Tucson

When we went to bed last night it was hot, dry and calm.  In the middle of the night a wind kicked in that woke us up by flapping the tent ends around.  Donnie got all secured promptly.  I was already up due to some late arriving campers that must not have seen the other six tents in the area when they decided to loudly set up their gear.  After a brusque "excuse me....are you aware what time it is" all was reasonably quiet again.  It is amazing how quickly you become accustomed to the lack of outside noise and interference, to where the slightest intrusion is amplified.

I'm rambling again....

Had an amazing breakfast of steak and grits then we drove back to the entrance to the caverns.  The vista below it was massive and desolate looking - it used to be an ocean floor. It appeared as though we were a few of the first ones to arrive.  We used our newly obtained a national park service passport that is good for year, and proceeded down into the mouth.  

The descent was really cool.  Literally.   The caverns are a constant 56ºF.  Pretty steep with switchbacks. It felt as though we had the place to ourselves....and it was HUGE.  The formations were impressive.  There are two ways out...elevator and walking back up the way we came in.  99% use the elevators...but not this team.  We hiked back up the cavern trail amongst all the comments of how bits we were to be doing that.  Total hike we estimate at 4 miles.

Back to driving through endless desert. 

Next stop Tucson. 

Random iron horse sculptures in the desert

on 

Carlsbad Caverns

Woke up to a deer in the campsite next to us. I will take deer anyday over a mountain lion! Packed up camp and made our way to our next destination: Carlsbad Caverns National Park. In case I didn't emphasize enough just how hot it was in the desert, I forgot to mention that unpopped kernels in the truck popped off.

Nice drive to New Mexico although Donnie's description would be more like "A whole lot of nothing for hours." We rolled into White City, picked out a really sweet camp spot under a tree and went up the 7 mile drive to the visitor's center. I have been talking about bats coming out of the caverns for weeks. It was time...finally. After an informative but babbling ranger talk we waited....AND waited....AND WAITED. We fidgited, we stood up, we laid down, we napped.....no bats. We finally had to leave because it was too dark to see anything. What we DID see was a mountain lion walking/slinking over a rock ledge....across the other side of the caverns...nowhere near us. WHEW!!!!!

Drive back down the mountain to camp and ready to spulunk the caverns in the morning.

As a side note: I am extremely impressed with our national park service. The roads and facilities are well maintained, stocked, and extremely clean. We haven't seen so much as a stray poptop or bottle cap on any of the trails or along the sides of the roads. The rangers make their presence well known and have all been friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. They really love their jobs.

Exploring Big Bend National Park

It was so dark last night you couldn't see inches in front of you....the stars were incredible! Then the moon rose. It was only a half moon but it really lit the night sky up. After breakfast we hit the roads on the bikes.....steep hills. Donnie just meticulously made his way pedalling up all of them. I was not so confident or prepared so rode when I could but had to walk the bike up some of the steeper ones. We realized we had left some items at home that we really wanted/needed so we went in search of a place where we could find a way to contact civilization. we found WiFi at the nearby welcome area, so with that accomplished (thank you pogs), we noticed the temperature was now a toasty and dry 100ºF. We rummaged through the cooler and found the most delicious grapes that we had forgotten submerged in the ice. Now we were ready to hit a hiking trail.

We chose a 4 mile round trip to "The Window". Always on the lookout for mountain lions. It was a beautiful peaceful hike that had us back at our campground well before dark. Another starry night.

Driving into Big Bend National Park

After driving all day from Katy, we drove into Big Bend National Park fairly late in the day to pick a campsite and settle in. It wasn't dark yet, but close. On the way we drove through vast expanses of desert. Wildlife sightings were small animals....a snake (run over by the truck because - according to Donnie - the only good snake is a dead snake) and a roadrunner (beep beep). After an incident with the truck alarm (where we got to meet our camp neighbors), we had a fabulous meal by Donnie of pork chops, couscous and salad. Tomorrow we explore.

The night before our big journey begins.

 We have been making lists and gathering everything we need for months now.  Tonight we finally pack up for our big start tomorrow.  Driving west towards Big Bend.




All of Susan's stuff BEFORE

and AFTER

Donnie's BEFORE pic



Donnie packed with tent and  his sleep pad



Cooking pannier



double sleeping bag, sleeping bag liners, Susan's sleeping pad, travel pillows, and custom pillow cases (hand stitched with love)

all ready to pack up

In waterproof bag - nothing worse than wet bed stuff

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