more to explore in southeast NM?

To get to our next stop, Brantley Lake, we drove over the Sacramento mountains. Despite making me a wee bit woozy (motion sickness rears its ugly head, again 🤢) I mostly enjoyed it. There was snow! Yes, still a bit of snow, a ski area, trees (real trees) and what I would refer to as farms with actual fields.(They probably still called them ranches. Haha) It had a familiar feel which was nice. But not to worry as soon as we were over and down the other side … desert. Not the pretty Sonoran desert, oh no, the Chihuahuan. Rocks, dirt, flat with distant mountains.  I'd never been in this area of the country before, and I have to say that with each mile my heart sunk a little deeper. I'd dreamt of New Mexico. The names Taos, Albuquerque, Santa Fe conjured up images of mountains and arts, indigenous Indian influence, rugged beauty, all tossed together with just a touch of quirk.  It seemed like the farther we drove, the more that was just a dream. (Now to be fair, we weren't anywhere even close to the above mentioned spots in NM. The states are huge out here, so it was more like being in Delaware and expecting it to be like Vermont.) And then … and then we started seeing oil drilling rigs, lots of them. But wait, there's more. Several of the rigs/wells had fires burning at the end of these pipes and they appeared to burn 24/7. Were we driving into some kind of hell???  And where was Brantley Lake??? Surely it was away from all this, a little oasis of nature. Nope. Brantley Lake was right in the middle. If we took the "nature walk" around the campground we saw about seven oil rigs and three with fires. 

So, we said to ourselves, this is interesting. We've never camped in the middle of oil fields before  🤔… but this is all about experiencing our country and having adventures, soooo … que sera, sera ???

1. We had electricity

2. There were lots of wildflowers

3. It was only four days

4. There was some blue sky and it was definitely warmer than Oliver Lee has been.

Sounds completely bearable, if not not super enjoyable.  Except … 

1. Wind! 

It blew nearly every day we were there, 20-25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph And when the wind blows in the desert, it blows dirt and sand because of the scant vegetation covering the soil. All this dirt and sand blow into your face, eyes, ears, nose … you get the picture.

2. Bugs! 

During the day there was no problem, the wind kept them away. But in the evening the wind died down and if we had any lights on in the camper the bugs started hitting the outside  of it so hard and such frequency that it sounded like heavy rain.😱

3. Smell! 

In the mornings, between 7:00 and 8:00ish there were explosive sounds at most of the 

rigs. By the time I figured out that we weren't in the middle of some disaster, this foul, petroleum smell had seeped into the air and surrounding countryside. Everywhere smelled like oil. 

Oi vey!

I'm telling you, I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Conclusion: 

1. Mea culpa to ever questioning the nice docent at UTEP whether "wind" could make the weather "bad". It can!

2. March and April are the windiest months in New Mexico (who knew 🤷)

3. NM is ranked #2 in states in the US producing the most oil (Uhh, 🤔 I don't think I knew NM even had oil???)(Point of fact, the geology of southeast NM, much of Texas and some of Oklahoma are all part of an ancient sea, the Permian Sea basin. It appears to be loaded with oil and gas. Again, who knew 🤷)

4. The wildflowers were low and formed a sort of mottled carpet over the landscape, purple, yellow and white. That was nice.

5. We did a bit of exploring: Roswell (The infamous Roswell. Did aliens really land there…???), another desert museum, Artesia (a nearby town)

 and we went to Carlsbad Caverns NP. (Now you all know how I feel about caves, but this really was magnificent).👍

It was an interesting experience to see and live (for a few days) in this part of the country and I must say that using a four day snapshot to condemn an area hardly seems fair … but this is a one and done for me. No need to go back and try out another season. Now, I'm not condemning all of NM, just this southeast corner. I'm still holding out hope for when we visit other sections next year. 🤞

With this kind of build up, I'm sure you're wondering what the pics will be like😳 

I think you'll think you'll still enjoy them 😊.

Heading over the Sacramento mountains 

and here we are back in the Chihuahuan Desert, brown, flat with mountains in the far distance.

Brantley Lake complete with oil rigs and a fire

Sunset that first night (before the bugs came out)

We spent a day in Roswell looking for aliens …

There's one. No, no. That's Martin.

We saw signs …

and aliens in a museum …

Then we looked for them at an "experience" 

That's just me, still no aliens.

But at last we found one, holding up the Dunkin' donuts sign. Haha

And on the street lights

Really, just all over the town.

A couple of blocks off main street, was another side of Roswell, the less well known, the less socioeconomically developed, dare I say the real Roswell…

Another day we went to the desert museum. The golden eagle and bald eagle are rescues.

I believe the golden eagle was flirting with me. 

A gila monster. I have to say, I'm glad I never bumped into this guy on a trail (or in our campsite!)

A desert tortoise 

So this little guy wasn't really one of the features animals … but he wanted to be.

Pronghorns. Note that they're are all huddled together…we're on the exposed windy side now, haha!

And now for some flora.

This is a cow's tongue cactus (haha)

Mexican mountain laurel 

Soap tree yucca

**Warning: ⚠️ I'm going all phylosophical on you with this next pic.  It is a pic of a dove.**

If doves are the symbol of peace then I title this pic

"Reflection on peace". 

   - If we reach out, will not our "enemies" also?

   - Are not our "enemies" but a reflection of ourselves?

   - If you offer your enemies a drink will they not in turn drink with you?

...Or maybe it's just a thirsty bird …😂

A raven hiding in the trees 

 

Wildflowers line the nature trail at the campground

The shale like rock found in this area

Martin contemplating the desert, sky and clouds.

and more flora…

a desert primrose 

A sweet little cactus 

more banana yucca, this one in both bud and flower

and one more sunset before we headed for Carlsbad Caverns NP

The park was celebrating it's 100th anniversary.

The entrance. A ranch worker in the area noticed a dark cloud in the sky one evening and thought it was smoke. Upon investigating he saw that it wasn't smoke, it was masses of bats streaming out of a cave entrance. Carlsbad Caverns was discovered.

Looking down. We walked a mile and a half down to get to the great room and start the walking tour of the cavern, another four miles. It was very impressive. Huge and highly "decorated". We didn't walk back up the mile and a half though, we took the elevator.  That was good because I was pooped.

The pics down in the cavern are not the best … I hadn't figured out how to manage the lighting down there … 🤷

Looking down 

and back up

Whale's mouth

Lion's tail (it's hanging down from the ceiling)

Rock of ages

A waterfall from the ceiling

These colored draperies are commonly called bacon

Reflections in underground water in the caverns 

Different colors come from different chemical and mineral make-up of the surrounding rock.

I thought this guy looked like a Buddha only with a beard ... Or maybe it's a walrus . Haha.

This area is called the Chinese Theater

 

Next stop: Guadalupe Mountains NP, TX