As we made the transition from Texas to New Mexico, we noticed that Vincent was making a new and exciting knocking noise. Not all the time, but specifically when we were accelerating uphill (which is not Vincent's forte to begin with). Ryan got out and futzed around under the van for awhile, then decided to chance it and push forward, as there wasn't likely to be a VW mechanic until Albuquerque.
So, we pushed forward.
We parked at Guadalupe National Park long enough to look around, but Ryan was bugging about the noise, and besides, we were racing the clock to get to Carlsbad Caverns before they closed for the day. So we zipped through, and knocked and banged our way to the Caverns.
Again, the National Parks pass got us in for free. I misunderstood the maps- I thought you had to choose from one of two tours. This is not true! They connect! I recommend descending through the main cavern entrance and taking the elevator UP after doing all of the underground trails- you get to traverse nearly three miles of caves, and you're over 750 feet below the surface. The climate in the caves is very humid, but the temperature is around 56F.
These caverns, which are large enough to park an airplane, were created by leaching through ancient limestone beds (unlike Mammoth Cave, which was created by an underground river). We happened to be walking behind a group of geology students, so we're now familiar with terms like "speleotheme" and "cave broccoli."
After three hours underground, we were not prepared for the dry desert air, but there it was. Back into Vincent, and we thumped and cranked our way to Roswell.
Roswell is a town that is dedicated, for certain. Aliens are in every corner, watching your every move. I LOVED IT. I love full, unabashed dedication to kitsch. I'm also fascinated with the paranormal, and when the two come together, you have my attention.
Our first stop was to fuel up on some pretty amazing steak and jalapeno margaritas at Pepper's. As you'll recall, it had been awhile since we'd had a full meal, so we more or less stopped short of licking the plates. We also discovered there was no camping available, but! In Roswell, you can get a very decent hotel room for $30.
The next day was dedicated to museum-hopping. First, of course, the Roswell UFO Museum. If you go, be prepared to read a lot... and you'll WANT to read a lot. Also, the place is dog-friendly, so I got to meet a nice pibble named Sophia.
After the UFO museum, we analyzed the information we received over chicken-fried bacon sandwiches at the Cowboy Cafe. If you go to Roswell, try not to miss this place.
Then it was on to the Contemporary Art Museum, which is both free and huge. We had a special treat, too - a pianist was practicing for a recital that evening, so we enjoyed a free preview while we took in some amazing pieces of various media. The residents at Roswell have a very evocative viewpoint that really raised some thoughts and questions about the role of art and society in general.
We managed to score a camping spot at the very popular Bottomless Lakes park, which was another thump bump out into the desert from Roswell. After a quick dip in Lake Lea, we settled in for dinner, accompanied by some desert bunnies. We had picked up some local tortillas and guacamole at the store in Roswell, and added some cheese and salad and seasoned chicken to have some really tasty burritos as the sun set.
In the middle of the night, I awoke to a really strange smell. My first inclination was indigestion, but then I stuck my head out the window to discover the smell was EVERYWHERE. Geology was at it again! Gypsum and limestone and rain had combined to create was is often described as a "foul egg" smell. Once I discovered this was natural and expected, I calmed down and fell back asleep.
The next morning we took a hike on the mountain biking trail. It was a very flat trail, due to being in the desert, but the view seemed endless.
White Sands was created by layers and layers of gypsom deposits as sea levels rose and fell. As a National Monument, you can drive through them, walk through them, and oh yeah- sled down them. You can buy sleds and wax in the gift shop, and head to it. Word of the wise: The sleds do not go super fast (which was 100% fine with me - that's my biggest fear about sledding).
We packed a LOT of fun into White Sands, but Ryan really wanted to get to Valley of Fires to camp for the night, so we had to head off.
Remember how I had said the weather looked fine? Well, um...
Things started looking a little hairy as we clang-banged our way to Valley of Fires, so we put a little hustle into just picking a camp spot and parking. Since I was driving, I chose the spot, and at first, Ryan was really unimpressed. It was a hillside spot, facing over the valley, with a ledge behind us, which meant serious wind tunnel action. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but we got to watch several storm fronts pass in front of us!
In fact, we were up most of the night watching lightning and listening to distant thunder. Through some sort of desert/mountain juju, we experienced very little of the storm at our location, and instead got to watch everything crash around below us in the valley. It was pretty spectacular.
The next morning, though, we had little energy to hike the Valley of Fires, which is so named because it is covered in lava flows from a nearby cauldera (more geology). Though you might expect lava flows to be barren and kinda creepy, these are thriving with foliage that grows in the cracks where water collects, and filled with critters who enjoy sun and shade. (There is also a significant population of ground bees, so watch your step!)
The next stop was Albuquerque, where we hoped to have a shower and a doctor's visit for Vincent. We quite literally stumbled upon the Green Jeans complex, where we enjoyed devilishly hot cheeseburgers and tongue-cooling beers.
After securing a hotel that had a laundry facility, we toured around to three fantastic breweries: La Cubre, Marble, and Quarter Celtic. I completely forgot to take pictures at Quarter Celtic, because I was completely engrossed in their Scotch Egg and a corned beef sandwich!
The next day, I spent the entire day in the laundry room of the hotel, while Ryan spent the entire day with the mechanics, playing around with Vincent's CV joints. The good news was that I had wi-fi, so I watched a lot of MST3K and drank Diet Coke until about 4pm.
At that point, we were both starving, and Ryan was in a foul mood due to Vincent's latest doctor bill, so we hit another brewery. This time, we hit up Alien, and I had some beautiful, beautiful nachos, and this Monk's Tripel small batch beer that was so, so good (I had two of them).
On our way out of town, Ryan suggested we listen to some "good tunes" to put him in a better mood. I'm really sorry for the citizens of Albuquerque who drive with their windows down, 'cos we were belting it out for several miles.
It was pretty dark when we found camping at Jemez Springs that night, but we had enough light and power to pick out some major hikes for the next day.
The first hike was a warm-up to Jemez Falls. Short hike, but kind of intense!
I had not taken the altitude into consideration, so when I say the hike left me breathless, it was equal parts altitude and the fantastic view. As you can imagine, I approached the next hike - the nearly 3 mile Upper Frijoles Trail - with a great deal of trepidation.
Only to find it was perfectly fine. It's a slight slight downhill to the lip of the canyon, then a slight slight uphill back to the trailhead. I enjoyed it immensely, and it gave our bodies time to acclimate to the altitude. While I was huffing and puffing, Ryan was getting dizzy and faint. Altitude can be a creepy little bugger!
Next, we wanted to check out the ruins at Bandalier National Monument. We were kinda dismayed to see that they had a mandatory shuttle, but then perked right up with the park ranger told us (after we flashed our National Parks card yet again) that there was a 2-mile hike down the canyon that would drop us right into the park. Why not!?!
Folks, this hike was amazing. It's pretty clear that it's not a very often taken path, as we were the only people on the trail, while the park itself was filled with tourists. The sun was blistering hot, but the wind had kicked up, and we went down, down, down along cliff edges, straight into the historic ruins of a Pueblo village.
We watched a short film on the ruins, and how the caveates were created, then grabbed a guide book and toured the grounds. It was fantastic, and even though I was completely and utterly exhausted from five hours of hiking, we looked at EVERYTHING.
At this point, we had been hiking for five hours, nearly seven miles, and all I had consumed was a few sips of apple juice. We opted to take the shuttle bus back up to the parking lot.
We also opted to swing through Santa Fe for our last brewery and some actual solid food. Duel was a very cool find- a brewery that celebrates art and the creation of fine Belgian beers. I coerced Ryan into a double-sized charcuterie, because as we've learned- charcuterie is one of my true loves. But it was SO worth it.
And then, just like that, we were out of the state of geological- and gastronomical - fascination!
