The Wild Wild West

After leaving San Antonio, we headed towards Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Not really knowing what to expect on the drive I was a little shocked at how run down everything looked as we drove on small state highways. But as soon as we reached Carlsbad I was in shock as to how unbelievably incredible our surroundings were. We checked in at the visitor center and drove off the main road on a trail to eventually walk/climb about 1/4 of a mile up and down ranges til we found flat ground. This was all of our first time back country camping so we were a little unsure what to expect. Good thing Timmy brought his laptop so we could watch a few episodes of Dexter, read a little, and get to bed before 10pm. I'll admit I was very nervous being the only people within about 6 miles of any civilization. But soon as a very wet morning came we packed up our stuff and hiked back to the car.

We checked back in at the visitors center and headed into the caverns. OH MY GOODNESS, they were so very cool, much neater than I expected. We walked down into the cavern, took about 1/2 hour to 45 mins and then around what they call the "Big Room" for another 1/2 hour. I think we were all very glad we did the climbing down, which was by far the best part.

After the Caverns we headed to Albuquerque. The next day we took a day trip to Santa Fe, a very small city, especially for the state capital, but we went to the Plaza where there were tons of people, shops, street sellers, etc. We tried to go into the Cathedral of St. Francis Assisi but 29 couples were getting married!!!! WOW. But Santa Fe was very fun, I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

We headed back to Albuquerque for the night and the following day met up with my cousin Danielle, and her friends Jodi and Lynn. THey took us to a local New Mexican restaurant, yumm then we went to the second longest tram in the world. So neat, we could see the entire city and on a completely visible day you are able to see 9% of the state. We said our goodbyes to Dee, Jodi, and Lynn and headed for downtown Albuquerque. It may have been because it was a cooler and darker Sunday afternoon but the town was dead and we didn't end up spending much time at all down there. Timmy was craving some steak so we headed to Texas Roadhouse for some dinner then back to the hotel to rest up for our next leg of the trip.

Onward to Phoenix, Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and then VEGAS

Posted in: Emma