Leaving San Diego, we made our first long drive. We left early in the morning and drove straight through Arizona. Our destination being Las Cruces, New Mexico. A mere 10 1/2 hour drive. Chato did excellent!
Once we got to Las Cruces, we went to White Sands National Monument. This white sand dessert made the skiers in us jones for snow! This is an amazing place to visit. Next time we visit, we plan on being there for either sunrise or sunset because it would make for amazing pictures. They also have rangers that will take you on a moonlight walk at night. If given the chance, don't miss this park!
Gotta practice our ski turns...
We then continued on to Carlsbad, New Mexico. Here, we visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We went in the evening for their "bat flight." Sitting near the entrance to the caves we sat in awe as 300,000-400,000 bats left the cave at dusk to hunt insects. Unfortunately, they do not allow any electronics in use during this so we don't have photos. However, it was one of the most powerful encounters we have had. The watchers sat in complete silence as the dessert became cool, listening only to the wings flap and smelling the musty smell of air being pushed out of the caverns with the bats departure. The bats leave the cave in a spiral to help each other gain altitude. It was 35 minutes of a steady stream swirling above us. They kept going but it was getting dark and I had a few questions for the ranger... These bats come from Mexico between March and October to give birth. They are mammals that have one live birth per year and produce milk for their young. They are the size of your palm and consume 1,000 insects an hour and can consume their body weight in one evening.
After my ranger interrogation, we turned around to face a beautiful lightning storm. We watched the lightning for thirty minutes and just sat in awe as the lighting struck at least 5 or 6 times per minute. It was beautiful!
The next day we went back to the caverns to explore the caves. We spent a few hours touring this massive cave. The pictures don't do it justice in beauty and size. We descended in the caverns 1.25 miles and the largest room (there are multiple) is the same square footage as 14 football fields. The dessert was 90 degrees but the temperature dropped within the cave to 56 degrees. As we descended, Daisy began shivering and Mountain Man Hank was still sweating. The cool thing about the caverns is that they have a kennel for dogs so travels can bring their buddy and not worry about the dog in the hot car.
Fun fact: The difference between a monument and national park is that a monument is signed in by a president. A national park requires an act of congress.
Carlsbad Cavern Road
Daisy in the cavern.
Cave diver...
This column is 65 feet tall.
Here are a few extra fun pics....
One hot pepper...
We stumbled upon this missile museum. The White Sands Park was closed for a few hours due to missile testing....
Hope you enjoyed this update. Next stop- Dallas!
Love,
Hank, Daisy and Chato
