From Pecos, TX it was a short drive up to Carlsbad, NM and the Carlsbad Caverns (the one with all the bats!) National Park. Somehow since we were headed to CAVES it never occurred to me that we would have to climb a mountain first. IF I had known that I would have lobbied to leave Lizzie at the bottom and just head up in the truck. Alas – hindsight is a wonderful thing! Up-up we went –


and then down –down into the cave.

This was a very impressive cave – we were underground about 4 hours and only saw the same area when areas would intersect.

The bats live in an entirely different area (phew) – but right on cue, at dusk they all exited the cave. We were very impressed as about 25,000 bats spiraled out of the mouth of the cave, but apparently it was a pretty light night. During the summer there are up to half a million bats that leave the cave over a span of a couple of hours. No cameras allowed for the bat flight – but trust me – it was pretty cool!
The trip down the mountain wasn’t too bad – probably because it was dark!!!

The next morning we left Lizzie at the campground and trekked back up the mountain to drive the Walnut Canyon Scenic Drive.

Not quite as lovely as a day (or at least the start of the day), but it was a great drive. This is all part of the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains – and I confess it gave me a whole new perspective on the word “desert”.

You can check out the whole set of Carlsbad-Walnut Canyon pictures here -

but first here’s a little puzzle – can you find the deer in this picture?

Next post – drive to El Paso and El Paso itself. Are you tired of desert and mountain shots yet?

So where was I….. Oh, right….leaving Waco.

We had a full day’s drive ahead of us – just a little over 400 miles. And because you know how much I like those windshield shots…..
The road started out pretty flat

and slowly developed into some nice rolling hills-

Oh, look – blackbuck antelope! Who knew?

Texas really does straight roads well, don’t you think?

Look – a curve!

We drove for miles and miles with only oil wells and an occasional trailer/office for interest. Texas does have good roads though, and since we were enjoying non-interstate driving it was a very enjoyable drive.

Hey – catch those mountains ahead of us…..
It’s nice when the road just makes a little cut right through that little “mountain”

But sometimes what’s on the OTHER side of those little mountains is just a little surprising!

Wheeeeeeeee

(and believe me, I wasn’t actually saying wheeeeeeeeee. I was gripping my seat and praying!!!!!)
There was a nice pull-off (so I could start breathing again) and a chance to really enjoy the view-

More view -

We found that Texas knows how to take advantage of those nice flat mesas…..

By the end of the day, the terrain had flattened out again, but there were promises of new adventures ahead….

We’ve been a little out of the loop lately. I had a quick post to upload back when we left Waco (Saturday morning!), but the internet was being fussy and wanted no parts of it! Since then we’ve been pretty much out of the range of my Verizon aircard, and when I did have service I somehow felt compelled to get my work-work done! Go figure. We have been on the road since Saturday – stopping at some great spots and seeing some wonderful stretches of road and tonight we are just outside of El Paso, TX in a Camping World parking lot waiting for our appointment tomorrow morning for our awning repair. So I have lots to catch you up with – but I’ll start at the beginning and just try to plod along.
First – Lara’s House.
By the end of the week, Lara sat down and said –“I know you guys have been doing all the work, but I’m exhausted!!!” It was a wonderfully busy week and we really did get tons accomplished. Several of you have asked for before-after pictures, and I confess I have very few. I did take a couple of after pictures –
Here are the fences that Gary totally rebuilt –

This is an original picture of the kitchen.

Pretty cute, eh? Lara really likes it – but the lighting in it was really bad. Can you see the little bit of light on the left side of the crown molding? Well there are two fluorescent bulb along there and two along the other side of room. That was it. Gary replaced the ceiling fan with one with a light and then installed some really attractive track-type lighting between the windows. Oh and he also changed out the kitchen fan so it actually worked! And see how the cabinet doors have that interesting grill-type stuff in them for panels? We tried a couple of different options and ended up making panels, painting them white and then putting the grill back on over the painted panel. (it kinda tied the drawer pulls, new lighting fixture (use your imagination!) and cabinets together). I really meant to get a picture of that because it turned out very nicely. I did get those kitchen windows washed, but even that required help from Gary since they were caulked shut!

I did spend a fair bit of time gardening – and again, no really good before-after pictures. Here is a shot from before –

It’s really hard to see how overgrown it is – here is a shot after my day of gardening –

You can’t really see the difference, but here is a shot from the porch to the street –

Oh, those aching thighs!
Her back yard is amazing – again super over-grown with several trees that need to be cut down and/or pruned – but it has a wonderful deck –

I don’t think I can list out all of the stuff Gary got accomplished – everything from figuring out what switch worked what to replacing all outside lighting with motion activated lights. I did get all but 3 boxes unpacked, the rugs shampooed and some of the gardens thinned out!
Even as we left, Gary’s mind was busy making a to-do list for the next time we are there. And as for Lara – I know she’ll miss us, but she probably won’t miss all those trips to Home Depot!

(OK – so he’s not making the list right at this moment!)

Coming up next – the drive to New Mexico and Carlsbad Caverns.

Wow – what a busy week we’ve been having. Up and out by 8 or so, a quick (or not so quick ) stop at Home Depot, and off to Lara’s house we go. This house was built in 1919 – so it has lots of character and the interior has been kept up very nicely. And the exterior of the house is also in pretty good shape. The yard and fence and other outside “stuff” – not so good! Gary has been amazing! He’s rebuilt the fence in a couple of places, built a totally new fence around the A/C units, replaced the kitchen exhaust fan and installed a new kitchen light. Before that he replaced the kitchen ceiling fan with one that had a light (duh), and moved that fan to the side porch. Plus he installed/repaired some outside lighting and cut panels for all of the kitchen cupboards (there was some funky grill stuff falling out of otherwise really nice doors!?). I worked on unpacking and organizing until yesterday when I moved to the Front Yard. Now, there is no grass in this front yard – it is all garden. And I really should say it is all neglected garden. I think the area was beautifully landscaped about 10 years ago, so there are some great “bones” there. The trick is finding them. I wasn’t a very good gardener in Pennsylvania – and I’m pretty darn clueless here in Texas! Groundcover? Weed? Perennial? I’m suffering from “gee I haven’t gardened in a long, long time” soreness today, so I think I’ll move back to the indoors and un-packing. It is supposed to rain today so Gary is tackling changing out the locks and other inside stuff.
We love this house! And we love that we can be here to help Lara as she starts this new (and sometimes overwhelming) chapter of life called homeownership! She’s back at work, so she’s never sure exactly what she’ll find when she returns home each day. We’re having a good time spending her money (wisely, of course) and marking things off the to-do list. We’re tired and sore – but so very happy to be here.

I think I could market Gary as the “Handyman for the Week after You Move”! Whaddya think?

Our morning view – isn’t God kind to us?

We haven’t spent much time here, at our little campsite on Waco Lake, but we were certainly blessed by this early morning sight. We’ve been here since Thursday night and most of our time has been spent helping Lara get settled in her new house. The move went smoothly – lots of young strapping co-workers showed up, Gary was there to fit it all in the moving truck, and I was busy wrapping up the loose ends and making sure no cupboard was left un-checked! Now that all the “stuff” is at the new place, you’d think we’d spend the next day unpacking. Nope. Lara & I headed out to Home Depot – and got distracted at a wonderful auction where she picked up all kinds of great stuff at really great prices. We did leave Gary behind at the house to get started on some of the moving-in chores (ones that required tools), but we needed him to come rescue us with the truck after the auction! It was a very fun (and exausting) day! We unpacked just enough to find plates and glasses for dinner – and then crashed!

More unpacking is on the agenda for today – but first I need to get ready for church!
Have a blessed Lord’s Day!