(1) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Rusl w/Nikon...
... up early... loaded the Jeep... enjoy a sunrise drive a mile or so north into town... |
... drive a mile or so north into town to a McDonalds for 2 number 2 breakfast meals (egg & sausage
McMuffins plus hash browns and a drink) w/o cheese, an orange juice, a milk, and a large coffee... eat in parking lot across the alley...
... then drive south back through town, past Motel 6 and...
... and 30 miles south to Carlsbad Caverns National Park...
... very disappointing... the tourist trap I visited in the mid-1980s at the entrance to the park had Jack-a-lopes ALLLLL the
way around the top of the walls inside and we stopped in here yesterday afternoon to get one and the whole inside has been redone and
there were *NARRY* a Jack-a-lope for sale... [sigh]... we drive on by... |
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... park entrance to the visitor center - 7miles... |
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... 7:30am... the visitor center... we're early... |
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... "are we having fun yet???"... "I'm having fun!!!"... |
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... amphitheater for watching bats' exodus at sunset... |
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... just imagine being here years ago and coming across this place and thinking... "hey!... a cave... lets check it out"... |
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... and as you get closer you're thinking... "that opening looks bigger as I get closer, careful, it's steep here, don't want to slip"... |
... "ok, so there's bats in this cave"...
... "these bats are really fast"...
... "interesting how cannot seem to capture their bodies in a photo"... |
... "man-o-man... it's a long way down there... and there's a light which is around a corner so far down there I can only make out its glow"...
... "can still see the entrance... a bit of a ways up there now"... |
(2) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Rusl w/Nikon...
... going down into the cave... |
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... last glimpse of the entrance for the next few hours... |
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... just how far down does this go???... I wanna see signs, e.g., 230 ft below entrance or whatever... |
(3) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Rusl w/Nikon...
... still going down into the cave...
... these twin towers mark the 1/2 way point going down... [sigh]... |
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... down... down... down... |
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... we're almost all the way down... |
(4) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Rusl w/Nikon...
... into the "Big Room"...
... back in the 1940's when my grandparents took my dad and my uncle through here they used to kill all the lights and play "Rock of Ages"
on an organ... but... now with self guided tours that does not happen anymore... |
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... part of the problem attempting to take photographs in the big rooms of this cave is that the rooms are so huge and vast and go back so far that the
flash does not reach the end of the room while the shutter is still open and so you just get the enclosing darkness... [sigh]... |
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... so, if you see a wet spot in the trail it's probably because the ceiling is dripping there, and, if you don't happen to notice the wet spot
in the trail and you stop to look or take a photo and you get dripped on then look down (not up unless you want to see a drip hit you in the eye)
and you will probably see that you are standing over a wet spot... some places the trail is so narrow and the drips so frequent that you will get
dripped on regardless... |
(5) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Rusl w/Nikon...
... in the "Big Room"... |
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... (see the wet spots in the path)... |
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... we are now back to the entrance to the Big Room... walk on to be back of this photograph to get to the restrooms, the cafeteria,
and the elevators WHICH ARE *NOT* WORKING... that completes OUR walk in the "Big Room"... we did the front half and then opted to
take the short-cut and skip the back half, partly because the back half of the Big Room is pretty much more of the same (although you could
not really tell because it is so large you cannot see the end) and partly because we had been walking for HOURS and still have a LONG WALK
OUT and partly because we had a long drive in front of us to Tucson... |
... ok... we're beginning the ascent out of here...
... the 56 degrees and us in T-shirts has worked well for us because the walk is enough work with the temperature for us to not overheat...
we're running right on the verge of breaking a sweat...
... break time... tough to run uphill with asthma... |
(6) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Rusl w/Nikon...
... out of the cave... and... into Tucson... |
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... finally... sun light from outside... [pant][pant][pant]... they were very intent on making it clear that the walk into the cave
went 700 feet down, but, what they neglected to tell us was that it was 2700 FEET UP ON THE WAY OUT!!!... [pant][pant][pant]... |
... ok, we're on the road now headed for I-10...
... so that was a nice little 4&1/2hour walk from 8am till 12:30pm, or a 5 hour excursion counting the 1/2 hour we were early, and,
we "saved" an hour or so by skipping the back loop of the "Big Room"... |
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... the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas... and... the Texas state line... El Paso 129 miles... |
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... and... the Texas / New Mexico state line... |
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... tumbleweeds are using a dust storm as cover to launch an attack on vehicles... |
(7) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Sharon w/Cannon...
... nice sunrise...
... we're in the 1st group of the day at 8am... 8 of us all together... at the mouth of the cave... |
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... swith back trail goes down 700 feet... |
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... barely into the mouth and we are greeted by a few bats we woke... [flap][flap][flap]...[flap][flap][flap]...[flap][flap][flap]... |
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... it'll be hours before we come back up this trail... |
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... there are lots of huge rocks laying on the floor of the cave (that fell from the ceiling... hope none fall while we're here)... |
... Carlsbad Caverns National Park brochere & newspaper...
- thinking about going to Carlsbad Caverns? Willing to get dirty? Crawl on your belly through tight passages on some of the ranger guided
tours to get to additional cave areas? You will be at Carlsbad Caverns for an extra day or two; info for additional cave tours (easy tours,
moderate tours, strenuous tours) at Carlsbad Caverns Nat'l Parks tours website:
nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/tour_schedule.htm
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... well... Rusl's photos documented the cave purdy well...
... [tic][tic][tic]...
... we'll be in El Paso directly... |
(8) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Sharon w/Cannon...
... heading in to El Paso... |
(9) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Sharon w/Cannon...
... still coming into El Paso... and then through the dust storm across New Mexico... |
Anthony TX/Loves 8698mi 3:48pm 82of [110]
334.0mi in 122miRTE 06:38:00hrs w/23.0avg mpg
10.443G 1.699/G $17.74
& while there, 1 2PC Snack - Dark - $4.86[cash]
& while there, 2 bags powdered donuts $3.25[cash] |
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... looks purdy dusty out there... |
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... stopped at all the trading posts looking for tanned rattle snake skins, stuft puddy tats, Jack-a-lopes... none found... Bowlin
seems to be on the verge of a trading post monopoly on I-10... windier than heck here... |
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... Mike and I stopped here at Akela Flats... golly... that was a lot of years ago now... like 15 or so... doesn't seem like that long ago... where does all the time go???... |
(10) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Sharon w/Cannon...
... dusty ride across New Mexico... |
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... dust has the mountains ahead blocked out... |
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... continental divide trading post... no sale... |
... don't think this dude knew his bags were folded on the tie down and standing straight up looking like they were ready to break free anytime...
... yeeeeessssss... we got bugs... |
Lordsburg NM/Loves 8842mi 6:30pm 77of [111]
144.3mi in 159miRTE 02:07:00hrs w/20.8avg mpg
8.030G 1.759/G $14.12 |
(11) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Sharon w/Cannon...
... I-10 west across New Mexico and Arizona... |
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... Arizona state line... |
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... more trains... coming and going... |
(12) Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ... photos by Sharon w/Cannon...
... and, in to Tucson... |
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... dinner... walked over to Dennys (adjacent to Red Roof Inn's registration desk)... |
redroof.com/property/Tucson/AZ/85714/Hotels-close-to-Tuscon-Airport-I-10/RRI225/
MOTEL: Red Roof Inn South Tucson Exit 264 NE quadrant
3704 E Irvington Rd, Tucson AZ 85714 520.571.1400
Room 148
website: redroof.com/property/Tucson/AZ/85714/Hotels-close-to-Tuscon-Airport-I-10/RRI225/
RSVP confirmation: www, email
"Recovering from knee replacement surgery, 1st floor room or elevator please, thank you"
King Room with Roll-In Shower - Disability Access, Breakfast is NOT included.
A/C, Carpeted, Wardrobe/Closet, Shower, Toilet, Bathroom, Telephone, Radio, Cable channels,
Flat-screen TV, Alarm clock, Towels, Linens, Free WiFi is available in all rooms.annels, Free WiFi in all rooms.
REVIEW: Clean, economical, most satisfactory.
Leisure trip / Couple / Queen Room - Non-Smoking / Stayed 1 night
What could have been better? Wi-Fi workd but was slooooow
Most important to us is cleanliness - A+ on that, next in importance is the price,
king bed was nice; have stayed here before, would stay here again.
breakfast the next morning at McDonalds up the street a mile or so.
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Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... Selected photos
Photos by Rusl w/Nikon, 6 pages w/75 photos/page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (01) photos 001-075
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (02) photos 076-150
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (03) photos 151-225
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (04) photos 226-300
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (05) photos 301-375
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (06) photos 376-444
Photos by Sharon w/Cannon, 6 pages w/70 photos/page: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (07) photos 445-515
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (08) photos 516-585
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (09) photos 586-655
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (0A) photos 656-725
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (0B) photos 726-795
Day 26 [22MAR16/TUE] Carlsbad NM to Tucson AZ....... (0C) photos 796-854
NEXT: Day 27 [23MAR16/WED] Tucson AZ to West Sacramento CA...
