BBB Day 26

March 21

Hiked 3.5 miles

We bid farewell to Davis Mountain, but not before we saw another Life Bird; we think it’s a Black Hawk, but need to do some more research:

We needed a new state, so decided to head up to New Mexico for a diversion. As we left, we passed through Wild Rose Pass, with nary a rose, except for the artificial ones people have affixed to bushes:

But we did see wild pigs!

Things were much greener as we headed north a bit, and we saw our first oil drills in a long time:

Then, we also saw water drills and signs for Water for Sale. But mostly everything was being converted to oil rigs. The town of Pecos also was partially prosperous (the white pickups we are finding synonymous with the oil workers are everywhere) and partially derelict (businesses long closed stay abandoned; land must be cheap).

We had our first glimpse of the Guadelupe Mountains (a visit for another trip):

and went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Wow. We went in to “The Big Room” and spent hours walking around and taking pictures of the beautiful formations. This is the most impressive cave we’ve been in:

Gorgeous.

We took the drive north to Brantley State Park, and stayed in this lovely and cheap ($14) place with a view of the reservoir and fun French-Canadian as our neighbours.

Here’s the view from my chair: