Epic Road Trip Finale (Eric)

As a final post regarding our epic road trip, I wanted to share a few numbers…

• Over 10,000 miles
• 47 days 
• 23 states
• 8 National Parks
• 12 state parks (this is a guesstimate)
• 18 different hotels, motels, and rentals 
• 2 traveling companions who are still best friends even after all this driving and together time
• And 1 well-traveled cat…

Day 46-47: Carlsbad Caverns (Eric)

Day 46-47 (July 14-15, 2021): As we drove the relatively short drive from Las Cruces to Whites City, a small outpost outside of Carlsbad Caverns - our final adventure, we passed by Hueco Tanks, a Texas state park. I remembered I visited the park a long time ago, and I thought it would be worth a quick stop. The park was now a state historic site, so there were a lot more protections in place than my last visit. We had to watch a 15 minute video prior to being allowed on any trails. It was very hot, and we had Bitey with us, so we couldn’t do any real exploration of the park. It was still fun to stop and take a few pictures…

Next, we made a brief stop at Guadalupe National Park to take a few pictures and get some information on some of the hikes in the area. Guadalupe Peak is the tallest mountain in Texas, standing at around 8,750 feet. While not as tall as some mountains, what is impressive about the Guadalupe Mountains is that they rise about 3,000 feet above the desert floor.

I remember hiking Guadalupe Peak when I first started teaching, and it was a tough hike, 8.4 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Needless to say, neither of us were gung-ho about trying to duplicate this feat in the summer heat. In fact, Jenny was not enthusiastic about doing any hiking in middle of the day in the desert. I managed to convince her after we checked into our motel, dropped off the cat, and ate some lunch at the only restaurant in Whites City, the Cactus Cafe. Definitely not the best restaurant, but it was the only option. By the way, Whites City is entirely misnamed as a city. It has a population of 85, one store (which doesn’t really have much), one motel, some rental cottages, one restaurant, and one gas station, and that’s about it. However, it is conveniently located if you’re planning on visiting Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountain National Park. Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the closest town, and it adds an additional 30 minutes to get to and from the area. Anyway, here’s some pictures of some creepy alien sculptures carved from wood outside the only restaurant and store…

So after lunch, despite Jenny’s protests, we did return to Guadalupe Mountain National Park to complete Smith Spring Trail, a 2.4 mile loop trail. I will admit that it was probably too hot to complete this hike, but we had plenty of water, and  it ended up being enjoyable despite the heat. The destination, which surprised us both, was a beautiful natural spring in the middle of the desert. I think what I appreciate the most about the desert environment is that while it is stereotypically thought of as a dead place, it contains some surprising beauty if you spend some time exploring…

The “death hike” completed, we returned to our motel to cool down a little before venturing out to see the bat flight that happens nightly at Carlsbad Caverns at certain times of the year. This was also a cool experience. While it was not as impressive as some of the other bat flights we’d seen in Texas, like Austin and the Frio Cave, it was an enjoyable atmosphere. A ranger gave a talk about the Brazilian free tailed bats which was followed by 400,000 of them exiting the cave to feed. By the way, the Mexican free tailed bats found in Texas are apparently the same species that we saw here, but the distinction comes from where they migrated from. The amphitheater the National Park has built to enjoy the flight is also neat. Taking pictures during the flight was restricted as it might interfere with the bats’ behavior.  Overall, I recommend the experience if you’re here at the right time of year…

The next morning involved our final adventure before driving home, the exploration of Carlsbad Caverns.

On the way up to the caverns, Jenny spotted this guy walking across the road, and I couldn’t resist stopping to take a picture. 

Anyway on to Carlsbad Caverns, I had visited the caverns on the aforementioned trip when I first started teaching. It was such an amazing experience that I really wanted my best friend, wife, and traveling companion to enjoy it too. I highly recommend doing the natural entrance hike into the caverns even though it adds about an hour and some strenuous downhill climbing. It is a surreal experience to walk down into the cave at your own pace without a guide. Another side note, if you’re visiting anytime soon, you will need a reservation. The cave itself is by far the most remarkable cave that we’ve ever visited, and we have visited quite a few in our travels. The good news is that you do not have to complete the strenuous hike back out as they have elevators to take you up the 750 feet to the surface. If it wasn’t for the long drive home, we would have spent more time exploring this magical place. As it was, we still spent close to two hours before taking the elevator up and heading back to our home. 

Pictures, as usual, will not do this place justice…

The drive home was mostly uneventful, and we made it home safely. We love to travel, but it is also nice to be home. We have found some time to enjoy our brand new backyard area…

Bitey also seems happy to be home…

But sometimes, he seems like he is looking forward to his next adventure…