FROM THE DESERT TO THE JUNGLE

           

           We left the land of enchantment and entered the wasteland that is West Texas.  The endless flat fields of Texas spread to the horizon.  Except for that which lies beneath the surface, they seem to be worthless, populated only by oil pumps  and tanks.  The landscape looks like it is full of prehistoric animals.  The two lane road with its ridiculously high speed limit was filled with dusty pickups loaded with tools and oil field equipment.  At times, we thought we were back in Mexico.  Drivers created a third lane on the rough road by driving halfway on the shoulder.  This gave room for faster traffic to pass while straddling the broken white line.

            Our first stop was at Monahans Sandhills State Park.  Texas has an excellent state park system.  The attraction here is the sand dunes.  Thousands of years ago, this semi-arid area was much wetter than it is today.  Erosion of silt and sand from the southern Rocky Mountains was deposited by streams and rivers on the Pecos flood plain. 

  Some 25,000 years ago, the climate became drier and the streams dried up and left the deposits to the mercy of the winds that continually sweep across the region.  The resulting dunes, some as high as 70 feet, stretch 200 miles across New Mexico and Texas.  Today, even though the area is semi-arid, it does receive some rainfall and windmills attest to the groundwater that lies beneath the surface.

            Our final stop on the homeward journey was at Rocky Springs Campground on the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. 

  The Trace was one of the most traveled highways in the old American Southwest.  President Jefferson designated a road to be built between Nashville, TN and Natchez, MS.  It followed a trail used for thousands of years by animals and Native Americans and provided an overland route from the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers to the Mississippi.  This was especially important for northbound traffic. 

With the arrival of the steamboat, the route fell into disuse.  In many places, you can see where the road cut through the forests.  You can walk in the footsteps of people who traveled its path for centuries.  Giant trees that were saplings back then shade the trail.  Other trees that were witness to the journeys of men now gone, like those people, lie dead on the ground.

             So, 9500 miles, four months, one week and two days later, Shore Leave is home where the jungle is trying to reclaim its own.  That's one thing about a travel trailer, it doesn't have a lawn to mow.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD (AND BELOW) IN NEW MEXICO

I really don’t know how New Mexico was different from Arizona, but we were hooked!  We headed for Las Cruces and free camping on Bureau of Land Management property.  Happily, our first choice for camping ended with a flat tire.  A bit discouraged, we headed to Aguirre Springs Campground, another BLM site, not free, but only $12 ($6 for us since we have a senior pass).  To get there, we drove up a very curvy road peppered with switchbacks. 

The Pod is up there somewhere

As we climbed higher and higher, a bare rock formation came to dominate the view. It stood out against the rock covered peaks that surrounded it.  I thought it resembled a bas relief of an elephant’s head, Kathleen thought it looked like a whale.

What a lucky turn of events.  Our campsite offered no amenities like water or electricity but it more than made up for that with a view worth a million dollars.  We were perched hundreds of feet above the plain.  Sunsets and sunrises were spectacular.  We could see White Sands 30 miles away.  Only the full moon and the stars provided light at night.  This was perhaps the best campsite ever!

We drove to White Sands National Monument where gypsum has washed down from the San Andre Mountains for eons.

The wind has blown the deposits into snow white dunes that stretch for miles.  The area is prone to high winds that continually reshape the unreal landscape.  When it blows, the gypsum is whipped into plumes hundreds of feet in the air.  The resulting dunes provide great slopes for sledding.

A few miles south of White Sands is the picturesque community of Mesilla.  The plaza there is a classic Mexican/New Mexico plaza.   

With a church on one end and surrounded by historic buildings, the plaza provides a peaceful park for sitting with friends or for strolling.  It is very much like the small town plazas we saw throughout Mexico.  The town is an interesting collection of old buildings rooted in the 19^th century.  It is a laid back place, comfortable with yesterday and in no hurry for today.

Our last stop in New Mexico was Carlsbad Caverns.  The entrance to the cave is found high in the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains were formed millions of years ago when the area was covered by a sea.  A great reef developed at the edges of this sea.  Tectonic action uplifted the region and the sea disappeared.  The reef remained, towering 3000 feet above plain.  Over time, acidic water draining through the fissures in the rocky structure of the ancient reef dissolved much of the rock.  The fissures grew until the structure could no longer support itself and it caved in.  Then, cave-in after cave-in constantly enlarged the cave.     

We live near Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and have visited there many times.  Water plays a role in the development of all caves.  In the case of Mammoth cave, it is moving water that scoured out the passages.  However, in Carlsbad dripping water caused breakdowns.  This dripping water is also responsible for the fantastic formations that fill the cave. 

The sheer size of Carlsbad is mind-boggling.  Rooms easily stretch over a hundred feet and tower 30,40,50 feet overhead.  The formations give a completely eerie ambiance to the whole thing.  Phantasmagorical is the only word that describes the feeling.  

 I have been in many caves but Carlsbad is perhaps the most beautiful and awesome cave I have ever toured.

WELCOME HOME (ALMOST)!

            Welcome home!  Well almost, just another 1800 miles to go.  After more than 6 weeks and 3500 miles in Mexico, we arrived in Nogales, Arizona.  Nature knows no national borders and the terrain did not change dramatically.  We still had broad, empty plains surrounded by bleak peaks.  The Sonoran Desert straddles Mexico and Arizona and it was in full bloom!  We enjoyed plants we had never seen before.  We marveled at the many colors of cactus blossoms. 

 

We were many miles from the nearest sea shore, but the desert has its own version of “driftwood” and it takes the shape of many strange creatures.

            In Tombstone, we had a glimpse into the lives of Wyatt Earp, his brothers and “Doc” Holliday and learned about their famous gunfight at the OK Coral.  

 

We had lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon where the waiters pack six-shooters and waitresses coiffed with feathers in their hair wear corsets à la Miss Kitty.  The gravestones on Boot Hill memorialize the various causes of death for those buried there—“killed,” “murdered,” “hanged” etc.

            As we pushed further east, we entered the “Land of Enchantment.”  We were indeed enchanted by New Mexico.  Our first stop was at Rock Hound State Park, a few miles from Deming.  Our campsite was perched several hundred feet above the surrounding plain. 

The forces of erosion have forced the mountain to give up bits and pieces of its surface.  Among those bits and pieces are semi-precious gemstones.  Hikers are free to collect any that they find.  We know nothing about the appearance of gemstones in the rough, but we picked up rocks that looked interesting to us.  The real attraction was the view.  

After weeks of admiring distant mountains from valleys and plains, we could actually sit and watch sunsets and moon-rises from our perch in the sky.

            The exceptional museum in Deming is filled with fabulous collections of everything from dolls and toys to bells to hatpins to memorabilia of every kind. 

Its displays of Native art and life are extensive and beautifully arranged.  The town itself boasts many buildings from the late 19^th and early 20^th century.