Carlsbad, NM

Tuesday morning we left EP at 9:45 and were on our way to Carlsbad, NM.   The road was desolate -- very little traffic, lots of cactus and desert on both sides of the road.   Had to go through a Border Patrol inspection complete with a drug sniffing dog.  

Arrived in Carlsbad at noon, so ate lunch at McD's before heading to the KOA, 15 miles north of town.  It was 91 degrees, so enjoyed the AC and put off exploring the campground facilities until after supper.

Wednesday we drove to the Guadalupe Mountain National Park (50 miles south), watched the video and walked a mile nature trail before eating our picnic lunch outside the visitor's center.   The wind was gusting to 50 mph about that time (the area is noted for it's extreme wind conditions).  

On our way back we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and after watching the movie we took the self-guided tour of the Big Room, the most famous portion of Carlsbad Caverns.  We descended 750 feet down into the cavern by  elevator in 1 1/2 minutes.   The trail is paved with only a few steep hills and is well lighted.   It took us about 1 1/2 hours to walk the 1.25 miles of trail.   We saw the Lion's Tail, Bottomless Pit and Rock of Ages formations.   We learned (I probably forgot from school) that stalactites are formed from the ceiling down; stalagmites are formed from the floor up.   The lighting in the cave accentuated the formations very nicely and we got many pictures.   I'm so glad we did this tour!

Today (Thursday) we drove to Roswell UFO Museum to learn more about the sightings of UFO's in 1947 and onward.  Included in the Exhibit Hall is information on The Roswell Incident, Crop Circles, Ancient Cultures and Abductions.   The Roswell Incident presents witness statements, copies of newspapers, the cover-up and ongoing research.   The primary goal of the Museum is to provide information so the visitor is able to make up their mind about the Roswell Incident, UFOs and other possible extraterrestrtial phenomena.

After lunch we stopped at the Roswell Museum to view the workroom of rocket pioneer Robert Goddard.  I found the movie clips of his early experiments very interesting.   I especially liked the quotation that the USA asked the Germans about their rocket expertise and they said that they had learned it from the works of Robert Goddard!  

Friday will be catch up day here in the campground before leaving on Saturday for Alamogordo and the White Sands National Monument.