We checked out of our hotel and planned to s kip breakfast and just have an early lunch on our way out of town. I needed to pick up some toiletries at the grocery store and we went to Albertson's Grocery Store, a chain of stores out west. When we got inside, Randy said I'll meet you back here (at the checkout) so I went on and got my stuff and headed back to the front. I thought he was probably buying something to snack on for the afternoon. I waited. I looked around the checkout area and I waited. And I waited. El Paso is right at the border crossing at Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. Many people whose papers are in order cross over to do their shopping and then return to Juarez and it seemed that most of the folks in this particular grocery store were from Juarez because no English was being spoken. Announcements over the public address system were in Spanish. I sent Randy a text message saying "Are you still here? I no speakie the Spanish". I got no reply. I was afraid to leave my spot, afraid that he would appear and wonder where I was. I waited. Finally when I was wondering how I would be able to get back home because I surely had been abandoned, he appeared! He had been in the pharmacy trying to get some allergy medication and had to wait to speak to the pharmacist who was busy with an elderly woman. What a relief!
We left Albertson's and headed to the border. It was pretty amazing.
The river there is almost non-existent. There are a series of fences on the border.... one on the side of Mexico and two on the side of the US with a road in between that the border patrol drives on. They are installing a huge fence that looks 12 to 15 feet tall along the side closest to the US. Randy and I were discussing this... is this any way to have a neighbor?? Our solution is to PUT PRESSURE ON THE GOVERNMENT OF OUR BORDERING COUNTRY AND THOSE TO THE SOUTH OF IT SO THAT THEY CHANGE THEIR WAYS SO THAT THEIR PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO LEAVE! Then we can have borders with Mexico the same as we have with Canada. You don't have to agree with me but it's just how I feel. My life here would have to be pretty miserable before I would consider leaving my country and my family and going somewhere else to live. Now, off the soapbox and back to the trip....
 |
| Border Patrol Headqarters |
 |
| Cross-over from Cuidad Juarez |
 |
| Cellular Tower Tree |
 |
| Large sculpture on Mexico's border side |
We left Saddle Blanket and headed toward Carlsbad, NM. I could remember hearing about the Carlsbad Caverns when I was in elementary school and my Aunt Pauline had visited there when she and her husband, Bill were on vacation. The thoughts of caverns and caves have always fascinated me and I just couldn't wait to see them. This was a deviation from our original plan but the more we looked online about it, the more we looked forward to seeing them.
I had my old road atlas on my lap... it was 14 years old but the main roads were still on there and as we drove along I felt that I knew about how long it would take us to get from point A to point B. Before long there was another Border Patrol Station where we were required to stop. The young guard was outgoing and friendly. After he ascertained that we were US citizens, he asked where we were heading and we said, "To Carlsbad Caverns". He saw my map and said, "I hope you know that map isn't going to be any good for the next 14 miles." I was puzzled and said, "It's 14 years old and probably isn't very accurate anyway". He said, "Oh, it's still accurate here... you just won't have a turn off for over 14 miles." We all had a good laugh but as it turned out, he was absolutely right. There was not a path or driveway for more than 14 miles. In fact, you couldn't see anything of any kind other than desert, brush and scrub.
Eventually we did pass a road but for the most part, the entire trip to Carlsbad was empty land. There were signs offering land for sale, lots of land for sale. We couldn't figure out how people would have electricity or water that far out.
Eventually we came to El Capitan which is part of the Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico....
We passed the park entrance and were only about 17 or 18 miles away from Carlsbad. We drove on into the Carlsbad Cavern Park and got our bearings about the place. The drive in was just beautiful with all of the cactus plants in bloom. The rose-like flowers of purple and yellow against the mountains were a welcome bit of color in the otherwise colorless landscape. You learned quickly to appreciate subtle colors of sage and veins of colors in the mountain rock formations.
The weather for the next few days was expected to be clear and hot, in the upper nineties (hot for us for May). But as they say, it's a dry heat. This means that you sweat freely and it dries quickly. After being in the air conditioned car for a few hours, the heat was like a slap in the face. The Park Center was cool and inviting. We got information from the Park Rangers and then headed into town to our hotel. We found an enormous Chinese Buffet for dinner and made our plans for the next day. We planned to be at the front of the line when the park opened at 8:00 am. We wanted to beat the crowds and have a leisure look at the caverns.
