Catching Up Part 1: Southwest Road Trip

So much to catch up on!

Since my last post, we went on an amazing Southwest road trip for spring break, I got a third goat, and I broke my pinky finger.

First for the road trip. We made lots of stops, but some of the highlights were:

Tombstone, AZ: This was a fun tourist stop. The food is over priced and not that great, but we got to learn a bit if history and watch a fun show of the shoot out at the OK corral. After this stop, we have to rent and watch the movie (the 1993 version with Kurt Russel, Val Kilmer and San Elliot).

Deming, NM where they have an amazing little museum and a Elisa's House of Pies and More which had amazing Southern food.

Las Cruces, NM: This was just a quick stop, but it was a cute little city with lots of great jewelry and a book store that we spent way too much time in talking with the store clerk.

El Paso, TX where we found the Chamizal National Park and Monument and learned all about "the peaceful settlement of a 100-year border dispute between nations. Not one shot was fired; not one war was waged." We ate at L & J Cafe for dinner. When I looked up restaurants on Yelp, it was one of the most highly rated and when I asked the guy at the Texas Welcome Center for a recommendation it was the first one he mentioned. We were warned that the parking was bad and the neighborhood was sketchy, but the food was really good. The restaurant is across the street from a cemetery and right by the border; it definitely had a "gritty" feel. The people in the restaurant seemed to be from all parts of life, business suits to biker gear. The waiter was extremely helpful and the food was delicious.

When we left El Paso, we drove by an old Salt Lake which led to a war I'd never heard of.

Carlsbad Caverns, NM: This was our main destination; the destination that led to the road trip. It did not disappoint. One of the main events at the caverns is watching the bats leaving the cave at dusk and returning to the caves at dawn. Summer is the best time to see this because the bats hibernate. Since we were there for spring break, we weren't sure if we were going to get to see any bats, The park ranger we asked about it told us that he heard there were some bats trickling in and out, but it was not going to be very spectacular this time of year. We decided to go to the caves at dusk anyhow, just to see what we could see. It was amazing! If that was "just a few bats trickling in and out," I cannot even imagine what it must look like in the summer when there are even more bats. The way they fly out of the cave was beautiful to watch. First, a group of bats congregates at the mouth of the cave and they all fly in a circle at the cave entrance. After a few minutes, most of the bats in this group detach from the spiral and they fly off into the distance together. Then more bats congregate at the entrance, circle for a while, and another group detaches and takes off. This went on for at least half an hour. Apparently in the summer when all of the bats have woken up, it can take three hours and the number of bats in each group turns the sky black. I definitely want to go back and see that some day.

The area around the caves is desolate. You look out into the desert and there is very little life out there. But walking back to the car, after watching the bats leaving the cave, we looked out and saw a whole bunch of small lights all over the land that had looked so empty in the day. It was eerie to see all these little fires when we had seen nothing out there in the light of day. We had heard that they were doing a lot of fracking out there, so we assume the fires were from the fracking. Below if a picture of one of the many drilling sites were drove by when we left the park.

The caves themselves were beautiful. Of course, we had to show up when the elevator was broken so we had to hike all the way back up the 1.25 mile and 750 ft. ascent cave entrance, but it was worth it. My pictures do not do it justice, you can see some better pictures here.

We stayed in the only hotel in White's City right outside of the park. The hotel looked very run down from the outside, but luckily it was nice and clean inside.

Roswell, NM: We just had to stop for lunch in Roswell since we were driving through. We did not make it in time to go to the museum and we did not spot any aliens.

Santa Fe, NM: We splurged on a nice hotel and stayed a couple nights here. What I can say about Santa Fe that others haven't already said. The art, shopping and views were beautiful. Definitely a nice place for a vacation.

Puye Cliff Dwellings, NM: We ended up just looking around the museum store and taking pictures from a distance because it was very expensive to take a our of the dwellings.

Chaco Canyon, NM: This was not a place that we knew anything about prior to our trip. We found it when we were Googling cliff dwelling in New Mexico. They are not actually cliff dwelling, but large ruins from "a civilization that flourished between the 9th and 13th centuries." It ended up being the only night we camped and the highlight of the trip. I don't have the words to describe how it felt to wonder among these ruins of great buildings in the middle of nowhere. I realized how little I know about the history of my own country. It was just awe inspiring. And as we were leaving the park, we saw a large herd of sheep on the road being shepherded by a couple dogs. Not a human in site. The dogs even moved them off the road when they saw our car. Ron said he's pretty sure one of the dogs waved him by with his tail.

Durango, CO: This was a last minute decision to stop. We were so close, we decided that we should at least see one city in Colorado. It was beautiful. I definitely want to go back and explore more of Colorado some day. Unfortunately, Tally and I got sick and ended up throwing up all night in the hotel our one night here.

Mesa Verde National Park, CO: Most of this park is only open in the summer because of all the snow. The only places that we could have hiked into this time of year were closed due to hazards. Tally and I were recovering from our illness so we didn't even get out of the car. Ron, Aaron and Lacey went to the visitors' center while Tally and I slept. Another place to go back to.

Canyon de Chelly, AZ;  An yet another place that we need to go back to. Tally and I just weren't up for any walking around. I want to go back and camp for sure.

While we were at the park we saw a young man on a horse riding along a ridge. He took off kind of fast and then we saw him come back bringing in two more horses. As we are watching and admiring this site, feeling like we were being taken back in time, the guy pulls out a cell phone, riding in with one had one the reins and one hand with the phone to his ear saying, "I found the horses and I'm bringing them back." Yes, you can hear clearly from a distance in an open space like that.

Four Corners Monument: Not much to see, but we had to stop for pictures. There were a lot of Native Americans selling art.

Grand Canyon, AZ: What can I say, it's the Grand canyon. Tally and I felt better,but Aaron got a cold and wasn't up for much hiking. We just walked along the rim for a bit. Another place that we will go back to for a longer trip and some camping.

Las Vegas, NV: We had to stop and see Grandma Pat for a bit. This was the first time we've ever gotten a separate room for the kids. We ordered room service and didn't leave the hotel room other than for lunch with Pat.

Calico Ghost Town: After all other other places we'd seen, it was kind of a let down. A fun tourist stop though if you're ever driving past.

Thanks to my amazing parents who stayed at our house to watch our menagerie of animals (one pig, two goats, 10 hens, three roosters, two guinea pigs, and one dog) while we were gone! 

I'll write all about the new goat in the next post!