First RV Adventure: Carlsbad and beyond

Carlsbad was really wonderful. It was much more developed and commercialized than I remembered but Bill assured me that it is normal after 50 years for things to change. Thanks, I needed that! Anyway, there were now 6 different tours you could take. Three guided tours that were all sold out or three self-guided tours. We elected to take the lower tour where you take the elevator down 800 feet and tour down there and then take the elevator back up. Otherwise you could walk the tour that descended 800 feet in about a mile. Either one would be beautiful but the easier one sounded better for our tired old bones!

This picture is "the Lion's tail". It is a natural formation that gets bigger at the bottom. Really nice.

This formation is a huge column that is shown in most pictures of Carlsbad. It is huge! The light in these pictures is without a flash. I hate to use a flash when it bothers everyone around you trying to enjoy the wonderful sights with the lights they have artfully placed. Sadly, not everyone shared my view and several flashes from other cameras blinded us for short periods.

These formations are called draperies. They are so graceful and hang in folds just like fabric but they are translucent, white and with the lights behind them almost glow. These are my favorites.

I said that Carlsbad is much like Cathedral Caverns outside Huntsville but 10 times bigger. Now I realize that 100 times bigger is more like it. It's a wonder I have any breath left after so many breath-taking things we have seen in the last couple of months. I am a little sad to see then end of this trip but at the same time am getting anxious to be home.

I couldn't leave New Mexico without eating a Lotaburger!! I remember those from when I was a kid in Albuquerque. I programmed Lottaburger into the GPS and came up blank so I figured that it was gone like so many other things there. Notice the difference in spelling? Well, on the highway in Carlsbad there it was! It was close to dinner time (well, it was close enough!) so we had a Lotaburger after all and it was as good as I remembered! Life is good!

We drove to Abilene today, not on the interstate. As we neared the end of our drive on 180 we came upon mile after mile of beautiful windmills. I took many pictures from the moving motor home so they aren't the best pictures. Try clicking on the picture to see it bigger. Last summer Clem was working on these very windmills! Wow. I saw them through different perspective thinking of him on top of one. Very cool.