The One Where I Scream Like A Little Girl

As we hiked the Devil's Hall trail at Guadalupe National Park, we were enjoying the peace.  Soaking in the beauty.  Then we encountered a wild aggressive beast.  And yes, I screamed like a little girl.

This is the scary beast.

Scolopendra heros.  Also known as the Giant Red-Headed Centipede.  And let me tell you he is a scary, scary beast!!!

I spotted him beside the trail.  We stopped to look at him and to take some pics.  Vol Fan used his hiking pole to try to move him into the open a little better.  And that pissed him off to no end!  He ran out of the grass at the speed of light, reared up on his back 14ish legs, and proceeded to lunge repeatedly at the hiking pole!  It was the scariest bug I have ever encountered!

Vol Fan asked why I was so scared - all I had to do was step on it.  Seriously?!?  I couldn't begin to imagine stepping on that thing.  It would open its bug jaws and swallow me whole!!

Later I told Vol Fan that I would love to be able to draw.  If I could, I would draw a cartoon - Sancho the Centipede.  He would be wearing a giant sombrero and have a huge handlebar moustache.  He would be reared up on his back legs.  On each set of front legs, he would be armed with pistols and have bandoliers crossing his chest.  The Adventures of Sancho the Centipede.  I think it could be a hit!

The Unexpected

One of the things I love about travel is when something unexpected turns into something wonderful.  And that is exactly what happened at Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Even though I was 'on vacation', our employees still expect a paycheck each Friday.  I was chained to my desk for the majority of the day.  So we planned a short excursion to Guadalupe Mountains National Park for the afternoon.  And honestly, I was OK with this.  For some reason, this park didn't reach out and beg me to spend multiple days exploring.  In the park materials, it came across as 'Come climb to the highest point in TX but if you don't want to do that, its OK because we really don't have much more to offer'.  I was expecting to go, tour the visitor center, get my passport stamp, and leave.  Terrible, I know - but that was my expectation.

Vol Fan and I arrived just as a summer shower had moved through - cooling the temps to the point that I put on a sweatshirt.  We toured the visitor center and watched the short movie about the native people that had called this area home.  And of course, we horsed around with some of the displays.

We talked with the ranger on duty about what hike he might recommend given the amount of time we had til sunset.  We opted to hike the Devil's Hall Trail - one of the best decisions we've made.  The skies still held the threat of rain but we decided to risk it.

Half of the hike is up a dry wash and considering the recent rains, we remained very aware of the easiest way to get out of the wash in case of a flash flood.  There was plenty of scrambling over boulders required which made the hike that much more enjoyable.

As we hiked, the skies began to clear and the afternoon turned into one of those picture perfect days.  Bright blue skies.  Puffy white clouds.  Perfect temperatures.

And then we made it to our destination - The Devil's Hall, a narrow canyon cut through the thin layers of limestone.  The sides rising 100'!

This was our view as we stopped for a drink of water and some jerky.  Perfect!

As we started back down the trail, the sun was reflecting beautifully on the surrounding mountains.

The clouds made beautiful patterns on the basin below.

We found that Guadalupe Mountains National Park had a lot more to offer and we would love to return and explore some more.

One More

Last post about Carlsbad Caverns - I promise.  Can you tell we really, really enjoyed this place?!?

And then we started our climb out.  What goes down must go up!  And yes, we opted to hike out instead of taking the elevator!

We were like a couple of vampires when we finally emerged from the cave.  The sun is incredibly bright after being underground for eight hours!!

Ranger Tour

After arriving late in the day to Carlsbad, we decided to head to the visitor center to get a game plan for our visit the next day.  Turns out this was an exceptionally good move.  The ranger tours sell out very quickly on holiday weekends so we were able to purchase tickets for the time slot we preferred.

The ranger that led our tour was Ranger Ashley.  She was young and seemed to still be excited about her job.  And this made our tour that much more enjoyable.  The tour took us into a lower level of the cavern - The King's Palace.  It was a highly decorated area and the formations were huge.

Probably my favorite part was when she turned out the lights, plunging us into a dark that was so black, so pure it is hard to describe.  We did a little experiment while in the dark.  We put our hand in front of our face and moved it back and forth.  While it was too dark to actually see your hand, some people's brain function in such a way that they could 'see' their hand.  I was one of those people!

The ranger also explained that some people experience panic with a dark so pure.  Our brains are so used to having a least a little light at all times that it doesn't quite know how to process the dark.  But my brain did the exact opposite.  I felt immediate relaxation, like my brain going 'Ahhhhh...'  It was incredible!  I would love to experience the total darkness and silence for a little longer!

Caves Should Be Rated R

After the hike down into Carlsbad Caverns, we finally reached the main portion of the cave that is open for visitors.  And we were in another world.

The Big Room is the most visited portion of the cave.  The park service has installed a paved walkway, that is approximately 1 mile in length and goes around its perimeter.

Why does the Big Room go by that name?  It's floor space is over 350,000 square feet!!  One area is called the Hall of the Giants.  Another imaginative name.  The stalagmites pictured above rise over 60 feet from the level of the trail. So trust me - the things in these photos are MUCH larger than they appear!

These formations are called soda straws.  They form so that the inside is hollow.  Eventually the end will fill and they will become a stalactite.

This one is called the Lion's Tail.  It is a stalactite with a formation called popcorn on its tip.

We called this the Wall of Jellyfish.  It was made up of my favorite type of formation - draperies.  Loved how delicate this type looked.

If you are under 18 or are offended by nudity, please turn away now.  

In this next section of cave, Vol Fan and I learned that all caves should be rated R.  As stalagmites begin to form, they start as what we called 'Cave Boobs'.

And yes, we thought that was hilarious!!  It doesn't take much to amuse us.  :)

Into The Deep Dark Hole

Vol Fan and I arrived fairly early to Carlsbad Caverns in order to beat the majority of the crowd.  Vol Fan had never been in a cave and I only had very dim memories of a family trip to Mammoth Cave when I was about 6-7.  So we were both very excited about our adventure.

The cave swallows were darting in and out of the mouth of the cave.  Their calls making the morning seem that much more perfect.  Until we realized that we were going to be walking beneath that parade of birds.  Crossing our fingers for no bird poop on our heads, we continued down, down, down the path.  [Note:  You don't have to hike down into (or out of!) the cave.  The park service has installed an elevator that will very quickly take you from the visitor center to the main room of the cave.]

Soon we were in the cool darkness of the cave.  And we were enthralled!

[Pretend all these photos are in perfect focus.  I didn't bring a tripod and even with my best low light lens, there is still some blur.]

This particular type of formation is called draperies.  It looked just like fabric hanging.  Hard to imagine something so delicate-looking being made of rock.

Formations that looked like melted ice cream...

Stalagmites reflected in pools of water.

Even though, there were a few places that Vol Fan risked bumping his head...

The majority of the cave is incredibly open.  I had a hard time capturing just how huge the cave was due to the use of the low-light lens - it doesn't let me get wide views.  But this photo shows some of the size.  Can you see the person beside the formation?  The cave ceiling was probably double what is seen from this photo.

And we weren't anywhere near the most spectacular formations to come.

Evening Bat Flight

One of the things Carlsbad Caverns is known for are their bats.  Each summer, a colony of Mexican free-tailed bats use a section of the cave - appropriately named 'The Bat Cave' - as a maternity ward and nursery.  The number of bats fluctuates each year but numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

Each evening, bats exit the cave en masse for a night of bug eating.  This mass exodus is actually how the cave was discovered in 1898 by Jim White.  He was riding through the desert looking for stray cattle with a fence-mending crew and saw what he thought was smoke over the next rise.  Upon investigating, he realized the 'smoke' was actually bats flying out of a huge hole in the ground.  He returned later with supplies and lowered himself into the cave.

The bats provided a source of income for some enterprising miners.  They mined their poop - aka guano.  The guano was shipped to agricultural areas and used as fertilizer.  Apparently, guano is still highly sought after by organic farmers.

The park hosts bat flight programs each evening.  Of course, Vol Fan and I had to attend.  We had visions of bats so numerous that they did indeed look like a plume of smoke as they exited the cave......even though we had been told that the number of bats varies greatly from evening to evening.  We were sure that we had picked the magical evening.

We arrived around 7:15 and walked to the bat flight amphitheater to find a seat.  Due to the fact that it was a holiday weekend, the amphitheater was fairly full but we found seats easy enough.  The ranger gave a very informative presentation about the cave and about the bats.  She also went over the rules - Not only are photography and videography forbidden but ALL electronic devices must be powered off.  As the bats exit, everyone is to be as quiet and still as possible.  Easier said than done when the audience is mainly composed of families with young children.

Soon enough, the 'bat sensor' alerted us to the fact that bats were moving in the cave.  Vol Fan and I were on the edge of our seats.  Then the first bat.  The second.  We waited with baited breath - just knowing the plume was about to start billowing right before our eyes.  The third.  Fourth.  Fifth.

And so they trickled out.  A handful of bats at a time.  Probably numbering several hundred in total.  While still exciting and an enjoyable evening, we were a little disappointed.  

We returned the next night with much lower expectations.  As night began to fall, we spotted a raccoon and a ring-tail cat creeping around the rocks.  Then the 'bat sensor' went off - much more active than the previous evening.

This night as the bats exited, there were groups that numbered maybe 30+ strong - in total several thousand.  While still not the plume of bats we had envisioned, we were still very pleased to have been able to have this experience.  

Next Stop: Carlsbad

When we realized that we some time off, we decided to go camping.  As the time neared, we watched the weather forecasts and saw the forecasts for crazy record-breaking heat coming to the southwest.  I'm pretty hardcore and don't require much pampering.  Even still, camping in 110* heat just isn't my cup of tea.  So we decided to escape the heat by going underground.  Deep underground.  Like 750' underground.

We arrived in Carlsbad fairly late in the afternoon so going into the caverns were out of the question for that day.  But we decided to go to the park and get a game plan for the following day.  Smart move!  We got some great advice from the man working the desk and purchased our tickets for the ranger tour.  The ranger tours sell out very quickly on summer holiday weekends!

The visitor center overlooks the Permian Basin.  The Permian Basin was once a shallow sea and was the final resting place of a great many things that eventually turned into black gold.  I have driven through the basin on many occasions but have never really been able to see the geologic features that make it a basin.  It just seemed really flat (and dotted with oil rigs).  But seeing it from above, you can picture it.

The views were hindered by blowing dust and smoke from forest fires but still a cool view.

Adventure

Last week, Vol Fan and I had some time off from work and you know what that means!  Adventure time!

We left Abilene heading toward Carlsbad, New Mexico.  If you look at the shortest route between those two points, you will see that we went directly through the oil fields.  Currently there is another oil boom beginning in west Texas - the Cline Shale boom.  There is activity galore and hardly a hotel room to be found.  For those unafraid of hot, hard work, there is plenty of employment available.  The oil fields aren't exactly a photogenic place but they are exciting nonetheless.

It was windy on the day we were driving through.  The winds in west Texas pick up dust and on this day, they had picked up plenty!  I took this as we were heading into a particularly heavy section.

We stopped for lunch at Outlaw Grill in Eunice, New Mexico and then we realized that possibly we had stepped into an alternate universe.  Or maybe the heat was just too much and had driven everyone mad.  Or maybe aliens had taken over.  Or maybe the water was tainted.

The Outlaw Grill and our waitress looked normal enough as she smiled and brought our drinks.  The problem began when we tried to order.  Vol Fan placed our order of an appetizer and a burger entree.  The waitress then turned to me, asking what my order was.  I said that we just planned to share what he had ordered.

The waitress looked at me like I had sprouted another head and said, "You can't share."  Her response caught me so off-guard that I mumbled something about needing time to look at the menu again.

As she walked away, Vol Fan and I turned to each other, trying to understand why we couldn't share.  Nothing we ordered had free refills.  It wasn't a salad bar.  Nothing.

When she returned, we told her that we would just pay for our drinks and be on our way.  She offered to ask the manager if we could share.  His answer?  We could share but just this one time!!  We were both immediately reminded of The Soup Nazi on Seinfeld and could do nothing but laugh.

When we were trying to pay our bill, we stood at the register and stood at the register.  Finally she came over to take our money.  Our total was $21.  All I had was two $20s so I handed them to her, expecting change.  She just stared blankly at us and then said "Oh.......I have to find some change".  Um, yeah?!?

Later, I googled the huge operation I had seen outside of town.  All our questions were answered.  We had joked about tainted water but I think it is a very real possibility.  It was a uranium enrichment plant.

And the adventures had begun.

Find Your Trail

On my birthday back in April, my BFF, Blazer, gave me a t-shirt with that slogan printed on it.  I love the shirt but I love the message more.  For the last week, finding my trail is exactly what I have been doing.

On this particular trail (called the Devil's Hallway - haha!) in Guadalupe National Park, I realized just how deeply I've been missing my time under the blue sky.  Have you found your trail lately?

Me And My Shadow

Strolling down the avenue....

Crossing 100

Yesterday, I crossed the 100 mile mark in my quest to walk 300 miles this year.  Yay me!!

However.....  Half the year complete.  One third of the miles complete.  I've got to step it up!