After signing on all the dotted lines and bidding the Montara goodbye, we headed south to the Delmarva peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia). There we walked the sand dunes and camped with the wild ponies. Upon ththisise of a park ranger, we paid $10 for our National Park senior pass. We now view that expenditure as one of life's best purchases. On this trip alone, we have used the pass four times to enter national parks or monuments for $0. Our last two visits were to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands in New Mexico. Neither of these would have been on our to do list, but knowing it would be free, changed our thinking.
Descending 750 feet of steep walkway into the Big Room of Carlsbad Caverns was indeed a treat. Just when it seemed the dripping water could not create a stalagtite or stalagmite more beautiful then the last, one was right around the next corner.
Rarely did we pass through a narrow passage on our walk through the many chambers of Carlsbad, thank goodness! We carried a device, seen in my hand, that provided audio on our self-guided tour.
Our camera couldn't capture in the darkness the breadth and beauty of the caves.
Driving 100 miles beyond Carlsbad, we settled in at the Roswell, NM, Walmart hoping for an alien visit. This didn't occur, but we were bombarded by plastic, ceramic, wooden and inflatable green aliens in every gift shop along the road to Las Cruces, NM. While shopping Walmart for a new folding chair, I met Lissa. Needing a haircut, I thought, Walmart......why not?? Lissa gave me the best of cuts and in the way of all good hairdressers, provided me with information both wanted and unwanted. She had left CA with some regret to marry a boy from a well known family in Roswell. She sadly left family behind to settle in this desert town. I shared in her loss, but revelled in my new haircut and the knowledge of Walmart truely providing one stop shopping.
Looking at towns on the map as either large or small dots does not give a clear picture of what lies ahead on the road. We had no way of knowing that shortly after leaving the desert of Roswell, headed south west toward Los Cruces, that we would encounter pine covered hills and lush valleys. Horses grazed in every dooryard and large ranches boasted hundreds of horses. Green grass lined the Rio Hondo River, allowing irrigation. Once in the mountains at an elevation of 6,000 feet we looked ahead with some trepidation at snow covered peaks in the distance. I wasn't prepared to see a band of white stretching out beneath these.
I asked Bucky, "Is that a cloud?"
"No", he replied, "I think it's the White Sands."
Full of bbq from the Rib Cage, a restful night spent in Sunny Acres 55+ RV Park and we're off to El Paso, Texas a mere 50+ miles away.