Larry, Linda Arnold and Ed Stafford
Larry, Linda Arnold, LaDell and Ed Stafford and Cecil Arnold
We left Carlsbad this morning headed to the Carlsbad Caverns. We decided to say tonight so we could see the caverns before we moved on. We have until Saturday to arrive in Mesa at Silveridge.
We arrived at the caverns around noon.It is only a 20-30 mile drive from Carlsbad. We talked to one of the park rangers at the caverns and he explained what we might like to see and how much time to allow for each area. He suggested that if we had not had lunch to eat in their dining area before going down to the caverns. We had a nice lunch and took the elevator 750 feet down which took 54 seconds, to what is known as the 'Big Room'. In this area there is a walkway around the perimeter and it took us about an hour and a half to complete the mile walk. The self guided tour passes by many large and famous formations including, Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages and Painted Grotto. The Big Room is a total of 8.2 acres.
During the early spring through the end of October, the caverns are filled with bats, known as Mexican free-tailed bats. Every evening at dusk, there is a mass exodus of these bats from the cave for a night of feasting on insects. There is a viewing area for visitors for this event and a park ranger gives a talk on bats. I was very (NOT) disappointed that during the winter--as in our trip today--that there are no bats in the caverns. The bats migrate for the winter to Mexico and do not return to Carlsbad until spring as mentioned.
The caverns were filled with spectacular formations. Various varieties of Stalactites and stalagmites are to numerous to imagine. There are 'soda straw' Stalactites created from water dripping down from the ceiling, and stalagmites that were created from water falling on the floor. Another formation known as 'draperies' was created from water running down a slanted ceiling. There are many different formations, many that look like pearls, lily pads,crystals and popcorn. There were many areas that looked like snow flakes with delicate edging.As we walked through all of the beautiful formations, I was thinking how much Leslie would have enjoyed it. She is our 'Science Queen' who know the ins and outs of how all of these things of nature occur.
We left the caverns around 4:00 pm and on our drive back to Carlsbad, I call LaDell as they wanted to go out to eat again tonight. When I called she said Linda and Cecil also wanted to join us but Linda was running errands so LaDell said she would call us before they left home and then pick us up at the motor home. When we got back we changed cloths and Ed and LaDell picked us up around 6:30. We went to a restaurant that was cafeteria style and I think most of us had liver and onions, which was wonderful! I have not had liver since I was pregnant with Taylor and became very sick after eating it at the Caterpillar Cafeteria in Pioneer Park. I had no problems eating it tonight and we had a nice salad and I had Chess Pie for desert, which was also great. We sat and talked awhile at restaurant then went back to Ed and LaDell's for coffee. These people are all so interesting and I have loved every minute that we have spent with them. It seems that all six of us bonded almost immediately. I was reminded of setting around with Larry's Aunt Maude and Aunt Lena listening to all the stories from their younger years. Setting there listening to these stories was like da ja vu! I really hate to leave as I feel we have become pretty good friends over the past three days. I told Larry last night that Linda reminds me so very much of my dear friend, Sandi Camp. Her actions, facial expressions and her 'devil may care' attitude just keeps me laughing. I would classify Linda as a 'rebel' in a lot of what she says and does. She gets crazy with the management of the Senior Community when they tell her she is not allowed to do ---whatever--and come hell or high water, she is going to do it. I just love her. LaDell is rather laid back and loves to do social things with neighbor and friends and is just a person that would be fun to spend your time with. When I say that about LaDell, I do not mean that Linda would not also fall into that group; they are just two different personalities . Ed is very entertaining when he tells his stories. He is so 'dry' in his delivery that he makesus laugh as well. Cecil is such a sweet person and even with his disability he is so pleasant to be with and he tries very hard to tell us stories but at times, Linda has to finish them for him as he can't remember.
Linda told me tonight that her son, Robi, has 36 acres of Pecan Trees. She asked me if I wanted pecans as she had a lot of them frozen from last year. I told her of course and that I would pay her, which she really got upset about. She informed me that she gets them free so why would she want to charge me for them. Then I had asked her about buying one of her paintings and she told me she would get it all together and send to me. She's such a sweetheart!
We just have had a great time here! We left the group at around 10:00 pm to come home. We were both exhausted from the day as it was really a very full day. We are leaving tomorrow morning for Las Cruces, NM for at least one night maybe two. We have an extra day to kill before we can get our spot at Silveridge. LaDell acted like she thought we should just stay there longer but we both felt we might wear out our welcome, so to speak! Anyway, we will decide tomorrow what we are doing I guess.
Dad looks like he has a good case of gas again....
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