountain. At 56 degrees and 90% humidity we were very glad we brought jackets with us. Even Grandpa Glenn would have loved that temperature.  It seemed like every turn held something new and amazing. I just could not get over the fact that a young man in the very early 1900’s found and explored these caves without light or electricity. I am just glad he was willing to be the brave one. The guide says that by the 1950’s they had elevators and were running numerous tours.

After a leisurely lunch at the RV we made the children take a short rest so we could hike into the cave from the “natural” or outdoor entrance. The outdoor entrance is the opening where 200 to 400 thousand bats fly out nightly. The path is steep and takes about 40 minutes to hike down into. We took a few pictures to tray and give perspective of the depth we were at but due to the lack of light and the winding paths you just can’t comprehend it until you walk it yourself. E very time we would descend further and look back up the path we were astonished at how deep we were going. Often you could look up toward the ceiling and it would appear foggy because of the moisture in the air and how deep the cavern plunged. We were told the Carlsbad Caverns are not the deepest but have been recognized as the prettiest in the world. I would have to agree with that just on our visit.

As luck would have it we could not make it through the entire day without one child getting sick. At the bottom of the cave and on the backside of “The Bottomless Pit,” Ashton informed us he was sick and could not walk out. Now I love my kids but that was the last thing I wanted to hear at that moment. We pushed on and tried to encourage him but there was no use. He was sick and running a fever. With Ashton on our back we finished the remainder of the loop and headed back to the RV.

We had planned on staying to see the nightly bat exodus but felt we should head back and find Ashton some relief. He would not hear of it. He was not leaving without seeing the flight of the bats. With a healthy dose of Advil we headed to the amphitheater where we hiked in earlier. After a lengthy discourse from one of the park rangers we finally saw the bats. They came in a steady stream from the mouth of the cave. As if on cue, the cave swallow birds left and the bats began to emerge. This gives a whole new meaning to the term “bat cave.”

We quickly headed to the car as Ashton’s mood and temperature did not hold steady. With crying, wailing and begging we finally made it to Walmart. Thank goodness for that place. Children’s Sudafed, Tylenol, throat lozenges and throat spray and we were back on the road to the KOA. Luckily Ashton took the medicine and fell asleep before we got back to camp. So here it is 2am and I sit writing this and Matthew is paying bills from his computer. This is not the glamorous part I had in mind when we talked about this trip.

For now we hope everyone sleeps through the night and feel so grateful for Walmart and medicine. Tomorrow we head to Bottomless Lakes State Park and possible White Sands, New Mexico. It doesn’t much matter where we go or when we get there. It is the journey that has been amazing and unforgettable.