Month: April 2024

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Carlsbad Caverns and the road to Big Bend National Park

Our drive from Alamogordo took us through the Lincoln National Forest, up and over the Sacremento Mountains to a height of over 9,000 feet and through towns called High Roll and Cloudcroft, which boasts a couple of ski lifts and a beginner ski conveyor belt. 

Read more: Carlsbad Caverns and the road to Big Bend National Park

Although a small ski area, it would be very pretty among the forest trees when the ground, houses and chalets were covered in snow.  We also passed this amazing railway bridge. Trains regularly carried passengers from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft from 1899 until the last train on 12 September, 1947. It climbed 26 miles and 4,000 feet and was one of several bridges on the journey. The last one remaining, it was restored in 2009-10.

We spent the night in Artesia and then drove the hour to Carlsbad Cavern National Park, in the Chihuahuan Desert of the Guadalupe Mountains.  On the drive up to the cavern we were lucky to see a herd of barbary sheep that now call the park home.  Although they were brought from Mexico last century, they have a symbiotic relationship with other flora and fauna so have been left alone to inhabit the park.

For such large animals, the speed and dexterity they used to maneuver their way up the cliff face was amazing. The bottom right sheep was standing on this ledge, about half way up the cliff and I could not see how he got there or which way he’d go to get up or down.

We had pre-booked our self-guided tour into the Caverns for 9.30am, so after the obligatory perusal of the extensive gift shop we got our tickets and were asked “are you walking or taking the lift?”  To which I immediately replied, “There’s a lift?  No, walking.”  Much to Peter’s dismay.  Obviously, we were walking.  With directions explained, we headed out the doors and up the path to the amphitheater and the mouth of the cave.  That in itself was amazing!  The cave entrance was massive and flying in and out were hundreds of tiny swallows.  

In the third picture you can just see the lights that dimly illuminate the path as it wends its way underground.

The first few hundred feet of the cave is also home to thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats that winter in Mexico and migrate to the cave in spring, until October.  About the size of your palm, they fly out at dusk every night in search of insects and consume over half their body weight each night!  The have a dusk viewing of the bats flying in their thousands from the amphitheater each night but we were told it’s hit and miss this early in the season.  We decided not to go back for the bats flight, which was a good call because we heard none flew out.

Our brochure informed us that the self-guided tour would take about 1 ½ hours.  We also knew we were going down a reasonable distance into the cave because there was a lift.  The path down to the entry was like the Corkscrew in Adelaide, Lombard Street in San Francisco, or the Trollwegen in Norway.  So, backwards and forwards we snaked down the very steep path until the light faded and eventually, we were in a dimly lit antechamber.  When our eyes adjusted to the light, we could see the path continuing to snake backwards and forwards until it was too dark.  We were going down a long way! 

I’m pretty sure I’d already said WOW! more than once by this time and for over 2 ½ hours I couldn’t tell you how many times I said it.  I could list very many words I could have uttered, awe-inspiring, astounding, mind-blowing and breathtaking spring to mind.  None do the unbelievable grandeur of this cavern justice.  Nor do our photos. None show the sheer size of the caverns, or the size or extent of the formations. The brochure isn’t exaggerating when it states, “it is an incomparable realm of gigantic subterranean chambers, fantastic cave formations, and extraordinary features”.  The scale and size are unmatched to anything we’ve experienced, and it is the largest system of caverns in continental America. 

So let me WOW you with some facts and a small selection of the over 300 photos we took.

Many of these columns were more than several storeys tall and with circumferences more than a couple of cars!

The above two pictures give something of an idea of the path down and sheer size of the caverns

This diagram gives some idea of the scale of the caverns

There were some small spaces to negotiate

And some large ones

The discovery of many caves we’ve visited, happened by accident. In 1898, sixteen-year-old Jim White stumbled across this cavern entrance while herding sheep.  He noticed a grey haze in the distance and upon investigation, saw the bats flying out of the entrance.  He returned with a kerosene lantern to explore and this began a decades long fascination with the exploration and promotion of the cave. 

Lucrative as fertilizer, a company mined the bat droppings (guano) until 1946 and Jim was so awestruck by his discoveries that in 1915, he encouraged photographer Ray Davis to descend with him and take pictures.  Their publication encouraged a booming tourist trade where the descent in and out of the cave was via a guano bucket!  In 1923, word reached Washington and it was declared a “natural monument”.  Jim continued to explore and promote the cave throughout his life but it wasn’t until 1995 that it was designated a World Heritage Site.

We took the Natural Entrance Route which is 1.25 miles from the cave entrance and descends over 750 feet, (equal to a 75-storey building) via very steep, hairpin paths, through a main corridor that culminates at the lunchroom (yes, there’s a café, tables and chairs, vending machines and a small gift shop down there).  Jim took a single kerosene lantern and fashioned a ladder from wire, rope and tree branches.  The path was so steep, by the time we’d spent 2 ½ hours attempting to take it all in and taking over 200 photos, our toes were sore from sliding forward in our shoes!  We can see why Jim was obsessed with his exploration.

As is customary in caves, many of the features have been imagined as something and named, so we travelled through Bat Cave, and Devil’s Spring, saw Green Lake Overlook, the Boneyard, and Iceberg Rock, a single 200,000 ton boulder that fell from the ceiling thousands of years ago.  

The left image shows some of the massive fallen rocks and the right, the cement path that takes you under a gap left by fallen rocks.

Apparently the most asked question of the park rangers about the cave is, will any more rocks fall?  And it’s certainly something we wondered, considering how much evidence of fallen rocks there were.  The answer is no.  As the cave was forming, many thousands of rocks fell from the ceiling and now litter the floor, but the ceilings are now dome shaped, providing the perfect structure for withholding the weight of the ground above and with little evidence of loose rocks left to fall.  There are also geological formations we’d not seen in any cave before.

Aside from the sheer size of the caverns, there are the usual stalactites (from the ceiling) and stalagmites (from the floor), the draperies or bacon, columns and flowstone.  But there are unique formations like cave pearls, lily pads and rimstone dams that formed due to water pools, helictites, Swiss cheese rocks and Pop Corn.

These show some of these formations

The self-guided trail is a further 1.25 miles in addition to the distance down from the Natural Entrance and meanders its way around the “Big Room.”  This includes features called Painted Grotto, Crystal Spring Dome, Mirror Lake and Temple of the Sun. By the time we reached the start of the Big Room, we were pretty much wowed out.  There was so much to see and take in that we decided to head out via the lift, see some of the other geological features outside the Cavern and come back in the morning to finish our tour.

The temperature inside the cavern remains at a steady 56 degrees F (12 C).  Outside, it had warmed up to above 30 degrees.  We’d been told about Rattlesnake Springs, a small oasis in the desert that was worth visiting so we travelled the few miles to the area.

A natural spring that Indians and settlers used, in 1934 it became the predominant water supply for the national park via small man-made canals.  Now, the area has a small lawned area with picnic tables and is shaded by large cottonwood trees.  The spring is a large, rectangular pool of such clear, crystal water you could be peering through glass.  It’s home to fish, turtles and a myriad of birds, butterflies and dragonflies.

Our camp for the night was only a few miles away in a BLM area.  Basically, a gravel carpark with not a hint of shade so we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside Joey, enjoying the breeze and chatting with the occasional tourist that ventured to the spring.  Luckily for us, we had a conversation with a fellow who had done the Caverns Kings Palace Tour the previous day.  The Caverns are so large that the self-guided tour is only a part of the cavern system available to explore.  We had tried to book this tour and Slaughter Canyon Cave, which is more spelunking, with head lamps and climbing up and down ladders, but both were booked out until mid-May.  He told us that each morning at 8am they allocate an additional 14 tickets to each of the 2 Kings Palace Tours.  He queued the previous day from 7.15am and managed to get a ticket.

Excellent, we thought.  So, the following morning we were parked in the car park by 6.30am.  We were the first in the queue at 7am and got our tickets at 8am when the office opened.  Our day had panned out nicely.  First into the cavern via the lift to complete the Big Room loop we had missed the day before, which took another 2 ½ hours and then at 12 noon, the 1 ½ hour Kings Palace tour.

The Big Room loop rivalled, if that were possible, the Natural Entrance Route.  All those words extolling magnificence, but especially wow, were uttered many more times over!  More amazing features loomed all around us – the Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages and Painted grotto, to name a few.  The time went incredibly quickly, we took the lift to the surface, had morning tea, then went back down the lift to meet for the Kings Palace Tour.

Our guided tour took us a further 100 feet lower, about 830 feet below the surface, that comprised descending the equivalent of an 8-storey building, and then climbing back up that same 8 stories.  We visited three magnificent rooms, the Papoose room (being the smallest), Queen Chamber, and the Green Lake Room.  We have visited several caves, in Australia, Japan and here in America during our last visit, so we’ve experienced the obligatory “lamplight” to see what it was like for the first visitors and explorers to the cave, and short blackouts where you cannot see your hand an inch in front of your face.  Our guide left us in the dark for a couple of minutes, which, although you can sense the person sitting next to you, was really an eerie feeling.  We also found that we were so engrossed in the magnificence of the cave, that we were almost unaware of the 8-storey descent and ascent.

This is considered a dry cave, however there are several crystal clear pools and occasional drips from the stalactites.

We caught the lift back to the surface and after a late lunch, headed out of the park towards Alpine and our next destination, Big Bend National Park.

Another of those surprising American towns, Alpine also has a vibrant wall mural culture and some very clever artists. This was was one of our first drizzly mornings but it was well worth the walk.

Previously known as Osborne, then Murphyville, it became Alpine in 1888 because it better described the town. While it was a railway town, in 1920 the Sul Ross Teachers’ college was founded and it is now a State University.

Here we are with some of the iconic singers and musicians of the 20th century. How many can you name?

Almost every street was adorned with a mural or some form of artwork. the Bottle House’s pillars were all mosaics and even the train carriage wasn’t left blank.

So many of the towns we drive through provide something unique, quirky or surprising and our next stop, Terlingua was no exception. To say Alpine and Terlingua were chalk and cheese, would be an understatement. It’s close to Big Bend National Park and in the Chihuahuan Desert, which is evident from the increasingly drier terrain.

Terlingua is a “Ghost Town” so of course we had to stop. Big Bend National Park is on the Rio Grande River which forms part of a natural border between the US and Mexico in this region. Consequently, much of the history of the area comes from early Mexican settlers. The town began as a Cinnabar mine in the early 1900s but the mine was abandoned when the mercury market crashed. There are only a few buildings left from the mining era including the trading company which is full of weird and wonderful touristy things to buy and the Starlight Theatre. Now, Terlingua’s claim to fame is the annual Casi Terlingua International Chili Championship which began in 1967 and holds eight “world class food contests”, Chili, Anything BUT Chili, Margaritas, Salsas, Buffalo Hot Wings and Beans.

The single room gaol is still standing and the stools at the trading company were unique!

The other popular tourist attraction in Terlingua is the cemetery. From 1903, this was the final resting place for many of the miners who died from mercury poisoning or accidents and the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919. Each year, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead and people come from the surrounding area and transform the cemetery with flower garlands, candles and streamers. The graves also have regular visitors who leave small trinket offerings and many coins.

Since 1975, an increasing number of sturdy settlers have moved back to Terlingua and provide food, camping, outdoor activities and hire equipment like canoes for use in Big Bend National Park and our last true desert Park.

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Left to Albuquerque

We’re always on the hunt for unique places to places to visit. Sights that are specific to a town or weird and wonderful landscapes. Bisti De-Na-Zin is one of those places and not only for its strange name. From the Navajo, Bisti means “large area of shale hills” (apparently) and De-Na-Zin means “cranes” (the bird).

To say it was barren is an understatement but the geological formations and colours certainly made up for its lack of vegetation. Much of the tourist information and the locals, refer to this as the Bisti Badlands, badlands being a term frequently applied to baren areas like this. In fact, a great swathe of land across the top of America is also called the “Badlands”.

We arrived at the trail head after 3 or miles of gravel road. There were several small whiz bangs, roof-top campers and even tents scattered in the vicinity that were obviously camping and one car in the car park. I do like to get the run on other hikers. You can’t beat being the first ones out on a trail in the morning, especially because you’re more likely the ones to see the critters. So, we headed out on the “trail” such as it was. Well, it actually wasn’t so much a trail as a general direction! The photo above shows the “trail.” Can’t see it? Neither did we. That’s because there wasn’t one!

Luckily Peter had downloaded the trail maps because there was no service and the map we were given was vague, to put it bluntly! We knew we were headed for landscape features called Egg Hatchery, Hoodoo City, Petrified Logs, Bisti Arch and Rock Garden. We also knew we had about a 4 mile loop to hike. Between tracing our way on Strava on Peters phone and looking for footprints we only managed a couple of wrong directions.

This being one of them. We scrambled up this valley until we got to the top and had a great view of the surrounds. But it wasn’t where we were supposed to be. And who knew what a Hoodoo City would look like? Getting back down was a lot harder than getting up. That shale you can see was all loose and very slippery.

We found the petrified logs, but still no Hoodoo City. Eventually, we came to a striking landscape that we felt sure was Hoodoo City.

We think Egg Hatchery was some oval shaped rocks that we passed without a look. Possibly, because I saw our one and only critter for the hike. A rather stunning lizard.

Something we did notice was the lack of noise. It was silent except for our footfall and talking. Not a bird or any leaves to rustle or even a breeze. Standing quietly it was just still, crisp silence.

We’re not sure if we found Bisti Arch. We found something that could have been an arch that had collapsed but with no reference to exactly where it should be or how big it was, we could only surmise. By then we’d been out a couple of hours and were not inclined to find Rock Garden. Instead, we traced our way back, taking in the uniqueness of the area and passing the hordes of hikers, many with their dogs, who were now heading out.

Our destination after leaving the Bisti Badlands was Grants, New Mexico. Just like that, the landscape along the highway changed, as it has for many hundreds of miles.

The rock formations are quite amazing and to appear from nothing as if they’ve been pushed up from under the ground.

Grants is another of those Route 66 towns that was bypassed when the main highway was completed, saw a reinvigoration with the trend to “travel Route 66,” then die out again, once that trend abated. Like many of the others we’ve passed through, however, it still clings to the hope of attracting tourists like those we passed through with tepee hotels or colourful murals.

The idea being, to park your vehicle in the sign for a picture. Unfortunately, our 12′ wasn’t going to squeeze under their 10′ sign.

Grants effort to adorn their town was in these large metal frames depicting Native Indian basketry images. At about 6′ (1.8m) diameter, they were quite striking along the main street through town.

The one bright piece of foliage we saw in the town. I had to look closely because it really didn’t look real!

We parked adjacent this building, which we believe was a council chambers where the exterior walls were covered in lava rocks from the volcanic eruption here.

And the volcano is the reason we passed through Grants. We were on our way to New Mexico’s “Land of Fire and Ice,” to quote the brochure.

Another fascinating geological feature, the volcano erupted 10,000 years ago and created the largest cinder cone in the region. The lava flow is 23 miles long and our elevation, 8,122 feet.

The “Old Time Trading Post” log cabin which is now a museum of artifacts that are between 800 and 1,200 years old, and the obligatory gift shop, was built in 1930 when logging was the main focus of the area. They used the ice from the cave to keep things cold but when it became a tourist attraction in 1946, the collection of ice ceased.

There are 29 volcanoes in the El Malpais area but this is the only place with an ice cave. Bandera is the largest volcano and erupted 10,000 years ago. The crater is 1,400ft wide and approximately 800ft deep, although it is gradually filling with rock and debris from the surrounding rim.

There are several varieties of pine and fir trees that grow in the area, some, are up to 500 years old. Trees that grow on in the lava can’t establish deep root systems so grow twisted and gnarled like this example.

Native Indians also lived in this area and the remains of some pueblos built with the lava rocks are still evident.

But, what we’d come to see was the ice cave. The cave remains at 31 degrees F, year round, regardless of the external temperature. The ice is approximately 20 feet thick, the oldest dates to . 1,100 BC.

The rate of ice accumulation varies with rainfall and the green colour is caused by Arctic algae.

There are 70 steps that lead down to the cave and about half way it feels like you’ve stepped into a freezer. It was in the mid 20s when we were there but the change in temperature was very sudden and obvious.

The actual ice covering is not terribly big and the cave is open, without a roof. It certainly was one of those amazing features we’re glad we visited.

This afternoon we drove into Albuquerque. We had mixed reviews about the capital of New Mexico, from “I wouldn’t go there” to “there’s lots to do.” We were made aware of the areas to steer clear of from the very helpful people in Farmington Tourist bureau, and driving across the city as we did, those areas were self-evident. There are no shortage of Walmarts, the massive super centers and also just the supermarkets but you know you’re in an area to be careful when there are seriously armed guards standing at the doors with very obvious holstered hand guns, tasers and a variety of other deterrents, and there are no self- checkouts because they have too much theft!

Having said that, we didn’t have any problems. We parked and walked around, shopped and camped in a Cracker Barrel car park over night. We discovered that Albuquerque is the world hot air balloon capital and on Sunday, counted at least 28 balloons drifting over the city.

We hiked in and around the hills on the mornings we were here. The first morning, we hiked up into the Sandia Mountains, managing to get past several sections of icy snow before being halted about half a mile before the top because the trail became too slippery to traverse without the crampons and hiking poles that the locals in the know had.

We still managed to see some fantastic views of Albuquerque and the surrounding area. The birds were out in full force serenading us as we climbed and I managed to capture this very fluffy squirrel out for breakfast.

We had a very yummy Mexican seafood meal from a recommended restaurant complete with a traditional Mexican serenade.

We’d been told about the traditional salsas they call “Christmas” and it was recommended that we try both. The red is definitely hotter than the green but I enjoyed the red on my rice.

At the risk of becoming “petroglyohed out” the next morning we opted for a walk around Petroglyph Canyon. It winds its way through a lava field of hills that have some of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs in the state. The “beware of rattlesnakes” signs are at the start of every trail. We haven’t seen one yet but we’re assured they are already about.

The petroglyphs were quite easy to find and there were hundreds of them. Dubbed “the graffiti of the ancients,” many of the symbols carved on these rocks were “recognisable” and we had some fun imagining what they were. The area is a volcanic escarpment, 17 miles long and there are an estimated 23,000 petroglyphs carved on the volcanic rocks that vary in age from 1,000 BC to AD 1700.

Many hands or, the signatures of the artists?

Big ears?

Fancy dress? A big smile and an even bigger bow!

A snake and a donkey?

Has to be sausage dog! Maybe a pregnant sausage dog?

Archaeologists can accurately determine the age of the images from the re-oxidization of the rock face and comparing these images with those found on pottery or murals that have been accurately dated. So our suspiciousness of their authenticity was dispelled.

They’ve determined that these are grazing sheep and considering sheep didn’t arrive in the region until herded by Spanish settlers in the 1600s, it was carved, in terms of time, relatively recently.

Fauna and flora are definitely things I enjoy capturing on my phone. (Yes, all these photos are taken with only our iphones). We opted against bringing the cameras and to be honest, we rarely find that we wish we had.

After our hikes we were on the road again, ultimately to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We opted for some roads less travelled that took us through more interesting out-of-the-way towns, each with their own drawcards.

Mountainair was a small, town with barely a dozen buildings on the main street but with so many interesting murals, mosaics and sculptures. The couple in the National Parks come tourist office were very informative, having done what we have and replaced their house with an RV.

Our recommendation for the night, was the Valley of Fires recreation area which was among the lava rocks of another volcanic eruption.

This volcanic lava is the most recent in continental USA, occurring 1,500 – 2,000 years ago. It is 44 miles (71kms) long and covers an area of 125 square miles (32,000 hectares). In some places it’s been measured at 160 feet (48 meters) thick.

From first sight, you can tell that this area of lava is obviously different from others we’ve visited so far. It has the appearance of a well tended rock garden. Apparently, this is because soil was blown into the rock crevices and fissures and that allowed seeds to grow and thrive. We certainly experienced that wind today! By lunch time our still morning had developed into in excess of 35 knots. Alamogordo’s White Sands were whipped up and deposited around us so that visibility became hazy and the mountain range on our doorstep was coated in a sandy haze.

The other difference here is that much of the lava looked like it oozed down in folds like the above pictures. Apparently, this is because it was much runnier than in other areas. There were less jagged rocks like those in the petroglyph hills in Albuquerque. Although the area we walked was relatively small, it was very interesting, especially because of the plants and cacti.

These exquisite orange cacti were nestled up on a hill of lava which required some nifty climbing to reach without slipping or brushing against a cactus.

Our next stop was Alamogordo, “The Heart of the Desert”. We stopped here to visit the New Mexican Museum of Space History and International Space Hall of Fame. It’s also the gateway to the White Sands National Monument.

This region is also home to the Holloman Air Force Base, NASA White Sands Test Facility, established in 1945, and which effects closures in the area on occasions when they are doing live testing and Fort Bliss Military Reserve, is the largest military test facility in America. This area is also the site of the White Sands Space Harbour and Space Shuttle landing site. This is where Columbia landed on 30 March 1982. It was also a main training area for space shuttle pilots because the dry gypsum lake beds provided a realistic simulation of the conditions for landing from 35,000 feet. It was kept at the ready for future shuttle missions after 1982, but was closed in 2011.

The museum has outside displays and inside, covers 5 floors containing information, mock-up to scale models, actual rockets, pieces of space equipment and paraphernalia like astronauts suits, food and items used in space. The information is imparted on large panels and concentrates on WWII, the cold war, the space race between Russia and America, the moon landing and subsequent rocket firings and space expeditions through to the 1990s.

Venomous snakes and scorpions to be aware of here!

Who remembers the Indiana Jones movie where Indy and his German foe are catapulted along a track at incredible G forces before coming to an abrupt stop? We had to wonder if the idea didn’t come from this, albeit a little earlier. In order to recreate the G forces experienced by the human body for space flight, the Daisy Decelerator was built to test forces up to 200Gs.

Between 1955 and 1985, thousands of tests were carried out, that ultimately helped scientists put men on the moon.

To quote, ” it’s not how fast you go, but how fast you stop!”

This is a piece of lunar rock, brought back from the Apollo Mission. It was about the size of my palm and kept in a climate controlled, air-tight glass box.

The day, as mentioned earlier, deteriorated into a severe dust storm so we picked our spot in the Walmart car park with 13 other RVs for the night, and went to collect a few groceries. Allowing overnight RV camping must be lucrative for Walmart as we always seem to need something! And often, it’s just interesting wandering up ad down the aisles and marveling at the different things they sell.

Doggy ice-cream treats in the ice-cream section of the freezer.

This was with the jams and honey so I’m not sure if was meant to be a spread for toast, or a kind of condiment or chutney.

Our last destination in this area was White Sands National Park. It was the white sands that were whipped up on the previous day to form a blanket over Alamogordo and all but white out the surrounding mountains.

They used no imagination when they named this park White Sands, as you can see. The park office also hire out sleds. Round, slightly concave plastic disks that you can slide down the sandhills on.

We opted for the Dune Nature Trail, the Boardwalk and the Alkali Flats hike (which wasn’t flat).

And yes, it’s as steep as it looks!

We were surprised at the number of critter prints we saw clearly in the sand, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any of the critters that left them. The Boardwalk trail had an information board which shoed the animals that left the trails so we’re pretty sure we saw these two.

The road to the trailhead was bitumen under that layer of sand and a road plough or dozer was working in the distance, shoveling sand.

The Alkali Trail was a 5km hike up and down the sand dunes until you got to a flat plain and a view of the missile firing range in the distance. We were guided by orange posts, some of which were almost buried in the dunes. It was certainly prudent to locate the next one before heading off on a tangent.

Many of these dunes were incredibly steep. The pictures don’t do them justice! So the plan for traversing the downhills was just take run and half slide, half run down

The missile testing range. This is still a live sight and often the park is closed so they can do firing. In fact the world’s first Atomic Bomb was detonated just a short distance from this spot on July 16th 1945. We have now been to site 1 and 2 having visited Hiroshima in 2016.

We certainly worked our leg muscles on this hike! It was also starting to warm up so it was nice to get back in Joey and begin our 169 mile drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

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Wet Desert

The rain we’d had for the previous days stopped so it was off to Saguaro East National Park. If we were to recommend one of these parks, it would certainly be the West. There were nowhere near the wildflowers here and the terrain was predominately flat. However, we found a couple of interesting walks which included traversing a couple of creek crossings that were flowing quite strongly after all the rain.

This is a popular park for tourists and locals so, when the locals take their shoes and socks off to get over one of the creek crossings, so did we. And if you were wondering how cold it was? It was like ice water!

That afternoon we drove to Oracle, a town northeast of Phoenix to visit Biosphere 2.

What is Biosphere 2? I’m glad you asked.

In the 1991 a group of 4 men and 4 women (pseudo academics – their words, not mine) were isolated in Biosphere 2 with 3,800 species of plants and a few farm animals for 2 years. It was an experiment to see if they could remain self-sustaining, provide all their own food, water and oxygen for the entire 2 years. (Think The Martian with Matt Damon).

It was a small version of Earth, complete with its ecosystems. They were effectively guinea pigs and funded by a Texan oil baron, through his company Space Biospheres Ventures and costing $150 million.

The Arizona Daily Star newspaper called it a “latter-day Noah’s ark” and reported that 500 people attended the official shutting of the airlock door. “For the next two years, or at least until something goes seriously wrong, they will tend the self-sustaining miniworld, with its tropical rainforest, savannah, marsh, marine and desert habitats.” Unfortunately something did go wrong. According to our self-guided tour information, when the sphere was built they didn’t seal the concrete so their oxygen was gradually depleted to levels that became unsustainable. They also struggled to produce enough sustenance for 8 people from predominately plant based produce. While they lasted the 2 years, increased oxygen levels were required externally to sustain them. Although records were set and many experiments were groundbreaking, at its conclusion the external assistance was not acknowledged and this tarnished the entire project.

There were however, 2,000 people who attended the official return of the 8 Biospherians.

A subsequent experiment was undertaken for seven months in 1994 which alleged the sustenance and oxygen problems had been rectified.

Since then the property has undergone several private owners, but in 2011 was gifted to the University of Arizona. It now provides a research facility for experimenting and studying in large-scale ecosystems. It’s information brochure states it is “the world’s largest controlled environment dedicated to understanding the impacts of climate change.” Their website at biosphere2.org gives a full outline of their current research.

It certainly was a fascinating place. We were able to go inside the domes, view the spaces where the original, dare I call them guinea pigs, lived and worked and see the current ecosystems. We also did a “lung tour” where we went underground to see the technology that regulated the air inside the main dome.

These are some of the habitats they’ve created inside the dome.

They also have an ocean ecology system and current experiments are studying the impact of increased ocean water temperature on coral reef habitats.

Th left picture was one of the tunnels into the lung of the dome. The right, the bladder which helped to regulate oxygen. It’s a giant aluminum dome with a rubber bladder above that rises and falls to manage Oxygen levels between the dome and the outside environment.

The 2 1/2 hours we spent here were incredibly interesting and worth the time and money to see the biosphere. It will be interesting to see how it progresses in coming years.

Our next day was back in Phoenix and a chance to catch up with some wonderful friends. We had 16 years to catch up on! When our children were in primary school and the internet was a relatively new phenomenon, we thought it would be great for them to have a pen pal somewhere else in the world. I had pen pals when I was in school and it really gave me a great perspective of our place in the world. A wonderful family in America also had the same thought and their son and Elyse became writing buddies for several years. We visited them when we all came to America in 1998, again when we came in 2008 and now in 2024. Their boys and our girls are now all married and have families of their own, so we hope that someday soon they’ll all be able to meet.

One thing we’re particularly looking forward to is visiting as many of the natural wonders that America has to offer. So, next on our list was Tonto Natural Bridge.

The brochure told us it is “the largest natural travertine bridge in the world” (Travertine being limestone) at 183 feet high and 400 with a foot long tunnel, 150 feet at its broadest point. Joey was faced with traversing several kilometers of downhill road that the signposts warned were between 14 – 18 % gradient! Needless to say we were in low gear and inched our way down the winding road very slowly!

Descriptions are wonderful but this was one of those open mouthed, chin on the floor, wow experiences. It was worth the drive!

These pictures don’t do its magnificence justice. There was a small veil of water flowing over the edge which isn’t visible in these photos, but the wind was blowing so strongly the water was falling sideways and upwards!

Next on our itinerary was the Petrified Forest National Park, which is east of Flagstaff in Arizona. While travelling, we see many interesting, strange and quirky things and because we’ve given ourselves no end date to finish our US odyssey, we can stop or detour whenever we want.

On the way to the Petrified Forest we travelled through several interesting and quirky towns. We’ve crisscrossed the famous Route 66 a few times and this was an hotel from back in the day when it was the major highway. Still operating today, they had several people staying there. “Glamping” has clearly been around a while!

Holiday Road, didn’t see the Griswald’s.

We drove half way along Strawberry’s main street (yes, that’s the name of the town) and decided to have a quick walk. We visited the Gingerbread house Candy Shop and bought some saltwater taffy. We also went into a wood carving shop that had the most exquisite furniture all carved from local timber. I would have bought a bear if I thought we could bring it back!

Not long after leaving Strawberry we happened across Superior, another interesting town.

Being pescatarian, I won’t be trying the ground bison any time soon. Believe it or not, the gun was painted on a building advertising a realtor. In fact, many towns we’ve visited have advertised gun shows coming up.

There were only only a dozen or so streets in Surprise, nestled among the Apache Leap Mountains and Tonto Forest. But apparently it has featured in several movies over the years, from The Gauntlet with Clint Eastwood to Eight Legged Freaks! The townsfolk have painted numerous blank walls with colourful and unique murals and if it hadn’t been so late in the day, we might have ventured into one of the quirky cafes .

The following day we entered the Petrified Forest National Park. It can really be split into two distinct areas. The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. We entered at the southern end from the Rainbow Forest Museum which has some amazing petrified wood carved and sealed artifacts and hundreds of different gemstones. We assumed the dinosaurs were to encourage people to stop.

The petrified forest is quite amazing. Not a forest but rather logs that are now stone on the ground of different shapes and sizes. Some, almost as big around as I am tall and strewn around as if someone had chopped them down and left them. Some were beautifully coloured like opal and others a rich red or cream. The road winds through 26 miles (42kms) of landscape barren of any foliage more than a few grasses or small shrubs. The day we were there they had 30-40 mph winds, the day before, upwards of 50 mph winds! It’s no wonder nothing above a foot high can grow here.

And yes, it really was that cold! The 30-40 mph winds tearing through here were freezing and being so open and exposed made it even more cold!

The landscape changes constantly and although the colours are muted, they are no less striking. The Painted Desert has hills of banded colours and the walks in and amongst them give you different views of the geological strata that form the colours.

There are also pueblos that the Indians constructed of the petrified wood blocks which are quite impressive and several groups of petroglyphs. Parks with natural phenomena are often labelled with appropriate epithets and this was no exception. So we visited Blue Mesa, Jasper and Crystal Forests, Agate Bridge, and below, the aptly named Newspaper Rock.

We arrived at the end of our trail with just 10 minutes to visit the Painted Desert Inn. It was built by Fred Harvey who, after travelling through the area on numerous business trips for the railways and being unhappy with the accommodation and meals en route, began building “Harvey Houses” along the Santa Fe rail line, beginning in 1876. In 1947 his company assumed the operation of the Painted Desert Inn and refurbished it as it is today. The girls (and they were all girls) who worked in his establishments were known as “Harvey Girls.” A position as a Harvey Girl was quite sought after according to the history, because the pay and the conditions were good.

Today it is a museum and gift shop, (there’s always a gift shop!) but it’s as fresh as the day the refurbishment was completed and stands as a testament to Fred Harvey “the Civilizer of the West.”

Shortly after leaving the Petrified Forest we crossed the border into New Mexico and spent the night in Gallop, another fascinating town.

Gallop, according to the tourist info, is the “epicenter of Native American art”, being situated between Navajo and Zuni Indian reservations. It established after the discovery of coal in the 1880s and the southern transcontinental rail line passes through the town. Not that you could miss it! We were there on a Sunday when you’d think the trains wouldn’t be running, but it appears they run 7 days a week! Goods trains, double stacked with containers and so long they needed not one or two or even three engines, but six engines to pull them! Did I mention they blow their horns at every intersection they pass? At least as many times as there are engines! And to say they’re loud is a major understatement! Deafening would be a better description.

Have a guess what these beautiful paintings below were on? You’ll never guess! I’ll let you have some thinking time and tell you at the end.

It wasn’t just the murals that decorated Gallop. There were statues, artworks, large urns, old mining carts and wagons, all adorning the streets and buildings (which were, unfortunately, all shut because, Sunday).

It certainly was worth the hour walk around the town. Now, have you got a clue what those paintings were on? They were square cement containers on most street corners and each of the 4 sides were painted differently, but in a theme. So the flowers were 4 sides of one container and they were about 2 feet square.

Rubbish bins! And they were just as exquisitely painted as the wall murals.

But, it’s not just the towns we drive through that are interesting. Something that’s very noticeable while driving is the varied and changing landscape. In a matter of hours we traverse up and over snow lined mountains, across barren plains, through spruce forests and see some of the most varied and unusual geology.

One place we remember visiting on our last trip was Mese Verde National Park, with its amazing Pueblos. It’s just over the New Mexico border into Colorado. We debated about the weather, knowing that Colorado is still subject to very cold and snowy conditions but the next few days promised clear skies so we decided to head north from Gallop.

The brochure informed us that the Mesa Verde National Park was “created in 1906 to preserve the archaeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people.” There are excess of 4,500 archeological sites across a wide area but the sites open for public viewing consist of 5 main areas. We stopped at all of the sites on the main 46km drive which included climbing to 8040 feet above sea level.

The cliff dwellings are quite astounding, not so much for their building but for their locations. The Pueblo people traversed the cliffs using rope ladders and cut small notches into the cliffs. From AD 550 for over 700 years they grew corn, squash and beans, hunted deer and rabbits, fashioned pottery and basketry, wore sandals and tanned leather and luckily for archeologists, threw any unwanted items over the edge of the cliff. They were also very adept at damming and rerouting water and snow.

We were on top of the opposite cliff and these pueblo were set about 100 feet above ground level and perhaps 20 feet from the top mesa.

The dwellings we visited were built between AD 1150 and 1300, some with up to 150 rooms. Many internal walls were also plastered and decorated with painting. However, for reasons still open to speculation, they inhabited the cliff dwellings for less than 100 years.

These are the 4 significant areas where extensive pueblos can still be viewed in the cliffs and many partial archeological ruins along the route.

Unfortunately, the guided tours don’t begin until mid-May and until November it’s possible to walk through 4 of these amazing buildings.

Some of the larger dwellings contained 120 or 150 rooms. The smaller ones, 30 – 40 rooms. Cliff Palace, which is the largest at 150 rooms was built in an alcove in the cliff 215 feet wide x 90 feet deep x 60 feet high. Construction occurred between AD 1190 and AD 1200 and it was inhabited by up to 120 people. All living their lives precariously in and around the cliffs.

There were living rooms, storage rooms, open courtyards and kivas which were round structures used for ceremonial and social gatherings enclosed with a roof where access was from above down a rope or wooden ladder.

These remnants of kivas have been excavated and are housed in large sheds to protect them from further degradation.

We were on a roll visiting the pueblo ruins around the area so next on the recommended list was Hovenweep (deserted valley), These dwellings were built on the edge of cliff tops and teetering on boulders. Discovered in 1854 and protected in 1923, archeologists have dated this site between AD 1100 and AD 1230.

As with the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, archaeologists are unsure whether they were built in such precarious situations for the ability to defend them, or merely because the terrain offered these situations. The people who lived here carved niches in the rocks to climb up and down.

This dwelling certainly uses the existing rock formation to its best advantage and is not perched atop the cliff but on the valley below.

This dwelling, built atop the boulders on the valley floor was still 20 feet above the ground and with little room left around the exterior walls for missteps!

The following day we slipped back into Colorado and visited the Canyons of the Ancients. Set among 170,000 acres of “high desert” thousands of archeological sites have been excavated here with an expectation of many thousands more. Our brochure tells us that this region has “the highest recorded density of prehistoric and historic sites in North America”.

Built in more hospitable terrain, these ruins are also freely accessible. The most extensive, the Lowry Pueblo was constructed about AD 1160 and inhabited for 165 years. Archeologists have determined that it began as a small village with only a few rooms and a kiva and was expanded to 40 rooms with 3 kivas.

Excavated in 1930, except for some stabilisation of the masonry walls, it remains exactly as it would have stood when first discovered.

Something we’ve noticed when walking around is how small the doorways and passageways are. If Peter hadn’t been wearing his hat, he would have had quite the scrapes on his head after several boofs! This was because the average height of adult female Puebloans was approx. 5’1″ (156cm) and 5’3″ (163cm) for men. I’m 5’4″ and Peter is 6’2″ so they were significantly shorter.

These walls and the timber lintels are original

Archeologists estimate up to 40 people lived in Lowry Pueblo and that while they resided indoors there is little evidence that they cooked indoors, cooking hearths were outdoors. They were also 2 or 3 stories high with access through the rooftops. Evidence from dating tree rings used in the construction, the masonry used and wall construction indicate that over 25 years there were 6 periods where building occurred.

The Great Kiva was 47 feet in diameter and its construction dates from AD 1086. When completed, there were no doors or windows in the walls with access being through a central hole in the roof.

By now we had spent several days exploring these Puebloan sites and learning about the people who built and lived here. Their skill in building and obvious dexterity in living in these dwellings was amazing. They were clearly not afraid of heights or claustrophobic! We debated about continuing through Colorado or heading south through New Mexico, but after three nights of below 0 temperatures and the third morning having frozen Joey’s batteries so nothing worked until the outside temperature warmed up, we decided on the warmer climate of New Mexico.

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Happy Easter!

In 2008 we arrived in America on July 4, so we experienced Independence Day. We were here for Halloween which we spent on the east coast and was the absolute best time of year! We also experienced Thanksgiving and spent Christmas and New Year in Las Vegas. The only holiday we missed was Easter, which we’ve now had in the Phoenix area. I imagined it would be similar to Halloween. Houses decorated, Easter treats filling supermarket shelves and public holidays. But no! It was rather underwhelming.

Easter in America is very different to Easter at home. It’s not a National holiday here and only 12 states have Friday as a public holiday.

They don’t have hot cross buns! Imagine our dismay!

We also didn’t see any chocolate Easter hunting eggs, or much in the way of Easter chocolates. Mostly bags of the usual chocolates like M&Ms or Hershey’s. There were a lot of Easter bunnies though.

They do have many different variety packs of coloured egg shaped plastic containers that you put small lollies, like jellybeans, or plastic novelties in. These are strewn around or hidden for children to find.

The main things we noticed on supermarket shelves were egg collecting baskets, large numbers of Easter themed trinkets and gift baskets of various sizes done up with cellophane, and filled with toys, games and some lollies or chocolate.

In a mega Walmart supermarket this was the extent of Easter chocolate.

Notice the Bluey egg?

So, without having to worry about Easter holiday closures or excessive crowds we spent Friday at Arizona Boardwalk. What a fantastic place!

It’s a collection of attractions in one area and you decide which ones and how many to visit. On offer were Butterfly Wonderland, Odysea Aquarium, UFO experience, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Lazer Mirror Maze, CyberQuest, Panagaea Dinosaur World and Museum of Illusions. We opted for Butterfly Wonderland because it’s the largest natural butterfly habitat in America and UFO experience because I wanted to visit Roswell in New Mexico but this had far better reviews. There were the obligatory themed gift shops of course and also several different food options.

We arrived early before the attractions opened and had it all to ourselves. So we enjoyed wandering around and having some fun taking photos.

The butterfly habitat was amazing! It’s very well set out and informative. The 3D movie about the Monarch butterflies migration was fascinating. Did you know that they are the only butterfly that migrates north to Canada and then returns south to Mexico again, like birds? And they take 3 generations to complete their journey. Being 3D, you really can’t help reaching out to touch the butterflies you’re sure are right in front of you!

Next, is the hatching room where hundreds of chrysalis are transforming into butterflies. Each morning and afternoon they transport the new butterflies into the habitat which visitors are free to wander around.

There were thousands of butterflies fluttering around the habitat! All shapes, sizes and colours and it was difficult to know where to look. Needless to say, I took a hundred or more photos!

Here are just a few

There was a pond with Koi fish that were over a foot long and a small collection of bugs, reptiles and also several aquariums with tropical and river fish and stingrays.

After lunch we went to the UFO experience. Considering the reviews, and as someone who can’t imagine we’re alone in the universe, I was quite looking forward to it. It started off with earphones that played actual excerpts from notable people about UFOs and included several air force pilots and even Bill Clinton. There were TVs replaying parts of the recent Pentagon inquiry into UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena) which were interesting and numerous information boards which outlined various encounters since “the big one” in Roswell in 1949, including primary source documents that detailed what happened.

But I have to say the second half was not as interesting and some displays bordered on ridiculous and tacky. There was a whole room dedicated to people who believed they were abducted by aliens. Another room to aliens that appear in movies e.g. ET or Alien. There were displays of ‘alleged’ technologies of the future, e.g. time travel apparatus and finally a room which outlined previous civilisations’ feats and how they could reflect interactions with more advanced beings, e.g. the Mayan peoples and what could be interpreted as ‘otherworldly’ symbolism.

When we entered we were given a survey card and asked do we believe in UFOs? Yes, Maybe, or No. As we walked through the display rooms we ticked whether we believed what was outlined for each one and then tallied up our answers at the end to see if we had changed our opinion, or it remained the same. Mine stayed the same, notwithstanding the dubious displays. Peter started with yes and his opinion remained the same too. When educated, respected and well known people are prepared to make their experiences public, perhaps they shouldn’t be discounted.

By the time we had another walk around the butterfly habitat and revisited a couple of the gift shops, we’d spent an entire day here and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

On Saturday we had a very enjoyable walk around Papago Park, an extensive area near Phoenix CBD which includes playing fields, Phoenix Zoo, Botanical Gardens, a large number of walking/mountain bike trails and a cycling/walking path along the canal system.

Well, someone had to climb up to give an idea of the scale!

Indian civilisations that dwelled in the Phoenix region 1,400 years before European settlement built a complex system of canals over almost 500 miles. Subsequently, more recent settlers to the region continued building canals to transport water to areas previously underdeveloped. Today, there are 180 miles of canals that traverse the greater Phoenix region and on average are 16 feet deep.

It was a scenic and interesting walk. We discovered a man-made lake for fishing and an interesting mausoleum.

Apparently, George P. Hunt thought that this was the most scenic spot in Arizona and decided that he and his immediate relatives would like to spend their eternity presiding over this view. In a pyramid, no less.

Because it was Saturday, we decided to take a drive through Phoenix CBD and happened upon the Arizona Capital Museum. Over four floors there are very interesting displays outlining Arizona’s history including the judiciary, government, building construction and also exhibitions about Arizona’s history from 1845 and their campaign for statehood, the USS Arizona battleship and the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers (African American troops).

We learned some interesting things about Arizona too.

President Abraham Lincoln made Arizona a territory in 1863 but it wasn’t until February 14, 1912 that President William Taft declared it to be the 48th state.

The Capitol building was completed in 1901 and housed the Arizona Territorial and State Legislature until 1960 and the Executive Offices until 1974.

They have 10 state Emblems: The Saguaro (pronounced Sah-WAH-row) Cactus white blossom is the flower, and the Cactus Wren is the bird and were declared in 1931. The Palo Verde tree (green stick in Spanish), in 1954. The critters were all declared in 1986 and include the Ringtail as the State mammal (not a possum but related to the raccoon), the Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake as the reptile, the Apache Trout as the fish, and the Arizona Tree Frog as the amphibian. Turquoise is the State gem, and copper the metal. The most recent is the Sonorasaurus dinosaur, declared in 2018 after an 11 yr. old school boy wrote to the Governor to ask if the dinosaur, discovered in 1994 in southern Arizona, could become the state dinosaur.

They have a LEGO replica State flag built from 113,998 LEGO bricks which equals the square mileage of Arizona. The blue and red are custom colours made expressly by LEGO to reflect the actual colours of the flag.

On Sunday we visited the Saguaro West National Park and completed a 13km hike over an elevation of 572 meters! It was one of the most scenic and interesting hikes we’ve done so far. The wildflowers were so varied and abundant and at the peak of the hike we had stunning 360 degree views, including of the clouds and mist that rolled in as we were descending. Our visibility went from many kms to only a few hundred feet in a matter of 10 minutes! We arrived back at Joey just as it started spitting rain and within the hour, it was raining steadily. In fact, it rained almost constantly for the next 36 hours!

Because of the rain on Monday, we decided inside was the place to be so we visited the Pima Air & Space Museum.

I imagined I’d wander around for a couple of hours and then leave Peter to spend however much longer he wanted to view the displays. How wrong was I! What a fabulously interesting place! We arrived just after the museum opened and were some of the last the leave just before 5pm! It was so well set out and displayed with informative panels that gave details about the planes but also outlined much of the history of aviation.

There were 4 huge hangars over 250,000 square feet filled with planes from the Wright Brothers biplane to an F-14 Tomcat and some of the biggest, smallest and strangest planes I’ve seen. There’s a further 80 acres of land outside that is also filled with planes that we didn’t even get to. Partly because it was raining and very muddy around the planes but also because there were so many interesting things to see indoors.

The Starr Bumble Bee was built expressly to gain the record for the world’s smallest aircraft. It’s first flight was in 1984 and it still holds the record as the smallest bi-plane to fly.

Replica Wright Brothers Flyer.

Did you know that the first seaplanes were flown circa 1910?

This Mariner PBM-5A Amphibian was flown by the American navy between 1948 – 1956, and by civilians until 1971 when it made its last flight.

I found the historical information particularly informative. There were quite extensive displays that outlined women and African Americans in aviation from the 1900s until recently. It was surprising to read how difficult it was for these groups to be accepted in the aviation and defence industries.

There were also a number of prototypes that were great ideas at the time. Some, like this idea for a personal helicopter, didn’t make the grade, while others, like the first sea planes have continued to evolve and are common today. Did you know that the first sea plane flew in the US in 1910?

Remember back to our trip across London Bridge in Lake Havasu and the man that bought the bridge? Well, we learned some more history about McCulloch’s business enterprises. When it was founded in 1943, its prime business was building small gasoline engines. During WWII, most of these engines powered military radio-controlled target drones. This part of the business continued until 1967 by which time, more than 60,000 engines had been produced.

When we were last in America, Walmart’s were our often our accommodation spot for the night. This trip we’ve also discovered that a store called Cracker Barrel (a gift, clothes, knick knack store combined with a restaurant; odd but it seems to work) and Camping World also allow overnight RV stays. So, we made our stop for the night in the Camping World and hoped that the rain would stop by morning for our visit to Saguaro East National Park.