Friday 2/25/11

There was no way we could possibly get lonely today with towering wind turbines pin-wheeling their greetings to us for the first 110 miles of our drive, and the oil derricks nodding their acknowledgements along the subsequent 100 miles through the seemingly endless wind-bent grasslands of west Texas and eastern New Mexico (a long sentence for a very long stretch of prairie!). 

One of the few places we encountered actual people was Jal, New Mexico.  We stopped for some gas and a burrito (actually, that could also be read “a burrito and some gas” depending on how you want to look at it) at a mini-mart, and decided we were fortunate we happened to be driving a pickup since that was the only type of vehicle to be seen for many miles. Who knows?  Perhaps it is illegal to drive anything else in Jal.

Carlsbad Caverns is the largest cave in the USA.  The main room is the length of 10 football fields.  Offered the choice between riding the elevator to the bottom of Carlsbad Caverns, or walking to the bottom, it was no surprise to Cam that Karen wanted to walk.  We enjoyed our 2.5 hour self-guided tour in the 56 degree Farenheit (year round temperature) cavern.  By the time we emerged, we were pleased to step into the 75 degree sunshine and take a short walk to view the valley below the Carlsbad Cavern Information Office which sits at the high point of this region.

After deciding between the elevator v. walking to the bottom of the cave, we were not offered any additional choices for the evening.  There was only one motel available within 40 miles.  The Roadway Inn was dated, and surrounded by abandoned and decaying buildings that once served as tourist magnets, but our room was neat and clean and afforded us a comfortable night.  Dinner was a different story entirely.  Our motel manager told us that the restaurant next door (also the only restaurant in 40 miles) was “very good”.  Apparently, she is not a very discerning diner.  The only items on the menu were tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs, or an iceberg lettuce salad.   Cam made the mistake of ordering the hamburger which turned out to be the worst burger he can ever remember eating (paper-thin patty, and a bun that was burned on the grill both inside and out).  Karen opted for the “salad and grilled chicken dinner” which was nothing special, but infinitely more edible than Cam’s.  Upon preparing to leave, Cam noted some new vittles-victims perusing the menu and warned them to go hungry rather than order the hamburger.  We should have heeded the warning when we saw that the “restaurant” doubles as the local laundry service (see red bags of laundry behind Karen in the diner photo).

Notice the alien at our dinner venue?  We see this guy everywhere.  That's what happens when you are in New Mexico where the aliens visited Roswell once upon a time, I guess. (Maybe he was our cook - that would explain that horrendous hamburger)

We drove 388 miles today.