Our time in New Mexico was short and sweet. We spent a day with family friends in Las Cruces that generously shared the best home brewed beer I’ve ever had, exceptional meals, countless stories of adventures past, and inspiration for living conscious, and purposeful lives. They gave us many suggestions to liven up our drive to San Antonio and we couldn’t be more glad they did. We were able to climb in the mountains, run around on pristine gypsum sand dunes, and delve 800 feet below into a sublime cave system. All of this in just two short days, though it felt quite longer.
Climbing
The Dana Ana Mountains rise above the desolate desert floor
Blue skies leading the way to Checkerboard Wall
Follow the leader
At the summit of Cross Trainer. 600 ft of vertical climbing and the gnarliest wind either of us has ever experienced!
White Sands National Monument
Kira goes absolutely bonkers for sand
“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.” -President Lyndon B. Johnson
Man’s best friend
Carlsbad Caverns
The caves were out of this world, filled with speleothems, each one different than the last.
This type of speleothem is referred to as “cave popcorn,” which are small, knobby clusters of calcite.
Ansel Adams described the caves as, “something that should not exist in relation to human beings. Something as remote as the galaxy, as incomprehensible as a nightmare and beautiful in spite of everything.“
We would highly recommend visiting this natural wonder if you are ever near Carlsbad!