Carlsbad

The Lion's Tail
Stalactites and Column

Chihuahuan Desert Vegetation

Sitting Bull Falls
Green oasis below the falls

Javalina, one of which was named Lena
Tarantula
Diamondback; Look carefully and you will see the rattle is blurred. It was agitated and we were glad it was behind glass.
Lobo
Beep Beep
Notice it is not only a museum but also a research center.
Train rolling across the plains of New Mexico USA.

While staying at the Carlsbad RV Park we not only climbed to the top of Texas, we also got deep into New Mexico by walking down 750 feet in the Carlsbad Caverns. The pictures do not do justice to the vastness of this huge underground world. There are more than 30 miles of passages that have been explored to a depth of 1037 feet. The route we followed was 2.5 miles and included the Natural Entrance and the 8.2 acre Big Room. It is always 56 degrees, so was a great thing to do on the 90 degree day. One thing we missed because of the time of the year was the exit of the bats at sundown. From mid May until October as many as 500,000 bats leave the cave each evening in a mass that lasts from 20 minutes to two hours. On the surface in the park we took a drive through Walnut Canyon in the Chihuahuan Desert which showed the many different plants that grow in this harsh dry climate. Another day we drove through the desert to Sitting Bull Falls, a 150' spring fed waterfalls. It was 35 miles through the desert and I could not believe there would be any water but there was enough to create a small green oasis in the middle of this arid land. We also went to the Living Desert State Park that has a zoo and garden with many of the species found in the surrounding desert. While we had seen most of the plants during our drives it was neat to see the many birds, mammals and reptiles that inhabit the area. On our drive to Albuquerque we went through Roswell but did not see any UFOs or aliens. The drive north left the desert, travelled through the Central Valley, which is kept green with underground water, and then into the mountains. We drove many miles without seeing any signs of civilization except the road, railroad and electric poles. I added USA to the caption because New Mexico put it on their license plates after the tourism office starting getting calls asking if a passport was needed to visit.