Caroline’s Birthday

Near Seacliff south of Santa Barbara we stopped at dawn along the Pacific coast for this gorgeous orange slice of sunrise sandwiched between a light blue sky and the still dark ocean

Attention: This post had a few extra images added to it in 2022 to offer a better overview of what was seen on this day.

Today is Caroline’s birthday. Our original plan was to go to Disneyland yesterday, as today is Monday, and Caroline should be at work, but family is a higher priority, so we tended to that.

Near Seacliff south of Santa Barbara we stopped at dawn along the Pacific coast for this gorgeous orange slice of sunrise sandwiched between a light blue sky and the still dark ocean

These moments on the coast are not about an early morning respite from Tata and Woody; I’m taking Caroline home today and turning around tomorrow to come back. With my uncle in the hospital, there’s not a lot to be done, and family friend Boyd has agreed to get Tata to and from the hospital to visit him, so these duties are covered.

Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in Ventura, California

So, as much as possible, we’ll take our time getting back to Phoenix, as after today, it looks like I’ll be away for about a week or so. This is the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in Ventura.

Sunrise at beach in Ventura, California

We spent about an hour along the ocean watching the sunrise.

General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, California

Now it’s birthday time with a visit to the General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit because what’s better than sharing with Caroline some history of the guy who helped kick the Huns’ ass.

General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, California

Where was this when I started dating Caroline?

General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, California

It’s kind of strange that you can see more swastikas in America than in all of Germany.

General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, California

…and this, Caroline, was the tank that blew Hitler’s head off. From Caroline, “John, just what kind of idiot are you?”

No time to linger as we are now trying to reach Phoenix before 6:30 when Caroline has a final in her Visual Basic class at Paradise Valley Community College.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Leaving Las Cruces, New Mexico at dawn

Disclaimer: This post was updated in November 2022, as the original only included 1 photo; the bigger details were written back then, although a few things needed to be figured out.

Up early Saturday morning for the 188-mile (304km) drive that passes through Texas and back into New Mexico.

Ruin in New Mexico

Welcome to Salt Flat, Texas. This is about all that’s left.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park in New Mexico

Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

We reached Carlsbad Caverns quickly enough, and like Jutta’s and my trip here a week ago, a single bat was on the wall to greet us as we entered its domain.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

We hoped to enter the cave through the Natural Entrance, which can’t be a given and depends on if my mother-in-law feels she has the stamina. Fortunately for us today, this is how we entered the cave.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

Having just photographed the cave a week prior, I wasn’t sure if I would find any new angles to share, but here goes.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

While the cave system feels huge, it also feels rather compact as the paved walkway twists and turns so much that you never really know where you are.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

The trail is 1.25 miles long with an elevation gain or loss of 750 feet, though somehow it doesn’t feel like that at all, probably because your senses are tuned to taking in as much as possible.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

While this cave is astonishing, there’s much gone and broken as when it was first discovered; people didn’t know anything at all about the fragility, age, or health of an ecosystem that might be still evolving in this now mostly dead cave. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy it quite the same without the great lighting and pathways, but it sure would have been great to see and hear the cave while water was still actively forming these ribbons, stalagmites, stalactites, and other formations that boggle the mind.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

Like organic creatures, these formations could have been considered lungs, and if you’d told me that, I might have believed you.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

After descending about halfway, we detoured from the Big Room so we could make our reservations for the King’s Palace Tour at 3:00 p.m. Finishing the King’s Palace, we re-entered the Big Room to finish the trail we skipped earlier.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

What photos came from the main cave area or the King’s Palace are lost to time; suffice it to say that they are all from Carlsbad Caverns.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

Just stop and think about this: all of this rock used to be a solid structure until groundwater dripped through the earth, carving out the limestone.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

But as where rivers scrape clean the surfaces they run over, these waters leach minerals carrying them along to form what we see here today.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

Somewhere in our vicinity is the Lechuguilla Cave system, which is still very much alive but it’s off-limits to all but scientists and park personnel.

John Wise, Caroline Wise, and Jutta Engelhardt at the bat flyout at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

With barely enough time to get good seats at the Natural Entrance amphitheater, our explorations ended with us watching the Bat Flight  – more than 350,000 bats making their way out of the cave’s Natural Entrance tornado-style for a night of bug munching.

Bat flyout at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

Afterward, we felt like munching on something as well and headed to Carlsbad for dinner at Chili’s, one of the few eateries still open at 9.30 PM.