Trifter

It was a long journey to get to the caverns (181.4 miles from our apartment door in Alamogordo NM) and along the way our experiences seem to be designed to convey a special message for us.  Most of our travels have been fairly easy and camping was always without incident: not this time!  We left early Monday morning with a heighten sense of discovery.  This journey was something that we had both wanted to take for many years. And here we were on the road to Carlsbad Cavern.  We left Alamogordo in the early morning of the 21st of September.  Our route took us over NM 82 which is somewhat isolated and does not have much traffic.  It traverses a mountain chain that looks almost like a “Fairy Tale Land” of tall pines and deep green meadows.

New Mexico Route 82

After an hour of driving Jill needed to make a pit stop.  However, there are few services through these mountains so she had to wait a bit before we found a small store in Mayhill that might have a restroom.  Coming into Mayhill we spotted a little roadside store .  Much to our dismay the store windows were decorated with signs that stated, “Purchase required before use of restroom”.  In all our travels around New Mexico we had never encountered such a crass attitude towards travelers.  Jill decided she would rather wait for something more inviting.  Well that decision brought us 10  miles further and the discovery of a beautiful orchard and road side store owned by Tom and Pam Runyan.  The first thing you see is a large sign shouting “CLEAN RESTROOMS”:  an invitation to stop and take a rest. 

Notice the Restroom sign in the background

Greeting road weary travelers is Tom Runyan.  An easy going gentleman who has spent all of his life developing the Runyan orchards and ranch. Here he is surrounded by the wide variety of jams, jellies and preserves that he and his wife make at the ranch.  

Tom Runyan

And if you decide to stay awhile you can fish in the Runyan pond!

After making a few purchases we continued on our journey (we did stop there again on our way back).  We arrived in the town of Carlsbad around 1pm and pitched our 20 dollar tent in the Carlsbad RV park.  A so so park if you have an RV and absolutely awful if you are tenting.  By the time we paid the 18 dollar tent site fee and unloaded we were too tired to ask for a refund and find something else.  The tent sites were nothing more than a hot spot of gravel and there was no water to the tent sites.  The tables were falling apart and there were goats penned right next to us.  The flies were really bad.

Tent site table

View from out tent. Just on the other side of those boards is a goat pen!

That night the wind decided to blow and it was nothing short of a miracle that our tent did not rip off its anchors.  I have no idea how it managed not to be torn to shreds. Also the temperature took a nose dive; ah the fun of camping.  The next morning the wind was still blowing but not nearly as hard as during the night so I attempted to make coffee.  It was cold and the dust blowing into my eyes was torture.  And there was no way I was going to make coffee.  After about 20 minutes of waiting for the coffee pot to boil we dumped it out, tossed everything into the car and headed towards the Caverns.  We guessed that we might find a place along the way for that first morning cup of coffee.  We did!  Do you have any idea of how good a cup of hot coffee can be after a spending a night in a cold wind storm?  That had to be the best damned cup of coffee I ever had.  Of course Jill, always the dainty lady, managed to sip hers for nearly 15 minutes.  I inhaled mine in about 30 seconds!

The actual drive to the Caverns is about 20 miles south of the town of Carlsbad.  There is a small village just outside the State Park called White’s City (named after  Jim White, discoverer of the Caverns in 1898).  It is a really nice little village of tourist shops and RV parking.  It was at the White’s City Restaurant that we got our first cup of morning coffee.  The road from White’s City to the Cavern Visitor Center is really beautiful.  It is well cared for by the park service.  The road is easy to navigate and eventually you work your way up to the top of a high plateau. The view is absolutely breath taking.

View Looking out from the visitor center 

Visitor Center (Yep, that’s my gal Jill.)

The caverns are 750 feet below the surface and you get there by way of an elevator.  The following photo is of Jill going into the lobby of the elevators.  It takes one minute for the elevators to get to the bottom.

And this is what you see after getting off.

Is That Awesome or what!

There will be a second article which will describe the caverns.  I took a lot of pictures but there is simply no way any photo or words can ever describe the majesty of Carlsbad Caverns.  You just do not believe what you are looking at. 

The Journey Continues

Jill and Nevyn Campanella
Alamogordo, New Mexico

aka: Woodland Star