We got in so late last night there were no photos of El Paso – we intend to make up for that.
We wish we had some more time to explore El Paso – so intriguing!
It is a bit difficult to find McDonald’s out here in the South and West. There are a lot of:
As we leave EL Paso a few more photos.
Out of the city the terrain changes and is beautiful. We feel like we use that word a lot but when you truly experience the environment there are few words to describe what you see. There is a quiet sensing of wonder and awe – sometimes an overwhelming spiritual bubble surrounds you.
This morning we decide to drive to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico – since we are quite close to that area. No knowing what to expect we are excited to see whatever we can.
Well, that quiet awe just got God-smacked. Homeland Security again.
The dog seems hyper energetic about his job – the same question from the Officer again:
are you US Citizens – “yes” and he says “go on.” What are we going to say – No we are not US Citizens and there is a Glock in the glove compartment?????????
Moving on towards Carlsbad Caverns.
As we approach Carlsbad Caverns we really wonder what we will be able to see since the weather is beautiful but quite cool.
Okay – we get it – we will not touch a thing!
They are serious about this! The elevator is not working during the week at this time of year (750 feet vertical rise) – you must walk down 3 1/2 miles of trails to see the “Big Room ” in the cavern.
In the summer months, thousands of Mexican bats (non-English speakers), house themselves in the caverns and at dusk fly out to eat thousands and thousands of insects (mostly mosquitos). This is the best viewing area to watch them leave the cave.
We start down the twisty, turny path. We encountered several people walking back up out of the cave and they were younger than us and totally exhausted. They were panting, red-faced, and looked tired.
The Rangers diligently warned us that we had to plan the walk back and not to descend too far. We traveled down about a mile and a half and decided that our health was more important than making it all the way to the big room and started making our way back up.
Once we reached the top we realized this was a good move and will return when the elevator service is working again (or we get more fit!).
We make our way out of Carlsbad and head for Ft. Stockton for the night.
It continues to astound us how much freight traffic there is in the Southwest.
These appear to be oil drilling rigs. The trucks were constant and it looked like they were going to the local storage tanks to transport the oil.
We also saw what appeared to be natural gas wells with flames burning several feet high.
We spend the night in Ft. Stockton, a bit weary from our walking and travels. But happy we made the effort to see as much as we did!