Not Quite a White Christmas

If  you guessed where we were in our last post, I'm sure you expected it was somewhere that had experienced an unexpected snowstorm. Adults and children were bundled in winter clothes and enjoying the hills on their neon coloured "flying saucers". Even Dixie was fooled and snuffled, rolled and even took a small mouthful of what she thought was snow. In fact, we were at The White Sands National Monument in New Mexico where 275 square miles of white gypsum dunes boggle the mind. It was quite cold and windy, about 40 degrees F. Thus,it felt like winter and looked like snow. The sun lights up the gypsum crystals and casts dramatic blue shadows as it does on snow. There was even the peaceful silence on the dunes that one experiences while crossing a winter landscape.

The dunes were formed when a shallow sea covered the area about 250 million years ago. They are surrounded by the San Andres, Sacramento and Sierra Blanca Mountain ranges. A road takes tourists eight miles into the dunes, with many turn-offs and parking lots allowing for hiking anywhere. Without following the markers, it would be easy to get lost as there are not any particular features delineating one dune from the next. We have visited many lake and seaside dunes but usually they are partially covered by foliage to prevent erosion. It was really awesome to see miles of sparkling sand dunes stretching out towards the distant mountains.

We spotted an antelope grazing in the brush on our way home. Too late to see the museum, we stopped at the White Sands Missile Range. A number of missiles ranging in size and age were displayed outside and we explored until we were too cold. The sun reaching through the mountains provided a dramatic background for the objects of war.

 A funny thing happened to Caron on the way to the missile range....

 

After I recovered from the missile malfunction we spent three nights at the pleasant Rusty's RV Park near Rodeo, New Mexico. Our campsite was in secluded corner of the park beside the desert with a gorgeous view out to the mountains. It was private and quiet for our relaxing days and hikes. Just the way we like it. There was a mile long hiking trail in the park and a pond where ducks and geese played "let's not get eaten by the coyotes"

The Chirichaua Desert Museum was a real gem with exhibits of everything related to reptiles. There were some great posters, packaging, products and postcards that featured snakes, turtles, lizards and alligators. The walls were filled with exquisite paintings by local artist Tell Hicks. Skulls and skeletons were beautifully displayed as were a variety of reptile-themed sculptures. There were live turtles and a huge variety of local snakes on view. Chris captured a video of a rattler who decided that we were a threat and put on quite a display with loud acoustics. All the snakes are so camouflaged in their environments it is not surprising that sightings are rare. The museum owner has been a passionate reptile lover since his youth and travels the world to observe different species. He knew Steve Erwin and had a display of "The Crocodile Hunter" children's games and memorabilia. The gift shop was filled with an amazing book and art collection and fine crafted goods. To underline our desert location, we found a tumbleweed stuck under the car in the museum parking lot!

We took a vigorous hike up Cave Creek Trail towards "The Fingers" outcroppings in the Chiricahua Mountains. The rocks were ochre, green, orange and brick. There were many toppled Yuccas that only live one year and lots of prickly pear cactus among the rocky pathways.
The cold crazy winds blew in some threatening clouds and before it got dark that night,we could see some precipitation falling in sheets around the mountains. We celebrated New Year's arrival via London TV where we heard Big Ben and the fireworks over skype with Marilyn and Mike in England. Happy New Year!!!!

We headed into 2013 in cold and snow. The mountains were snow covered over night and the sun shining across them was beautiful. As we headed into Arizona, we got into deeper snow and actually had slush on the roads. It was strange seeing cactus piled with snow. A travelling day we headed south around the chirichaua range to a town called Douglas which is a Mexico border town the mountain town. Then north again through Bisbee, which at 6000' had received 6 inches of the white stuff and the ploughs were out clearing. After our scenic snowy drive, we settled in at the Tombstone Territories RV Resort for 9 nights. Tomorrow we are leaving for Quartzite or Darby Wells to do some boondockin'... yippee-ki-ya.

Where are we?

If you have been following the recent posts, you have been reading about our unusually cold weather.
Can you guess where we are in these photos? This was December 28.

 

 

Spelunking in Carlsbad Caverns

"Bats....millions of black little mammals whirling their way upward in a funnel-shaped cloud that grew and grew until the top-most portion seemed to fuse into the hazy clouds of a New Mexico sunset. That was the spectacle which, 111 years ago, led Jim White to discover the colossal Carlsbad Cavern.
" Carlsbad Caverns by James Larkin White"

The story of Jim White and his discovery of the caves is as fascinating as the caves themselves. Jim explored the caves on his own using crude ladders to get down in and a kerosene lamp to view the incredible formations. He was endangered a few times injured from bad falls and risking moments when his lamp went out. The base of the caves is 800 feet underground so a wrong step could have easily ended in tragedy. Remarkably, Jim tried unsuccessfully, to convince friends to accompany him down to the caves to view the spectacle. Over the years he built pathways and crude safety fences in order to encourage people to check out "his cave". It was not until an interest in the highly desired bat guano deposits that an entrepreneur arrived. Following the couple of years of lucrative guano mining, a photographer captured a few incredible images of "The Chamber of Wonders" and Jim's tourist industry began. The Cavern was proclaimed a National Park in 1930 and a World Heritage site in 1995.

We started our tour at the bottom of the elevator that is 850 feet below the desert floor. Guests look out at the roughly hewn stone walls close to the shaft. The cave bats are currently threatened by a fatal disease called white nose fungus. Visitors to the caves are thoroughly questioned and spelunkers disinfect their hiking boots as a precaution before exploring the cave systems. The entire cave complex is 3,800 feet long by 600 feet wide. Our first hour and one half was spent was inside the King's Palace Caves where our Ranger guided and informed us along the way. We were in awe of the huge stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, columns and crystals. In a couple of caves, our Ranger turned out the lights so that we could experience the intense darkness and extraordinary silence. The sheer enormity of the caves was overwhelming as we followed the paved pathways winding down and curving though one magical chamber into the next. Subtle lighting shows off the most spectacular formations and help visitors to stay on the paths avoiding steep cliffs and low hanging rocks.

We fetched Dixie from the car for a picnic lunch overlooking the Guadalupe mountains. Then we took her for a stroll where we could see the damage from a recent fire that burned thousands of acres in the park. The bats are now down in the warmer climate of Mexico but when they are in residence in Carlsbad (the bat cave is undecorated with minerals) a sunset event takes place each day at the amphitheater where people come to watch the bats fly out of the cave for their evening of ingesting insects. We hope to be there some day at the right time of year to see the spectacle.

                                                                            Bat-viewing Amphitheatre

Back into the caves, we headed out on a self guided tour. We followed the winding paths down from the amphitheatre into what is known as The Natural Entrance, the area where Jim White first entered the caves and later welcomed visitors. We spent about 2 1/2 hours exploring incredible sights with names like Painted Grotto, Chandelier, Lion's Tail, Temple of the Sun, Cathedral and Fairyland. The formations are a part of a reef left from an underground sea that was in the area millions of years ago. The sulphuric acid- laden water shaped the chambers. then over centuries, the minerals dripped together into a huge array of forms. Some of details are minute crystals while other ornate columns reach heights over thirty feet.

The colours range from whites, ochers and oxide reds and water still drips in some areas building new calcite sculptures.
The temperature of 56 degrees F. is constant in the caves. There are some deeper and cooler caves that are explored only by the brave and professionals with spelunking equipment. For the visitors like us, it is miraculous to leave the desolation and scrub of the desert above and be in such a world of wonder minutes later. Some caves reminded us of highly embellished cathedrals; others of fantasy stories like the world of Tolkien; some were like spacescapes in places beyond our solar system and others appeared as if they'd created by the most imaginative sculptors. Are you getting the point that this place is unbelievable?

 

Of the miles of 119 caves, there are many that are not open to the public. One of these is called Lechuguilla Cave. The unique features here are so delicate and fragile that only twenty specialists per year are allowed inside. My photos do no justice to the scale and magnificence of the caves. Check out a Carlsbad Cavern image website or better yet, plan a tour yourself!

Vicksburg National Military Park and Beyond

If you are ever RVing in the Vicksburg Mississippi area, do not stay at the Magnolia RV Park. Along with soggy, uneven and narrow lots, is a close, noisy road; an animal hospital with constantly barking dogs and general rundown, unkempt conditions. I think the fresh white magnolia blossoms died and shriveled up quite some time ago! We were attracted to the camp after reading the favourable reviews which have been no doubt submitted by the owners themselves..
Bad Sam Park!!

                                                                  Sad Magnolias photo from Bing

Our exploration of the eight miles through Vicksburg Military National Park was striking. The battle lines of the Union Troops and Confederate soldiers are clearly marked on both sides of the park. The tour road is lined with commemorative plaques, and larger than life-sized busts and sculptures of the important individuals involved in the Campaign for Vicksburg. There are beautiful,huge memorials to the individual states involved in the battles. As we stood overlooking the many approaches and conflict sites,we could barely imagine the conditions of weather, battles, suffering and death that has transpired there. The area is very hilly and the creation of tunnels, trenches and battle lines must have been gruelling. As well as displays of canons along the route, were traces of stockades, batteries and a huge cemetery containing 17,000 Union Soldiers as well as Veterans of the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II and the Korean Conflict.
                                                                              
                                                                                   -Photos from Bing-

The most fascinating exhibit in the park was the restored "ironclad" U.S.S, Cairo, and museum. These amazing boats helped win the battle with their ability to quietly approah the battlesite along the river and release magnanimous canon fire. The Cairo sank to the bottom of the Yazoo River in 1862 where it stayed until a complex raising and restoration project in the 1960's. The undertaking involved cutting the boat in half as its great weight was beyond all mechanical capabilities of the day. The huge number of artifacts recovered from The Cairo provide insight into Civil War naval life. Observing the heavy wooden decks, protective iron cladding, many canons, huge paddle wheel and gigantic bronze bell on board, make it difficult to imagine these boats were ever able to float.

We headed up to Texas near Dallas where we stayed at a Cabella's for a couple of nights. We did some Christmas shopping and purchased our gift to each other, a SiriusXM satellite radio so we can now enjoy stations that we prefer to listen to. We treated ourselves to a movie at a high end theatre offering lazy boy like reclining chairs, blankets and pillows plus our own beverage and food waitress. We watched "The Hobbit" while our little elf, Dixie, was washed and groomed at 'The Pet Puddle'. Temperatures were in the high 80's our first day there and near freezing the next.

Our crazy shadow

On Thursday December 20. we battled horrible congestion and traffic plus high winds as we headed southwest. We stayed overnight at a highway side rest stop. Sometimes a stop over only requires safety and darkness.

Friday December 21, we reached our holiday destination in New Mexico, Brantley Lake State Park. Our peaceful site looked out over the desert and a small lake. It was a great spot for sunsets too. The park was about one half an hour north of the town of Carlsbad, During our stay we saw songbirds, ducks, deer and a huge jackrabbit.

We spent our Christmas in New Mexico and managed to successfully prepare a traditional turkey dinner. Temperatures were in the high 50's during the day and below freezing at night. Chris found an eight inch icicle on Christmas morning!We were disappointed that our WiFi was too weak to skype our families but that is the way of RV life.

                                                                   Christmas lights in our Motorhome