The last two days, we were in Las Cruces.   We arrived the Monday night and did laundry!  There was a nice dog park there and Ernie had a nice time running around and playing with two puppies until they wore him out.  So, with all our chores done, we spent the Tuesday exploring.  There is a small section of Las Cruces, called Old Mesilla.   In the mid 1800’s the governor of Mexico City sent citizens to settle a town, many of the buildings are still there.  We walked around a bit, visited the church and I bought a pair of boots.  

Then we went to see the roadrunner sculpture made completely from recycled materials.  It is high on the side of the mountain.   That’s when we witnessed a dust storm.  I took some pictures and you can see how dark it is and the pictures that are bright are taken just next to the dust storm.  It is a very specific space the dust storm covers.  While we were driving into Las Cruces there were groups of signs on the highway about what to do in a dust storm.  Pull off the road, shut your engine, turn off all lights and keep your seatbelt on, I think that is in case the person pulling off behind you does not see you!

The evening we arrived in Las Cruces it was beautiful, cool and sunny.   We went to bed and at about 2 am a thunderstorm rolled in and woke me up.   It was the worst storm.  Ernie was trying to hide and I was shutting the windows.   Jerry was sleeping.  Now the criteria for a rain day to be counted is that the weather prevents us from doing what we would have done.   I am counting this storm.   It did prevent me from sleeping which is what I was planning to do. 

Today we made 3 state crossings.  We started in Las Cruces, NM and on our way to Carlsbad Caverns that is in NM it was quicker to go to Texas and then come back to NM and now we are overnighting in TX!  Sort or like NY and NJ except while crossing from NM to TX the first time near El Paso we were in spitting distance of Mexico.  I kept telling Jerry, be careful you don’t make the wrong turn I don’t want to end up having to cross back with out our passports and end up in detention.  As it was, when we were about 20 miles outside of El Paso there was a border patrol and we had to declare we were US Citizens to pass.  They did take our word for it and didn’t even want to see my driver’s license.  That’s what happens when you are an invisible senior citizen. 

Because of the route we took we drove right through the Guadalupe National Park in north TX.  We were on a timed ticket for Carlsbad Caverns so we could not stop, but the mountains were beautiful and we drove the scenic route through the park. 

We had planned to visit Carlsbad Caverns in 2020 and we all know what happened in 2020.  The day before we arrived in Carlsbad, the government shut down the parks for COVID.   We were able to drive around but could not go in the caverns or the visitor center.  I am glad we went back.   Jerry likes caves and caverns so we have visited a lot of them, Mammoth Cave in KY, Howe Cavern in NY and some small caves in MI, SD and WI.  This was by far the most impressive cave/cavern I have ever seen.  The formations looked like so many things!  I labeled the pictures that made me think of gnomes, the Sphinx and Buddha to name a few.   It took about 4 hours to drive to the Caverns and we left at 8:45, so we arrived about 12:30.  We had a sandwich in the RV and then went in the cavern.  It was the best decision.  When we arrived, there were few spaces in the parking lot.  When we went to pick up our tickets, there was no line.  When we went to take the elevator 775 feet below ground to the cavern, there was no line.  When we walked around the cavern there were very few people.   We had two hours underground walking around pretty much on our own.  When we left, they were announcing last hour for exploration.   It worked perfectly.  We were then able to drive 2 hours into TX to bring us closer to San Antonio where we will be on Friday. 

We are currently sitting in an RV park directly across the street from the Pecos, TX airport.  It is a bit noisy, but we have the best internet!  There are cell towers all over the place.