Aliens, Ghost Towns, & Caves,

Posted by Melissa
We headed out for San Antonio, Texas, but the drive was too long to make in one day. After checking out the map we found that Carlsbad, New Mexico was a good mid point stop. We also found that the Carlsbad Caverns are another UNESCO World Heritage site and after our great experience at the Taos Pueblo (another UWH)we did not want to miss this one.

The road between Santa Fe and Carlsbad (and on to San Antonio) is about the ugliest and most boring road I have ever driven. The towns all appear to be just drying up with more closed businesses than open ones. At one point when we needed gas, we drove though a town that had 8 closed gas stations and 3 open ones. We also noted that this particular town was listed on our map while Crawford (Bush's hometown)was not. Is this god forsaken place bigger than Crawford?

Too make matters worse, these pathetic towns were spaced about 1 - 1.5 hours apart. Just think, if you lived in one of these dried up little towns, you really have no place that you can drive to that is any better. Overall we found southeast NM and west Texas to be the most desolate place we have ever been.

One bright, or should I say "glowing" spot along the way was Roswell - home to the Alien Museum and the only "known" landing spot in the US of an Alien Spaceship. We could not resist stopping here. It was a cheesy as you would expect. Our favorite scene was the alien autopsy that was created from a Nurse's notes who claimed to be present for it.
Carlsbad Caverns was absolutely spectacular. The main room is so large that it took us about 1 hour to walk around. The 58 degree temperature was wonderful after spending over a week in the Arizona and New Mexico deserts. We are really looking forward to Bellingham where that is a typical temperature.
This one was Thane's favorite stalagmite. Hmmmm
Is this someone who just couldn't stand living in this wobegon place and decided to go underground?
We bought our National Parks pass here and plan to make good use of it in the next fews weeks.

We are looking places to visit on the East Coast - from about South Carolina to Washington DC. Any of you out there have any good suggestions? Big towns, little towns, parks, and other don't miss or special places? Please write to us or call us on our cell phones.