We left Roswell and headed to Carlsbad on Feb 5! I can’t believe I am a month behind on blog posts!! There has been a lot going on…my mental gymnastics to keep everything compartmentalized is being stretched. I am stressed about the current state of events in a way I have never been before, and I just lived through a once-in-a-century pandemic. It is hard to live in a tiny space with five people. We are all annoying humans annoying each other; if I talk smack about any one of us, I’d also have to talk smack about me…And I would rather not. We are living in a way that we are unused to; we are not on vacation yet we are not at home, it is hard to juggle work, education, and all of the chores that go with living plus driving every few days and field trips multiple times a week. The three things combined have created a situation where avoidance, a trusty ol’ familiar coping mechanism, has reared its head and I have been succumbing to it. I am going to endeavor to stop that. I want to have a record of our adventure. I write this for my memory, should it fail; for the kids, so their memories don’t fade; for anyone reading, this is a beautiful country and traveling it is an amazing experience⎯in person or vicariously.

All that to say, I need to buckle down and get some writing done! So let’s go!!

I think New Mexico is my favorite state we’ve visited so far. Driving is better, from the road conditions to the amount of litter visible along the roads. The drive from Roswell to Carlsbad was beautiful and desolate, a feast for the eyes.

We stayed at a campground called Carlsbad RV Park and Campground. It was about 45 minutes from the National Park, Carlsbad Cavern. The facilities were nice and tidy! (Bet ya didn’t see that coming.) We were only there for two nights: arrive and sleep, up to work/school, go to Carlsbad Cavern, and sleep, get up and go.

The Cavern was so amazing! We walked down the 1.25 mile Natural Entrance Trail, dropping down 750 feet⎯equivalent to a 75-story building. It took us about an hour, with all the stopping and gawking, to get down to the Big Room. We spent another 1.75 hour walking through the Big Room, another 1.25 mile but with more stopping, oohs and aahs, and pics. We’ve all become accustomed to the lack of humidity and warm sun of New Mexico, so we were prepared for the caverns to be chilly. But they didn’t feel so chilly because it was so humid…I have never experienced a cold sweat without being ill. It was definitely a wild experience, for our eyes and for our bodies.

I would definitely come back to Carlsbad, given an opportunity. I would love to see the bats leave en masse in the spring! I put all of the pics of the cavern at the end of the slideshow…and I only kept 1/3 of the total taken!

The pic at the top of this entry is Carlsbad, NM: desert, Pecos River, sky. It is a beautiful space.

Hello, Carlsbad, NM!