Carlsbad Caverns

The trip to Carlsbad was interesting.  fortunately I was tipped off to fill up my gas tank before heading out.  Once I got on the highway to Carlsbad from El Paso there were no gas stations for almost 130 miles.  There was an inspection station just outside El Paso to make sure I was not transporting any illegal aliens.  I thought the inspection in California to make sure I did not bring any fruit into the state was odd.
I made a short stop just outside Carlsbad National Park.

  Good thing they were not in the car when I was at the inspection station.

  The Caverns were a true wonder.  I took dozens of photos, but most do not do it justice.  The "Big Room" is the main attraction.  They claim it is more than twice the size of the US Capitol Building.  Finally a room big enough to keep all my cards in! 

There were many interesting features,  The caves are affected by water dripping and draining.  Not as much occurs as this is now a desert area. 

Water does still drip and pool.  Looks like a runny nose.

The Caverns were truly incredible and well worth the trip.

After the Caverns, I took the 9 mile scenic drive.  A bad mistake.  A 1 lane road that you cannot turn back on.  Gravel road, where you can barely drive 15 mph.  It took over a 1/2 hour and I saw nothing worth taking a picture of.  Poor road conditions caused my car to constantly scrape the bottom.  Fortunately, it does not appear any damage was done but I caution folks to skip the "scenic drive" if they are ever in the area.  Do see the Caverns.

Next up, the non-sports item I looked forward to the most on the trip, The Alamo!