HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY!!!
We woke up to overcast skies with a 10 mph breeze. After a very relaxing morning at RV Doc’s, we packed up and left Las Cruces at 11:50am on our way to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.
Las Cruces is a very beautiful town. I did not realize the history of the town and its surroundings till I picked up a visitors guide this morning. I wish we could have stayed a little longer, but we have to follow our trip plan.
It seems strange but to get to the caverns, we have to exit New Mexico to into Texas then back up into New Mexico.
It only took us about 20 minutes to enter into Texas. Yep, just like I was told….it’s FLAT.
On one side of I-10 is El Paso, the other side is Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.
Cuidad Juarez, Mexico
Our navigation software let us down. Directions from Las Cruces to Carlsbad had us make a detour into the city of El Paso and than back onto the freeway. Trust me, we were not happy when we were navigated to make a U turn in town and get back onto the freeway. The only good thing about it was this picture of the Trolley.
Trolley in El Paso
I have taken over 50 pictures from El Paso,TX to Carlsbad, NM. Most of them were taken outside of El Paso on highway 180. It may seem confusing reading today’s blog, but you do have to travel from New Mexico to Texas back into New Mexico to get to the Carlsbad Caverns.
It’s a long, long road to the Caverns
Wallacetown, TX
Town of Salt Flat w/Guadalupe Mtn. range in background
Salt Flats and Guadalupe Mtns.
Rising from the Chihuahuan Desert just thirty-five miles south of Carlsbad Caverns is the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. El Capitan, an 8085 foot monolithic landmark can be seen for fifty miles. It is not however the highest mountain. That distinction belongs to nearby Guadalupe Peak at 8749 feet.
Guadalupe Mountains
Vista of the valley floor
We stayed in White’s City,NM, which is about 4 miles south of the caverns. “White’s City RV Park & Resort was rustic, but had full hook-ups, no cable, and the hotel nearby had Free Wi-Fi.
History of the town:
White's City is in Eddy County, on US 62 and US 180. It's near the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
About 1927, Charlie White from Kentucky homesteaded land south of Carlsbad and started a small store with a gas filling station. This grew into a large tourist and trading center and became known as White's City. Some of Mr. White's descendants continue the business. There are two motels and a large camping area including a recreation vehicle park and a grassy tent area--restaurants, gift shop featuring Indian jewelry, laundromat, grocery store, a museum, and an opera house to mount melodramas. Also there is a swimming pool and a playground for the children.
White’s City, NM
Big Red and Taylor at White’s City RV Park
We did not arrive early enough to tour the Caverns. So, we drove up there and did some site seeing. The caverns are a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats. Gee…guess what they named the cave?...“Bat Cave”, which has an amphitheater. The ranger told us Bat Cave is most active between May – October, where a thick whirlwind of bats spiral out of the cave up into the darkening sky, toward the southeast to feed in Pecos and Black River valleys. The exodus can last as long at 2 ½ hours.
Currently, the majority of the bats have migrated to warmer climates, but we were told if you arrive at the cave between 5:45pm – 6:15pm we would able to experience the exodus on a smaller scale.
Bat Cave w/ Amp.
Bats
As we were departing from Bat Cave, we were fortunate
One of the benefits of staying for the exodus of the bats, we were able to catch a beautiful sunset.
Big Red w/ Sunset at Carlsbad Caverns
Sunset at Carlsbad Caverns
