January 29, 2005; El Paso, Texas

A call the night before had yielded me a place to stay with Barb and family in El Paso, Texas. Barb is one of mom’s childhood friends and lives with husband Tom and daughters Risë and Miriam. Suddenly, Texas wasn’t looking so bad.

So the final destination was El Paso. A quick look at the map also revealed the Guadalupe Mountains and the Carlsbad Caverns in the area. Another side-trip was hastily formulated.

The sun hit the road, and I followed suit in short order. I just had to cram as much into the day as possible and still arrive in El Paso before nightfall. Due to time constraints (weird) I largely overlooked the Guadalupe Mountains (picture). Besides, they were just another range by this point. Off to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

I ended up taking the path down rather than the elevator; good choice. Plaques at the front of the cavern told of the hundreds of thousands of bats that left the cave nightly. My skin crawled; I felt naked without my Louisville Slugger. I hate those little rats with wings.

Despite the bat issue, the decent was amazing. 750 feet of switchbacks and spectacular views brought me to the unguided tour; squeezing through tight passages and meandering through gigantic rooms. The views were filled with draperies, stalactites, stalagmites, and the elusive stalactit. What an honor.

Before leaving Carlsbad I enjoyed the second half of my roadwich.Shortly before dusk I was in El Paso. Where i was treated to an unusually good salad and the best grilled salmon I had ever tasted. Complements Tom and Barb.