Dec 1, 2023 –Guadalupe Mountains NP, TX, to Carlsbad, NM
Today we decided to tour Carlsbad Caverns. It was only 30 miles to the park entrance and then another eight to the visitor and cave entrances. “Who’d a thunk” a cave entrance would be on top of a mountain … but it is. And it’s one heck of a looking hole. The natural amphitheater shape at the entrance is filled with seating so folks can watch the hundreds of thousands of bats leave at dusk each day. Unfortunately, the bats migrate to Mexico each October so we were out of luck on that experience.
The “big” room on the main level of the cave is about 750 feet below the surface. There’s an elevator and a steep, 1¼-mile, paved walking path. We chose to walk down and use the elevator to return to the surface. (Smart thinking, eh?) When they say steep, they mean it. If my math is close it means the average grade is 14%, but then there are some short level sections. Anyway, it’s very noticeably steep!
We tried to take tons of pictures but a cave is a demanding photo environment. We hope the ones we’ve chosen give you some idea of what it might be like.
Finally arriving at the bottom there is a sort of lobby area with a bathroom and a snack bar. We then followed the path to the Big Room, which is the largest cave chamber in North America. They don’t say how long it is but the walking path, which is mostly level, is another 1¼ miles long. There are formations of every type, including stalagmites, stalactites, draperies, soda straws and others. The lighting is subtle, enough to see the features and to find your way but there are no colored light shows or anything like that. Returning to the lobby area we boarded the elevator for a fast, smooth ride back to the top.
Finishing our visit, we hopped back in WAWA and drove half an hour to the town of Carlsbad. We stayed in Carlsbad RV Park & Campground on the southern end of town. We took the time to drive part of the town including Lake Carlsbad Beach Park. The lake is formed by a dam on the Pecos River that flows through the town. It’s a very nice park; about a mile long. They even had a boat tour of the lake to see Christmas lights on the shore.
Since it was getting late, we decided against the boat tour and went to dinner instead. We ate at Taqueria Jalisco, a Mexican restaurant just outside the campground. Very good food, reasonable prices and huge servings.
Dec 2, 2023 – Carlsbad, NM
It was still windy but sunny today. Time for a short break, showers, laundry, writing and shopping. We spent a very productive day doing all those things. The campground had nice bathrooms and a huge laundry which made accomplishing those tasks easier. We made dinner tonight of salmon, broccoli and slice tomatoes.
Dec 3, 2023 – Carlsbad, NM, to San Antonio, TX
Long day on the road as we drove the 450 plus miles from Carlsbad to San Antonio. The drive down US-285 into Texas was interesting. Oil production is everywhere! There are oil wells, drilling rigs, storage tanks, oil processing, infrastructure businesses and modular and RV worker housing everywhere.
Then, getting on to I-10 for the rest of our drive, there were two notable changes. First, the speed limit on most of I-10 was 80 mph. We generally drive the speed limit up to 65 and then stay at that speed. So we were slow pokes on this road. Second, it lowly became less desert-like and more green as we neared San Antonio. Desert scrub and cactus changed to real trees and grasses. We’re ready for some green!
And, after enduring a bit of big city expressway driving craziness, we finally arrived at the San Antonio/Alamo KOA Holiday campground where we’d stay for a couple of nights.
Dec 4, 2023 – San Antonio, TX
We took advantage of a weekend breakfast offered at the campground by their food service which operates a small café next to their community building. It was good, inexpensive food served by folks who were eager to offer advice on visiting the area.
First on our agenda were the missions. Beginning in 1718, Spanish priests established five Catholic missions along the San Antonio River. These missions were intended to expand the northern frontier of New Spain, a territory of the Spanish Empire. We visited two of them. All of the missions started simply as church buildings.
The goals of the priests were to convert the indigenous people to their religion and have them become Spanish citizens. They taught them farming and animal husbandry and employed them to construct buildings and to operate their extensively irrigated farms. In exchange the native people were guaranteed food and shelter. Eventually, the communities were walled in to protect them from hostile tribes. As the area became more established the need for the missions diminished and they were abandoned.
We began by driving to Mission San Jose. It is the largest mission and is known as the “Queen of the Missions”. It is in the San Antonio Missions National Park which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful building set in a lovely place.
The surrounding housing for the Indians also form an easily defended fort. There is also a grist mill powered by a horizontal water wheel and a granary.
By the early 1900s the mission was largely in ruin. Major reconstruction began in 1928 when the collapse of the bell tower triggered the first major repair project. Responsibility for the mission had been handed off to a succession of organizations before being taken over the National Park Service.
Driving back to the campground, we boarded San Antonio’s bus system to visit another mission and the city’s famous River Walk.
Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as The Alamo, was the first of the missions, founded in 1718 by Fray Antonio de Olivares. Although it was abandoned as a mission like the others, its history was quite different. It was frequently modified and used as a warehouse and a business location. And, as we all know, as a fortress during the Texas Revolution against Mexico. The revolt was in response to the centralization of power in Mexico City by the president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Following a 13 day siege, the actual battle of the Alamo only lasted about 90 minutes. Reports vary but about 150 Texans died defending the fort while about 600 Mexican soldiers were killed. Among the well known Texans were Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis. There were even people from Pennsylvania including Samuel Holloway, William Johnson, Hiram Williamson, Hohn Wilson, John Thruston and John Reynolds.
Finally, we found our way to the River Walk. Following its original course through the city that grew up around it, the walk along the San Antonio River is a beautifully landscaped park below street level. The main downtown section is about ten blocks long lined with restaurants, hotels, bars and shopping. During this holiday season it is festooned with Christmas lights that we wanted to see via the boat ride that winds through the area.
We purchased tickets for the boat ride and found a happy hour taco special along the walk. Then, boarding the boat, we enjoyed a ride through a fairyland of colored lights and other sights along the river.
Finally, finding our way back to the bus stop near the Alamo, we bumped along on our way back to our campground.
Nice day!
Dec 5, 2023 – San Antonio to Tyler, TX
Travel day; I-35 to Waco and then TX-31 to Tyler.
Driving the first portion, we were struck by the fact that, in recent days we’d sometimes drive 100 miles, rarely seeing an instance of two or more houses grouped together. Driving the stretch from San Antonio to Waco we almost never saw a continuous mile of land that wasn’t built up! It was another sunny day in the low 80’s.
Arriving in the area north of Tyler, we had dinner at a Chili’s. Then it was a few blocks to a Cracker Barrel where we spent the night.
You may wonder what we do in the evenings? We have a TV but haven’t used it. A couple of times we have streamed YouTube TV on the phone. Bill reads a lot. Sandy, not usually able to sit still to read, has read her share of books too!