Fall Break - Day Three

After resting in Carlsbad, NM last night, we are up bright and early for a fun day at Carlsbad Caverns.  Even though I lived in New Mexico as a child, I have never been here and am super stoked.  After checking in (it's Veteran's Day so no charge), Mister leaves a donation equal to what we would have paid and we opt to do the Natural Entrance.  Let's go.

After a little safety talk, the first thing we encounter is this sign.  I absolutely love the caution at the bottom.  Come on knees --- you can do it.  As for the strenuous hike and exhaustion . . . . it's all downhill.  Are we being overly cautious here?

Just a wee bit further down the trail, we come to the amphitheater where it is possible to watch the Mexican Freetail bats take flight at dusk during the spring/summer months.  Since it is November, they have gone south for the winter thus, depriving us of that opportunity.  Since we have, however, watched them several times from the Congress bridge in Austin, I do not feel too sad over it.  With that being said, it would definitely be cool to see them come from inside this cave.  Check it out.  Somewhere down there is the opening.


As we continue down, the opening makes it's appearance.

Uh yeah -- we're going down there ---

And down

Once inside, it is still a very long way down.  Hence the weak knees statement.

As soon as we leave the outside light behind, beauty starts taking place all around us.

I am absolutely mesmerized.  The Whale's Mouth fascinates me and I fall in love with the "ribbon" formations.

The Green Lake Room is equally magnificent.

Peek-a-boo --- Yep that's me in the second picture.  So tiny in comparison to these magnificent structures.

And just to show that even Mister is dwarfed, he takes a moment for a picture too.  We arrived right as the caves opened and are leaving around noon.  Mister remembers that as a child there was a cafeteria in the caves, but alas all that is there now is machine food -- nothing too yummy looking.  I was so hoping to sit and have a cup of coffee down in the caves but it was not meant to be.  Onward and upward we go.

Once back on the road, we are again in cotton fields aplenty in various stages of growth.  It is white as far as the eye can see and I cannot help but think of all the quilts this will make.  After it has been woven and printed of course.

Yes, there is also sorghum on the horizon.

Next up is Lamesa, TX and the girl who grew up in California keeps wanting to type La Mesa.  For us, this is a pit stop to refuel and grab something to drink.  As we turn the corner to get back onto the highway, Mister spots something he absolutely must check out and I look up as the cars turns a direction I was not expecting.  What has he spotted this time?  Is it a smokestack?  Storage unit?  No idea, but as he goes in to take a peek, birds erupt from the top and give him quite a scare.  I can't help but giggle as I am watching.


Now where were we?  Oh yes, cotton and wind turbines.  They dot the landscape every direction that one looks.

Love Mister's eye -- my photography as I try and catch the birds along with his vision.

Old meets new.

A stop in Gail, TX.  What a great story in this little town.  It is in Borden County, named for the inventor of condensed milk.  It is the only town in the ENTIRE county and has a population of around 230.  We noticed a restaurant that was dang busy and then spotted the courthouse and the jail.  We had to be quick though as the town was gone in just a couple of seconds.

The sun is once again setting and by the time we reach Snyder, check into the hotel, and locate a spot to have a nice dinner - it is dark.  As we go through town towards the restaurant - this vintage Sinclair station is lit up and looking oh so cool to me.  I ask Mister to stop and take a few pictures of it.  It seems almost magical to me.

Dinner is at the Butcher Block and it is incredibly packed.  What on earth?  This is Snyder, TX people.  We are in the middle of nowhere.  It turns out that there is a volleyball tournament in town along with an all class reunion.  The town is simply hopping.  It takes almost an hour to get a table so we visit at the bar and then settle in for a simply scrumptious dinner.  I would recommend this place to anyone traveling through Snyder.  Just don't go when there are two huge events in town.

We thoroughly enjoy our date night out and by the time we get back to the hotel, it is after 10 and we are definitely ready for bed.  Early morning starts and a bottle of wine will do that to ya.  Oh yeah, about the wine.  What a great label.  It's from a small winery in California and was actually quite good.  Typical restaurant charges stand -- about twice as much as if we bought it retail.

It's time for some sleep.  See ya tomorrow.