Speeding Through the Southwest

After leaving Austin I had a long day of driving to get to New Mexico. The driving started early at around 8 am so that I could hopefully make it to Carlsbad Caverns before they closed at 3:30 pm. The road was loooong, hot, and severely boring. Thankfully I had been convinced the night before by Al's friend Kendall to utilize books on tape and that it was the only way to drive long stretches. Remembering my sister's recommendation of Steinbeck's East of Eden, I spent most of the drive through the rest of Texas engrossed in literature centered in the Central Valley of CA. Although this made me zone out and pass by scenery even more than before, I did pause the story for a bit to reflect on how miserable bike touring through this area would be. The distances between towns were days long via bike and it was hot with no stops to refuel water. Aside from merciful traffic you were on your own out here and I reflected on the relative fortunes of my Northern, more populated route.

Eventually I made it into New Mexico and finally to Carlsbad. I would have been late if not for the hour I gained when entering Mountain Time Zone since even with the change I made it with 5 minutes to spare. I got the last ticket into the natural entrance to the caves and started making my way down the trail. The switchbacks down into the mouth of the cave were a bit ominous with the darkness gradually swallowing me from the openness of the afternoon sun. As I walked further down the temperature dropped and I took my sunglasses off.

I had gone to Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana just a couple months ago but Carlsbad is completely different. The size itself is inspiring and was made even more present by the quiet engulfing me. Down in the earth I was the only sound besides some water drops, especially since I was the last person allowed into the natural entrance. The trail was perfectly lit, enough to see your way and the notable features but not more light than was absolutely necessary to achieve those goals. I played around with some long exposure pictures with my simple point-and-shoot camera and had a great time exploring.

It took me a little over an hour to reach the Big Room and once there I joined several other people who had been able to take the elevator down to just explore that room. This area was even more impressive than the rooms and features along the descent and I was struck by just how fast and ongoing it was. It's not one single enormous room but rather a series of rooms and areas connected by large corridors so each turn you take reveals more. To give you a sense of the size, the walk around the perimeter of the Big Room took me just over an hour and I was keeping a decent pace.

Once back on top I continued to Brantley Lake State Park where I was the only person in the Primitive Campground. I set up the tent without the fly, excited to finally have a cool, dry night and camping with a clear night sky. Dinner was a medley of chips, bell pepper, eggs, and salsa and I experimented more with the camera and the nearly full moon, yielding this pic of me at camp with the Corolla and three stars of the Big Dipper in the background. I'm excited for Santa Fe tomorrow and to see more of the Southwest.