After Caroline saw the photos from the bat flight at Carlsbad Caverns that Jutta and I had witnessed last week, it became imperative that we return as soon as possible. For years, Caroline and I had wanted to see this phenomenon, but it always seemed to be a few weeks or months off. Here we are, between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, on our way to New Mexico. The freeway is not as crowded as the roads heading north and west for the 4th of July weekend, so this was perfect. We made it 387 miles (627km) to Las Cruces, New Mexico, before having to catch a hotel. Not bad, since we didn’t leave Phoenix until 5:00 p.m. and lost an hour entering the Mountain time zone. And NO, we did not consider getting a room at the Town House Motel.