Funny thing about a long trip like this, is that we sometimes forget to tell the kids where we are going. Not as in "Surprise!" and we pull up to a great destination, but we just decide that we'll stop along the way at a place and forget to give them any warning. Not that a national park needs warning, per se, but you know, maybe we should give the youngest a heads-up that we're headed over 750 feet underground that morning.
Well, he wasn't too worked up about it, which was great.
After another beautiful New Mexico sunrise, we started our day at Brantley Lake State Park. This is just outside of Carlsbad, and another great New Mexico park to use as a base for adventures.
There is some elevation gain as you head into the park, but it's a rather unassuming park entrance.
We took the natural entrance, which is an easy walk but long enough that you can have it all to yourself on a fall morning. (The rest of the folks in the parking lot opted for the elevator.) It's a smooth path for the most part, but about half-way down you feel the thigh-burn from the steep descent. From this path, you pass the bat cave (yay, guano!), but also get to interact with the park rangers more as they patrol the area.
A couple of summers ago we toured the Oregon Caves, which are similar in formations. What the Carlsbad Cavern has over that park is the sheer size once you get down the the bottom. You could fit a big dragon in there.
It was a place of wonder.
Have I mentioned that I love the sunsets in New Mexico?
After a great day at the caverns, we had a quick dinner, then went back into town for a drive-in movie. Not only had we seen that Carlsbad had a drive-in theatre, and it was open, and they were playing a movie the kids had asked to see--it was playing for free that night! It was the first time at a drive-in for 4 out of 5 Parks; being from southern Oregon I grew up with this as the main form of entertainment in the summer. It was so much fun to pack up the truck and get out the hoodies and snacks. In an improvement from the crackly speakers from the late '80s, the sound coming through the radios and amplified from the party trucks with the fancy sound systems in the back row made it actually audible. We saw the second Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, not nearly as good as the first movie, but who really cared when we were sitting out under the stars?
Hooray for the Fiesta Drive-In!
We all were up the next morning, to watch our last New Mexico sunrise before heading to Texas. (No small feat for a couple of night owls in the family.) Watching the sun rise and set is one ritual from this trip that I hope we continue once we settle down.
We spent all of yesterday driving, but did want to send out our thanks to all of the veterans. Especially my dad, who served in Vietnam. All our love to you!
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