6/11/17 Big Trees, Snow and Waterfalls (CA Sierra Nevada)

 

Southern California Sierra Nevada from the East

Mt Whitney from Rt. 395 on East Side of Sierra

Out of the frying pan into the ….snow.  Fire and Ice.  We headed west from the heat of Death Valley and drove toward the snow-capped Sierra Nevada of Southern California.  The Sierra seems to rise “straight up” out of the ground with many peaks over 14,000 feet (Mt Whitney, the tallest in the lower 48 stands at 14,491) just a few short miles from the lowest point in the US (Badwater, Death Valley at 282 feet BELOW sea level).  It is a stunning vista from even one hundred miles away! 

Our Tiffin Motorcoach Boondocked on flooded Lake Isabella

Our first stop was at the southern end of the Sierra - we spontaneously boondocked on Lake Isabella near Kernville.  We drove to the end of an isolated unpaved road in BLM land at the northern end of Lake Isabella; we camped with no one else in sight except for a couple of fishermen for a few hours on day.  The lake was at recent highs and rising but still well below the high water mark; the large snowpack (170% of normal at Lake Tahoe) and a recent warm spell was causing a quick melt with high, sometimes flood, river levels throughout the Sierra.  We spent a few days off the grid enjoying Kernville and the Lake Isabella area, before we headed to our reservations for Sequoia National Park.   

Lake Isabella High Water Mark - long way to go

In Kernville, the rafting vendors were all happy; they will have rafting water levels through the entire summer. The Kern River below the Lake Isabella Dam was flowing even faster. Unbelievably, it appears to us they are not storing the record snow melt in the lake, which could hold a lot more water (hopefully they have the remaining meltwater runoff calculated accurately).  We wanted to drive the Trail of the 100 Giants (Sequoia Trees) in the nearby Sequoia National Forest, but it was still closed due to high snow levels.  This was a refrain we were to hear many times over the next few weeks.   

Our Tiffin Climbing into Sequoia NP, Serra Nevada Mtns

From Kernville, we headed to Three Rivers RV Hideaway in Three Rivers CA as we were not able to get a reservation at the only campground in Sequoia NP that could accommodate an RV of our size. Most of the park is accessible only on steep winding roads, and the campgrounds and most roads are limited to vehicles less than 22 feet in length.  Our campground was only a few miles from the entrance with full service for our week-long stay.  

Bob next to Giant Sequoia

The Sequoia trees (the biggest trees by volume in North America) are huge.  Some are as old as 3500 - 4000 years. The undisputed king is the General Sherman Tree, is not only the largest living tree in the world, but also supposed to be the largest living single organism in the world??  It has a circumference of 103 feet, is 275 feet tall, and is estimated to be 2300 - 2700 years old. The reason it is the largest is the great growing location.  The path toward a protected national park started when a lumberman counted 3000 rings on huge cut tree and decided that these special trees needed protection.  Thankfully, he was successful.  Even in all the protected parks, there are only a few groves of these special trees remaining.  The largest grove is The Giant Forest in Sequoia, with hundreds of these giants.   

Climbing up Morro Rock

The Sierra is a giant batholith, a huge intrusion of granite, that has been exposed by erosion that extends from Lake Tahoe to Bakersfield and from the Central Valley to Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra. It is the large granite outcrops, standing out from the trees on the lower slopes and the snow on the higher slopes, that make them so picturesque.  In Sequoia National Park, the most well-known granite outcrop/dome is called Morro Rock.  You can see it for 20 miles as your drive up the steep and winding Generals Highway; it is at the same elevation as the Sequoia Trees,  4500 to 5500 feet elevation.  We enjoyed climbing Morro Rock….up a long, crooked, narrow “staircase” of 350 steps, and long narrow steep trails, to the top of the dome; fabulous vistas in all directions, including a great view of the snowcapped high Sierra. (Although Mt Whitney was directly east of us here, we couldn’t see the peak).  

High Meadow, Mineral King, Sequoia NP

We were lucky for the opportunity to drive up Mineral King Road, a narrow, often one-lane, secondary road to a high meadow in the NP passing through the rustic Silver City Resort. Most of these high meadows are only available if you take long, strenuous hikes way into the high Sierra.  Luckily, the road had opened just two days prior; it took over 2 hours to drive up.  At the top, we were in a high meadow (almost 8000 feet elevation), still mostly snow covered, surrounded by snow cap peaks. The snow melt was flowing everywhere, causing streams and waterfalls to flood the meadow, now a marsh, and adding to the roaring Kaweah River below. We had a delicious lunch on the resort patio at 7,500 feet elevation.  

Running Water Carving Rock, Crystal Cave, Sequoia NP

The one feature of Sequoia NP that was not affected by the snow was Crystal Cave.  It opened for the season while we were visiting.  We booked a tour ticket and enjoyed the 1 hour tour through the cave.  Unlike most of the other caves we had been in recently, this cave was formed in marble, not limestone - hence the name Crystal Cave (the walls glimmer).  Because marble dissolves much more slowly than limestone, there are very few stalactites and stalagmites; instead the force of rushing water is the main cause of the formation of the cave.  This was a cave with mostly tight, small spaces, and therefore, an “intimate” caving experience.    
 

Kings River and Canyon, Kings NP (Note all the white water)

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are right next to each other, and managed by the same office.  Kings Canyon NP is mostly wilderness, but one road takes you into and along Kings Canyon, the parks namesake.  It is a beautiful, deep glacial valley, cut by yet another roaring river, the Kings River.  The narrow, winding road hugs the cliffs up high looking down on the canyon and river, but sometimes skirted the river itself; some parts of the road were recently flooded.  Again the uppermost sections of the park were still closed due to snow. 

High Sierra, Eastern Side

We had originally planned on visiting Mono and Mammoth Lakes as a day trip from Yosemite NP.  However, when we were in Sequoia, we realized Highway 120 that crosses the high Sierra in Yosemite was closed due to snow and not anticipated to open until August!  If we wanted to see the eastern side of the Sierra, we had two options to cross the mountains; either go north to Rt 50 and Lake Tahoe from Yosemite, or drive south from Sequoia around the southern end of the mountains near Bakersfield. We chose the faster and shorter trip (still 800 miles round trip) from Sequoia around the southern end of the Sierra, back past Lake Isabella.  We wished we had realized the snow and road conditions when we were in Lake Isabella, not after we had driven all the way up to Sequoia/Kings.  However, we decided to make the trip anyway, and not miss the eastern Sierra Nevada.   

Mammoth Lakes, CA

We left our motorhome parked at Sequoia and drove the car around and spent the night in Mammoth Lakes in a hotel.  We couldn’t believe it, but Mammoth Lakes was still very much a ski town in June; the slopes were still covered in deep snow, and it was very COLD.  We had wanted to go to Devil’s Postpile and Rainbow Falls, but the entrance to the road to get there was still under 20 feet of snow!  Instead, we just toured Mammoth Lakes, June Lake, and spent a wonderful half day exploring the tufa pinnacles of Mono Lake.  These are the same type of tufa formations found in Trona Pinnacles (see last blog), but in Mono Lake they are still forming in the water.  As a note, there was once an inland sea that covered the entire area east of the Sierra.  

Bob and Linda, Tufa Formations, Mono Lake South Shore

Mono Lake South Shore, CA

June Lake, Mammoth Lakes, CA

 

El Capitan, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Valley

After we returned to the Sequoia, we headed north to Yosemite.  We had been unsuccessful getting a reservation for a motorhome campground in the park - they book out for each month in 7 -10 seconds.  Instead, we camped right outside the park in El Portal.  It was only a few miles from the entrance to the park, but it still took almost 30 minutes, without traffic, to reach Yosemite Valley.  We arrived on the very crowded Tuesday after Memorial Day; on Memorial Day, the park was closed to incoming traffic by midday and it took 4 hours for cars inside the park to complete the valley loop (usually a 30 minute drive with no photo stops – hard to do!).   

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite

With the crowds in mind, we planned our day trips to see the Valley and Glacier Point on weekdays and very early in the day.  We got up at 5am and were driving into the park by 7.  We parked the car in the parking lots that were full by 8am, and took the shuttle bus to the trail heads to finish our hikes before 11am.  After 11am, the shuttles were so full, they often did not stop at each stop.  We have been in several parks with shuttle systems, and most work well.  In Yosemite, the logistics are broken.  There are too many people, too many cars, too few parking spaces, and too few shuttles which only come every 30 minutes (in Zion and the Grand Canyon, they come about every 10 minutes).   



Lower Yosemite Falls Mist and "Rain"

Yosemite is still one of the most beautiful glacial valleys in the country.  One of Bob’s favorite parks is Glacier National Park, because of the glacier carved landscape.  Yosemite is even more beautiful in a very, small compact space, where you can almost see it all at once.  From the splendor of the thousand feet tall granite walls, culminated in El Capitan, Half Dome, and Glacier Point, to the numerous waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet to the valley floor. Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Vernal Falls, and Nevada Falls flow almost year-round, but this year they were roaring from the huge snowmelt.  The mist formed at the bottom made it almost impossible to get near the foot of the falls without getting soaked and blown away by the wind from the force of the falling water.  There were even numerous seasonal falls, all adding to the beauty and wonder of the park.  

Flooded, Raging Merced River with Mist Rainbow

The Merced River was flooded, with many areas in the park closed.  Although the Merced is flat in Yosemite Valley and therefore had no whitewater; however, as the Merced River Canyon leaves the valley, it becomes much steeper, and the river became a flooded, roaring white water almost the entire length of the canyon.   The rafting companies here were also very happy.   We had been to the park many years ago, but only for a day or two at a time, so we were glad for the six days in the park; in spite of the maddening crowds, we were really impressed with the park and high recommend going there, off season if possible. 

Linda's BD, Ahwhanee Lodge, Yosemite
 

We really enjoyed our evening and dinner at the former Ahwhanee Lodge (now called the Majestic Yosemite Hotel) to celebrate Linda’s birthday.  It’s hard to believe we have been “retired” and traveling since 2005!  

Vernal Falls, Yosemite

 



Mirror Lake, Yosemite

Half Dome, Vernal and Nevada Falls, from Glacier Pt, Yosemite

Dbl Rainbow from outflow, Hetch Hetchy

We stayed out of the Valley and explored the lesser travelled parts of Yosemite on the weekend.  We drove to Hetch Hetchy, the reservoir for San Francisco on the Tuolumne River.  Again, we were surprised at how much water was still being let out of the reservoir.  When we lived in Sacramento in 1997, it was also a year of heavy snows with lots of runoff water.  That year they let too much water out of Lake Folsom, Sacramento’s reservoir, and by the end of the summer, it was as empty as it was before the big runoff.  

It is unbelievable to us that California has not built a dam or reservoir since the late 1970s. Instead, they are wasting taxpayer dollars on a “bullet train” between San Francisco and LA; the initial section is from Merced to Bakersfield, both in the central valley, and is already 50% over budget and estimated to cost $100 billion.  Much of the farmland in the Central Valley is fallow because of lack of water (no storage dams and much spring runoff water is used to save the endangered delta smelt fish in the San Francisco Bay delta – a worthy cause, we are sure?).  We saw signs all over the valley “Dams not Trains” on blackened farmland, vineyards, and orchards.  Water is the next “train wreck” waiting to happen in California;  we are glad we are not living there anymore to share in the “fun”.  

The crowds and hassle in Yosemite finally got to us; instead of the planned 10 days, we decided to leave early after six days and spend a few unplanned days on the Pacific coast at Monterey and Carmel before we headed to our next planned visit to Pinnacles National Park, just east of there.  

We continue to feel very Blessed and Thank God for giving us the time and health to enjoy our retirement to the fullest.   

Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.   

Best to all,

Linda and Bob  

5/27/17 Deserts, Elusive Fossils, Dark Skies and City Lights (Nevada and So Cal)

 

Basin and Range Formation with Seasonal Lake, NV

After leaving Canyon de Chelly, AZ and New Mexico, we headed across Utah to Nevada.  It was a long two-day trip to arrive at Great Basin National Park, a national park typical of the basin and range physiographic section of the country. These many alternating mountain ranges and basins stretch all the way from the Wasatch Mountains in Utah to the Sierra Nevada in eastern California.  Most of Nevada, and western Utah are part of the Great Basin, mostly desert with no water outlet; the water runoff accumulates in the lowest parts of each basin as salt or dry lakes, such as Death Valley.  

Wheeler Peak and Great Basin NP

Great Basin National Park is in eastern Nevada in the “town” of Baker, right next to the Utah border, and includes Wheeler Peak, 13,065 feet in elevation.  Wheeler Peak and the surrounding foothills were selected to preserve a representative portion of the extensive basin and range geologic formations that cover a significant part of the Western US.   

 

Wheeler Peak

Wheeler Peak was still covered in snow, so we were only able to enjoy the lower half of the park.  We were disappointed to not see an ancient bristlecone pine forest, which contains the oldest living non-clonal organism on earth.  Some bristlecones have been found to be 5000 years old (germination in 3000 BC) and grow between 9800 and 11,000 feet; the forest was still under 14 feet of snow (this has been an extremely heavy snow year: 170% of normal).  We did some hikes, but had to turn back a few times when the trails became snow covered and impossible to follow.  We did get to see some unusual winter wildlife; even a marmot, which we had never seen before. We enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby in our Whispering Elms RV “Resort” bar – the one and only bar in Baker along with a very colorful Navy veteran and his wife. 



Shield Formation (rare), Lehman Caves

We visited Lehman Cave in the Park, which was excellent.  Lehman Cave was discovered in 1885 by Mr. Lehman, a rancher and entrepreneur who immediately began marketing tours to see the caves. The cave was not incorporated into a protected park until 1920, and there is a lot of graffiti in the cave from visitors prior to that.  Interestingly, since the graffiti is more than 50 years old, the National Park Service cannot do anything to fix it (anything older than 50 years is automatically protected).  Visiting Lehman Caves was such a different experience from Carlsbad Caverns (see prior post); Carlsbad has huge rooms and formations and is very hard to photograph because of its vast size (even though it was well lit).  Lehman Cave spaces are VERY tight, requiring that you often duck or walk sideways through narrow places.  It was a great experience.  Linda got some good pics using a strong flashlight to fill in the unlit spaces for more interesting photos.   

Stratosphere and Old Strip

From the desolation of Great Basin National Park and eastern Nevada (no cell or internet service), we headed to Las Vegas.  Our time in Vegas was fun and although it is in the middle of a desert, the City was a welcomed change to camping in the desert landscape.  We stayed at Nellis Air Force Base and were reminded about the “sounds of freedom”: F-22s flying low overhead and "Reveille" at 6am for early wake up calls.   

 

Linda and Bob at Hoover Dam

We spent much of our time in the surrounding countryside.  We had an excellent trip to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.  The dam tour was not available the day we were there due to “operation issues” (not sure what that means).  The dam is impressive and the visitor center has good exhibits about the politics and construction of the dam.  Equally impressive are the exhibits that show the extent of agriculture possible due to water irrigation from the dam, and the hydroelectric power produced by it.  We didn’t know it, but the Salton Sea in southern CA was caused by a massive flood from the Colorado River in 1905 before the dam was built for flood control. It took years to get the Colorado River back into its original course, but the Salton Sea is now the largest lake in CA. Because it is a terminal lake with no outlets, it is very salty; but the water is used to raise seasonal crops in the area. 

Marina at very low water level, Lake Mead

Lake Mead was very low, even with the very heavy snow cover this year; at least 100 feet below the high water mark.  We have to wonder where the water to support all the people in Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California is going to come from in future years.  

 

 

Valley of Fire State Park, NV

Red Rock Canyon, NV

Petroglyphs, Valley of Fire SP, NV

We spent several days visiting the beautiful canyons to the northeast and northwest of Vegas.  The Valley of Fire State Park and Red Rock Canyon are both beautiful, with spectacular red rock cliffs and rock formations.   In Red Rock Canyon, the major geologic feature is The Keystone Overthrust Fault:  Older Paleozoic Limestone moving east over younger Cretaceous Sandstone.  You can easily see all these geologic features because there is no covering foliage.  In the Valley of Fire, we saw one of the more extensive petroglyphs collections found in a single location on a large sheared-off boulder.  The drawings were very high up on a very steep, almost sheer, cliff; the ancient people must have really wanted to make these drawings!  

Basin and Range, NV

We wanted to see if we could find some fossils at the Tule Spring Fossil Bed National Monument, only 15 miles northeast of Las Vegas.  This is one of the newest National Monuments. Interestingly, and unlike some of the other newest monuments, there does not appear to have been any opposition from realtors or landowners to making this land into a monument.  It does not yet have any roads, parking areas, a visitor center or even roadside exhibits. We even talked to a park ranger before we got there, and he was unable to provide any additional information.   We were completely on our own, which made for an “interesting” hike. There are not even good directions on how to find “The Big Dig” – a 1962 excavation that found a huge trove of fossils dating from 250,000 years ago to just 10,000 years ago….an incredibly long span of time for fossils in one area. During this excavation, scientists discovered an abundance of large animal fossils, such as mammoths, camels, bison, ground sloths, and the Giant North American lion. In 2004, almost 10,000 fossils were removed from the southern portion of the area and curated in the San Bernardino County Museum in California. We walked out onto the wash but couldn’t find the dig or anything resembling a fossil.  After about an hour and a half we left…pointless, but a fun exploration anyway.  

Graceland Chapel, Vegas

We are NOT gamblers, so we just enjoyed the “Vegas entertainment”.  We spent a day on the historic old strip, the Las Vegas Boulevard State Scenic Byway.  This is old Las Vegas:  tattoo parlors, bail bondsmen, wedding chapels (including a Graceland Chapel where you are married by Elvis) and old casinos, all mixed together in a seedy part of town. 

 

Old Stardust Neon Sign, Neon Museum, Las Vegas

We visited the Neon Graveyard and Museum, a museum filled with neon signs, some dating back to the 1930s. Each of the 200 + signs came from local casinos, businesses or hotels.  It was pretty cool to see and to hear the history of these iconic places and famous people stories.  We also visited the Mob Museum; a museum about the history of the mob and mob influence in the US; a different side of history than we normally see.  The displays included lots of conspiracy theories, the most notable being that Kennedy was assassinated by the mob because he was targeting them through the Attorney Generals office. The Stratosphere is at the southern end of the old strip.  Great 360 degree views of Las Vegas.  

Slotzilla Zip Line, covered Freemont St, Las Vegas

Our last stop was Fremont Street, an enclosed street on the old strip, which is now a street entertainment venue with bands and lots of outside bars and colorful scenes along the street.  We rode (in the flying position) the zip line that goes the full length of the enclosed street.  We took the elevator to the 10^th story launch platform and zipped about a half mile over the crowds below us…. quite a different experience than zip lining over a rain forest or canyon!  



Chihuly Glass ceiling, Bellagio, Las Vegas

We also spent an evening enjoying a few of the newer, thematic casinos, on the “new” strip.  We started with the Venetian.  It is very elaborate Italian with canals throughout the casino property, inside and out, and even a St. Mark’s Square.  Our next stop was Caesar’s Palace; very Romanesque, with lots of roman columns.  The Bellagio was the most artistic; the entire lobby ceiling is made of Chihuly glass, worth $50 million dollars  (we went to the incredible Chihuly museum in Seattle last year)!   They have a beautiful greenhouse/ conservatory full of gorgeous flowers under a high glass roof….beautiful. Paris, a tribute to Paris, France, hosts the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triumph, and Versailles.   The inside is a little dark, with an at-dusk sky painted on the ceiling meant to be romantic.  After dinner, we watched two street shows:  the Bellagio water show and a volcano eruption at the Mirage.  We were disappointed that we couldn’t see the Treasure Island Pirate Show, a favorite, which was cancelled about 1 year ago. It was a fun evening, just walking and people watching.  

Eiffel Tower, Paris, Las Vegas

Gondola on Canal, INSIDE The Venetian, Las Vegas

Death Valley, CA

We next headed to Death Valley National Park, CA, the largest park, by area, in the continental US.  Although we were early to Great Basin (snow not yet melted), we were late to the Death Valley season.  Much of the park was already closed and summer hours (off season) were in effect.  We were very lucky; instead of the usual 100+ degree weather, we had mid 80s weather.  This was very different from our prior visit to Death Valley in 1986; we took a cross-country tent camping trip with Rob as we moved from New Jersey to Sacramento.  We visited Death Valley during the day when it was over 120 degrees (you could cook an egg on your car hood).  We visited Dante’s Peak at night to see the stars, but even then it was HOT.   When we got down from Dante’s Peak, the only place in the entire valley to cool off was the Furnace Creek Saloon. It was the only place with cold drinks and air conditioning and was packed even at midnight.  There were no rooms available, so we continued to drive all night; it was much too hot to camp or sleep in the car. Just for old time’s sake this trip, we did indulge a cold beverage at the “new” saloon. 

Artist Pallet, Death Valley, CA

We enjoyed traveling the mostly deserted park; Furnace Creek, camped at Stove Pipe Wells, the Ubehebe Crater, and the two highest points on either side of the valley: Aguereberry Point on the west and Dante’s Point on the east.  Interestingly, Dante’s Point is directly above Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the continental US, at 282 feet below sea level; the elevation contrast was awesome.  Artist Drive is a beautiful drive past colorful rocks; Artist’s Pallet, the culmination of the drive, has all kinds of colored rocks mixed together in one small area.  The effect of elevation on temperature was quite evident in Death Valley.  In the valley, the temperature was hotter (mid 80s) than the surrounding mountains; mid 70s at 4000 feet and low 60s at 7000 feet elevation.    

Trona Pinnacles, Trona, CA

Our last desert stop was “boondocking” at Trona Pinnacles, CA. The pinnacles are designated a NNL (National Natural Landscape) by the NPS.  To camp there, we drove 7 miles on a dirt road, parked wherever we wanted,  and set up the motorhome (including our solar panels).  We were the only people there and spent a very silent night under a remarkable clear starry sky. The pinnacles are tufa columns, some as high at 140 feet, that originally formed underwater from calcium carbonate precipitation, between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, in Searles Lake (now a dry basin). These unusual formations have been used in a variety of movies  including Battleship Galactica, Star Trek V, Dinosaur, Lost in Space and Planet of the Apes. The formations are beautiful in the setting sun.  As a note, Great Basin NP, Death Valley NP, Trona Pinnacles NNL, and even Las Vegas are all in the basin and range formations of the Great Basin.   

Desert Night Sky (NPS Photo)

One of the more interesting features of the many remote places we have visited are the “dark skies”.  Several of the national parks are now promoting dark skies as a way to see the stars, planets, and other astronomical features.  We are very familiar with the darkest skies; while cruising our sailboat,  hundreds of miles out to sea, and no moon, you have VERY dark skies.  Some of the more remote parks (Big Bend TX, Canyonlands UT, Capital Reef UT, Death Valley CA, Natural Bridges UT, etc) are so far removed from city lights, that you can see a wonderful starry sky.  Most of the people living in the US have never seen such a beautiful sky, and we are very supportive of this National Parks effort.    

Our next destination is the mountains and national parks of the Sierra Nevada in California.  More to follow. Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.   

Best to all,

Linda and Bob  

 

 

 

 

5/13/17 Caverns, Canyons, Sand Dunes and SciFi (New Mexico)

Carlsbad Cavern Formation, NM

While we were camped at Guadeloupe National Park, TX (see out last blog), we visited Carlsbad Caverns in NM.  They are close to each other and run by the same unit of the National Park Service.  Similar to the Guadeloupe Mountains, the topside of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in the Chihuahua Desert of southern New Mexico / northern West Texas.  It features high ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus.  We hiked quite a few spring fed canyons to hopefully see some wildlife, but only saw a few rabbits and lots of lizards, snakes and birds.  

Steep Switchback Trail into Natural Entrance

Carlsbad Caverns National Park has over 119 caves, all formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone (old sea beds), leaving behind caverns of all sizes.  We entered the original “Natural Entrance”, a steep 1.25 mile tour that follows the original explorer’s route.  The route drops 750 feet down a tall and spacious passage, the Main Corridor.  Alternatively, you can take an elevator down rather than take the 1.5 hour hike in.  If you are in good health, the Natural Entrance tour brings you to parts of the cave you would not otherwise see:  Bat Cave, Devils Spring, Green Lake Overlook and the Boneyard, a complex maze of highly-dissolved limestone that looks like swiss cheese.  You also pass Iceberg Rock, a single 200,000 ton boulder that fell from the cave ceiling.   

Small Park of Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns

The main visitor area, the Big Room or the Hall of the Giants, is the largest single cave chamber, by volume, in North America.  It is the largest chamber in Carlsbad Caverns; it almost 4000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high.  The 1.25 mile trail is relatively flat and some of it is wheel chair accessible so that anyone can see its wonders.   Stalactites (from the roof down), stalagmites (from the floor up), columns (stalactites meeting stalagmites) , drapes (large wavy stalactite type forms from the roof) , and all other cave formations types in all sizes can be seen.  As usual, many of the larger formations are named, although many times you cannot understand how it was names??  We saw the rope ladder used by the explorers in 1924, and the rickety stairs and difficult paths taken by the first tourists.   Much of the cave is not accessible to visitors and there are still some unexplored areas left!   

Candle Lantern Tour, Left Hand Tunnel

In addition to the Natural Entrance and Big Room visit, we took a special guided tour, Left Turn Tunnel,  down through an unimproved section of the cave on dirt trails using only candle lit lanterns. There were some steep, slippery sections, made more difficult by the very low light level. We navigated around cavern pools and fragile formations, trying not to touch them as we passed.   It was very cool to visit the caverns as the early visitors would have seen the cave.  We highly recommend this tour. 

 

Bob and Linda with Candle Lantern

Everywhere we have visited, we are struck by the challenges the early tourists in the late 1800s and early 1900s endured to visit these natural wonders.   The early tourists had incredible difficulties, first to reach such remote places and then to actually visit and see these wonders; they must have really wanted to see them.   

Bats exiting Cave, Dusk, Carlsbad Caverns (NPS photo)

We made sure to see the Bat Flight exit the cave at dusk.  We were lucky to be there after some of the bats had returned from their annual winter migration, usually about mid to late April.  Seventeen species of bats live in the caves, including a large number of Mexican free-tailed bats.  Studies have shown as many as a 750,000 bats in the cave in recent years, but there were only about 200,000 when we visited; many of bats had not yet returned from migration.  The bats started to “boil” out of the cave right at dusk, and incredibly, were still coming out in droves 35 minutes later.  They fly up in a spiral pattern, which looked similar to a tornado.  They head out to hunt insects for food and water and can travel up to 60 miles away during their nightly flight.   Photographs are not allowed since any type of electronic device which emits either light or an electronic signal, can cause changes in bat behavior.   

Bob on rim of sinkhole, Bottomless Lakes State Pk, NM

We drove north to Bottomless Lakes State Park, near Roswell, NM.  This was the first state park established in NM.  The unique lakes in this park are sinkholes, ranging in depth from 17 to 90 feet.   The greenish-blue color created by aquatic plants give the lakes the illusion of greater “bottomless” depth.  The nine small, deep lakes are located along the eastern escarpment of the Pecos River Valley.  The escarpment is part of an ancient shallow sea limestone reef, similar to the limestone mountains of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadeloupe Mountains. High evaporation rates in the shallow seas formed gypsum in limestone which is easily dissolved by underground water percolating through the rocks resulting in sinkholes and lakes.  The present-day high evaporation rate produces brackish (salty) water in the lakes. Only 2 of the lakes support fish and the fish are very small with the largest being about 4 inches long.  We camped at Lee Lake, the largest lake and the only one in which recreation is allowed and is heavily used by Roswell residents and SCUBA divers.  It was an excellent camping base from which to spend a day in Roswell.   

"Alien" lightpost, Roswell, NM

Linda is an avid science fiction fan; therefore, Roswell was a must stop while in New Mexico.  The International UFO Museum and Research Center focuses not only on the events surrounding the UFO crash in 1947, but also other related UFO phenomena:  crop circles, alien abductions, Area 51, ancient peoples artifacts showing “space ships and aliens”, etc.   

 

 

 

 

 

Sketch by Nurse of "alien" beings

Most of the museum is about the events of July 4 through July 9, 1947.  A UFO crashed just north of town.  Detailed investigations of the events and cover-up, conducted during the early 1990s, are the basis of the information provided at the museum.  Many people witnessed the crash, including the control tower at the army air base, which recorded the crash on radar.  The debris, covering three football fields, was found the next day, along with 5 “small, childlike, non-human bodies”.  Mr. Brazel, the rancher who found the debris, brought it to the sheriff, who notified the Intelligence Officer at the base.  Personnel from the army converged on the site and shut down access to everyone.  Then the cover up started:  the military claimed it was a “weather balloon”.  However, everyone at the base who was involved in the events, were quickly dispersed to other bases around the county.  Local, non-military, people were visited by military personnel, who threaten their lives and family’s lives if they talked about the events and what they saw.  The radio station was threatened with loss of license if they published anything about the events.  Several significant witnesses “disappeared” and were declared dead by the military.    

In 1990, there were many eye witnesses that were still alive and they felt compelled to talk about the events and subsequent cover-up during renewed investigations.  Our culture has changed during those 40 years to allow people to feel comfortable to now talk; these witnesses talked about their own personal observations, their interviews were videotaped, and they signed affidavits as to the events.  If you believe the scientific evidence (metallurgy of the metal from the crash site, etc.) and the eye witness testimonies, you would come to the following conclusion:  “something” did crash in Roswell, the metal is unknown even today, 5 child-sized “alien” beings were recovered, and the remains and debris shipped elsewhere.  

Published Picture of "weather balloon"

The most interesting evidence for a “cover-up” comes from the “weather balloon” picture disseminated by the military at that time and widely published in the newspaper.  In the picture of the “weather balloon”, taken in a military office, the military officer showing the “balloon”  has a piece of paper in his hand.  When it was enlarged and read, the paper is a telex/telegram to Washington, marked urgent and confidential, and states they have recovered flying saucer crash debris and alien beings!  So much for honesty.  Many of the witnesses confirm an UFO crash.  The rest of the museum is dedicated to other UFO events and information:  early people recordings of alien beings and spaceships, crop circles and people abductions.  As you go through the museum, you see much of the evidence is quite compelling…  Linda believes it is very probable that we are not alone and are being constantly visited by other beings, Bob is more skeptical.  

We spent the rest of the day in Roswell enjoying more “earthly” pursuits.  We visited two excellent modern art museums, and then spent some time at the Pecos Flavor Winery tasting some New Mexico wines.  It turns out they have a lot of wineries in New Mexico, many located by Los Cruses, and the wines are surprisingly good.  We skipped the expected sweet white wines, but there is a very good dry Riesling, and some of the reds are very good.  We enjoyed an Italian montepulciano, Syrah, and a petit Syrah, but the Zinfandel was a little too sweet for us.   The music was excellent, so we stayed for a glass after our tasting…we chose the petit Syrah.  For you Elks, the Roswell Elks Lodge is also a good place for a less expensive refreshment and surprisingly full and good menu.  

White Sands National Monument, NM

Our next stop in New Mexico was Alamogordo to visit White Sands National Monument.  Great wave-like dunes of rare white gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert.  The monument preserves most of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that live there.  We camped at the near-by Holloman AFB. 

Ten thousand years ago, when the Ice Age was over, the climate in the area became drier, and a large inland sea dried up.  Selenite crystals, formed beneath the clay and silt surface of the dried up sea, eventually became exposed.  The large selenite crystals broke up into smaller chunks, finally turning into sand.  The tiny grains are picked up by the wind and bounce along the desert floor, constantly moving to the northeast, eventually forming the famous white dunes.  

Sand Dunes and Mountain Snow, White Sands NM

We enjoyed a short one day visit and picnic lunch in the dunes, drove through the dramatic landscape and hiked the boardwalk to experience the local flora.  It was quite a contrast to see the white sand dunes highlighted against the snow caped mountains….a true sand and snow comparison.  Interestingly, a lot of people were riding down the dunes using snow saucers – to complete the comparison to snow!  

After Albuquerque we knew we would be many miles away from the next major repair center so we made a short unexpected trip to the Albuquerque Cummins Service Center to get our engine check engine light checked out.  Luckily, it turned out to be a minor, quickly repaired item (replaced the EGR Valve), so we ended up with some unexpected time.  We decided to take an overnight diversion on our trip to Nevada, with a quick one-half day visit to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in eastern Arizona, in the Navajo Nation.  The monument is run jointly by the Navajo Nation and the National Park Service.  

Pueblo Ruins, Canyon de Chelly, AZ

The Canyon de Chelly Visitor Center was only OK… mostly about Navajo History and not much about the canyon itself. However, this proved to be very relevant information since, for almost 5000 years, people have lived in this incredibly beautiful canyon longer than recorded anywhere on the Colorado Plateau. The archeologic record indicates the settlement history as: first the Archaic peoples (2500-200 BCE), Basketmakers (200 BCE – CE 700), Pueblos (750-1300), Hopi (1300-1600), and the Navajo (1700-present).   

Canyon del Chelly National Monument, AZ

Linda, Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly, AZ

The narrow canyon itself is beautiful; a verdant green canyon floor against the brilliant red 800-1000 feet high sandstone walls, with a year-round stream. It is easy to see why this was a desired settlement location for almost 5000 years.   Throughout the canyon, you can find Pueblo ruins from the Pueblos people period. The Navajo still use the valley to this day, and there is a lot of agriculture in the valley, and small family farm homesteads.   It is definitely worth a stop, and deserves a lot more time than our diversion allowed including taking a Navajo guided jeep tour of the canyon floor.  Unfortunately, we were not able to do the tour.   

 

We headed north for a two day trip to Great Basin National Park, NV. More to follow. Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.   

Best,

Linda and Bob