I got up at 4:45 this morning (wake up call), hopped in the car, and drove into Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The sky was lightening a little, although I could still see stars. By the time I reached the visitor center an orange glow was appearing on the eastern horizon.
I didn't see hundreds of thousands of bats, but I did see hundreds, mostly in silhouette against the presunrise glow. There was a stiff wind from the south, and the temperature was cool but not uncomfortable at all.
The bats were struggling against the wind, moving laterally as much as they were moving forward. a few dozen passed within ten feet of me as I stood watching, and three almost blew into me (one within two feet of my face).
By 5:45 the orange glow was gone and the clouds were lighting up with the beginning of the sunrise proper. I drove back to the motel to write yesterday's report and this part of today's.
I got back to the caverns at about 8:30, along with several other people. They permit tripods here, which is rare for caves.
I bought a general admission ticket, good for self-guided Natural Entrance and Big Room tours. There are guided tours, too, but I I thought this would be enough.
I paid an extra three bucks to get a CD audio tour. This unit looked exactly like the one I got at Edinburgh Castle: a sealed portable CD-ROM unit with headphones. The difference was that the different portions of this one were activated by transmitters located in the cave. Sometimes it was a bit surprising when the "guide" started talking unexpectedly.
While Mammoth Cave is the largest known cave system in the world, it doesn't have chambers anywhere close to the size of those in Carlsbad Caverns. This one is in a different league in apparent size, from the entrance down.
The entrance itself is massive and is reached by walking down a winding path. Swallows constantly swoop and dive in and out of the opening. Several cacti are planted along this walkway, and most of the prickly pear were blooming.
With guides constantly chattering in my ear, I entered the cave and started the long walk down. The path twisted and turned, had switchbacks and steep descents. It just went on and on and on. This distance to the ceiling and the walls was a bit overwhelming.
The path into the cave is a mile long, almost all if it downhill.
If you don't feel claustrophobic in a basketball gym, then this cave won't bother you at all.
After leaving the cave I drove on to the town of Carlsbad. Yes, the motels were a lot cheaper here, but, more than a half hour away, I wouldn't have made it to see the bats.
I stopped at a small bank branch with a drive through window and a walk up ATM. As I was getting out of my car I saw a man standing at the window, cars lined up behind him. The woman in the bank said, "no, we don't have anything like that." He then walked around to the ATM.
When I got there, he told me his card was stuck in it. I looked, and, sure enough, there was his card. It would start to come out, but the edge seemed to catch. After a couple of seconds it would go back in, then try to come out again.
I went back to my car and got my handy Hewlett-Packard pocket screwdriver. The man was getting in his car when I got back to the ATM, but he came back when he saw me approach.
After a few failed attempts I managed to hook the card and pull it out before it got pulled back in. He thanked me and drove away.
My card worked and came back out, for which I was thankful. The woman in the bank stuck her head out the window by the ATM and thanked me for helping.
I had lunch in a restaurant called the Red Barn. It was good pit-cooked barbecue. The restaurant had been open since April 1947, according to an old menu framed on the wall. I asked a waitress if they'd had a big celebration last month. She said they hadn't.
It was hot and dry. I experimented by spilling water on my shirt, only to have it completely dry within two minutes. I did this on purpose. Really.
In Roswell I visited the International UFO Museum and Research Center. Admission is free, although they do accept donations (but not from me). The museum is in an old movie theater.
Just like the Titan Missile Museum, this one was staffed by old ladies, but I doubt these were volunteers. I would have bought a 50th anniversary T-shirt (the Roswell Incident occurred in 1947), but they were all 50/50. I did buy a pin.
I don't know if there is an connection between the opening of the Red Barn and the crash of the UFO. It may be just a coincidence that good Southern barbecue appeared in New Mexico that long ago.
North of Roswell the desert gave way to rolling grasslands. It looked just like western Kansas.
Vaughn calls itself the Crossroads of New Mexico, and it does lie at the intersection of a few highways. Unfortunately for Vaughn, these highways don't seem the be as well-travelled as they once were. There are several old closed motels in Vaughn, and a few that look as if they should be.
I hit I-40/Route 66 at Clines Corners. It was about 6:30. I called an electronic-friend-I-haven't-met-before in Zuni. She was off work the next day, so I decided, instead of stopping in Albuquerque, I would drive through to Zuni.
At Albuquerque (which I can now spell without checking) I got off the interstate at the first exit and took Central Avenue through town. This used to be Route 66, but, again, I didn't need signs to tell me this. There were dozens of cheap motels along the route. I wished briefly that it was dark, so I could see the neon, but decided I'd rather be closer to Zuni, still three hours away.
On the other side of Albuquerque I stopped at a Stuckey's and checked in with Robin. Then I drove into a stunning sunset, bright peach fading to deep magenta.
It was dark before I left I-10 on New Mexico 53. I drove past two national monuments, but I didn't see them.
I crossed the Continental Divide for the third time at 7882 feet. The timing was convenient. Again I performed the ceremony.
The rest of the drive was almost without traffic and in the dark. It had cooled down to a nice temperature, and I could see lots of stars out the sunroof.
I found Robin's house from her directions without any problems, carefully avoiding going a block too far and driving off the mesa. We talked for a while, then she went to bed.
I had intended to write this then, but, unfortunately, she doesn't have three prong electrical outlets and my battery was running low. It was midnight, I had been up for over 19 hours, and this was all the excuse I needed to give it up and go to bed. Tomorrow I would ask her if she had an adapter.