Snow in Carlsbad?

We had a stormy night with high winds that woke us in the middle of the night. Prior to going to bed it was a nice warm 70 degree night. When we woke up in the morning, it was 30 degrees and we were having light flurries with gust of 20- 30 mph winds. Man-o-man it was cold outside and we couldn't believe it.

Yes, that is snow on the Jeep.

After breakfast we had to go to town to do some laundry. Then we headed out to visit the Carlsbad Caverns.

The Bats are vacationing in Mexico and won't return till the spring. For now there are Cave Swallows that fly around at the entrance to the cave. Cover your head!!!

We entered by the Natural entrance.

The Entrance

Some flowers at the entrance.

These are the Swallows at the top of the entrance opening.

The Cave entrance.

It's amazing how large the formations get.

Stalactites and Stalagmites

When these two touch, they will then be called a column.

These are Stalactites with Popcorn on the ends.

A large Stalagmite

It was difficult taking pictures in the cave, the flash would change to effect.

Another huge Stalagmite behind Joyce

Looking deep into a section of the cave.

As we came out of the visitors center, this guy was crossing the street to meet us.

Oh! did I say it was cold today???

The Yucca is in bloom.

More cactus showing color

There is color in the desert despite the cold.

This is one of many videos that I shot.

Tomorrow we leave for Roswell, beam me up!!!!!

Two Days on the Road, Now in Carlsbad, NM

We hit the road to New Mexico around 9:30 AM and drove about 320 miles. While on Route 10 we started looking for a cheap place to stay for the night. I needed to empty my tanks and take on some fresh water, we weren't able to dump and fill up at our free National Forrest camp.

We finally found a stop at exit 62 on route 10. It is called Butterfield Station which is an Exxon Gas Station/ gift shop with a full hookup campground for $12 and it's close to the highway for a fast getaway.

We got off Route 10 to take some roads we haven't traveled on before.

So into the tunnel!

And around some tight corners.

Oh yea, don't forget that great looking bridge

And we came into the town of Miami, Arizona. This is Copper center of the world that has a big and I mean big open pit mine.
There was also a religious shrine by this sign so I had to stop and check it out.

The Shrine

Mac wanted to go for a run on the salt beds that were along our route.

And finally we made it to New Mexico

Then we came to Guadalupe Mountains National Park and a hard climb over the mountains and down into Carlsbad.

We are in the Carlsbad RV Park & Campground. The wind is high and my Internet connection is sloooow. It is suppose to drop down to 47 degrees tomorrow before it warms to the 80's again.

Arcosanti Paolo Soleri Visit

Arcosanti represents Dr. Soleri's concept for a habitat that would house and support a community of 5,000 people with respect to living, commerce, recreation, living, and entertainment. It's quarter-century old work-in-progress.Located two and one-half miles down a washboard-like dirt road, this post-millennium urban vision doggedly, resolutely moves forth into being. Started in 1970, during what some might argue to be the end of an idealistic era, the construction of Arcosanti has been, in a word, slow.
At the present stage of construction, Arcosanti consists of a series of mixed-use buildings and public spaces constructed by 4,000 past workshop participants. Each year more than 60 full-time residents host 80,000 visitors in the Gallery, Café and Bakery. Additionally, they produce nearly 15,000 windbells in the Foundry and Ceramic Studios, conduct educational seminars for over 400 people, while being involved in the ongoing construction of the project.
Guided tours are conducted regularly, at a cost of $10 per person. Dr. Soleri has written six books and numerous essays and monographs all of which can be seen and or purchased at the gift shop.

We arrived at Arcosanti in time to take the Tour in progress. I found the complex to be a project gone bad but what do I know! Whereas the structure was started in the 1970's, the buildings are old and in need of repair. The idea was to grow the community to approximately 5000 people but they are only averaging about 100. It reminded me of a modern day Hippy commune. There are 60 full time people living at the complex, and some with small children.

In this picture, I am looking down at the Bakery / Diner from a balcony above.

Just a view of the yards.

This domed area is used for the construction of ceramic bells. One of the young girls working, stated that she has committed to ceramic work for one year. Some of the construction crew actually paid to work on the complex.

Another area within the complex.

These large glass doors can be opened for access to an indoor garden? All the plants were dead and dried up like they have been there for months.
This is a shot of one of the living quarters. They also looked to be run down and in need of repair.

This area had good acoustics and seemed to be used for entertainment but now it was being used as a play area for small children.

Another amphitheater that was suppose to have a waterfall that fed a mote around the stage.

Same area as viewed from the other side.

In this picture you can see the field where blue corn is to be planted. You can also see the corner of the community swimming pool.

This area is the foundry where the bronze bells are made.

As we return, we ended up in the gift shop which contained bells, bells, and more bells. This bell below is casted bronze and aluminum and is about five feet high; price, $1500.00

This is a model of what the finished complex is suppose to look like. Note the dark gray structures in the middle of the model represent the present day complex.

I must say that the Soleri Bells are beautiful and each design has it's own specific sound. If you look close, you can see that the bells are a little pricey but being of solid bronze I'm sure that they are worth it.

So now for my comment on Arcosanti, it reminds me of Biosphere 2 but on a different level. I really don't see how Arcosanti will ever become what it was meant to be.

Tomorrow we are on the road again, heading for Roswell, NM but will probably take us three or four days to get there. Who knows what new adventure is waiting for us around the next corner.

And in closing, I want to let everyone know that we have been having problems with our Yahoo e-mail. We can receive e-mail but cannot always reply or compose e-mail. Yahoo has been working to fix this problem but who knows how long it will take.

A Day in Sedona

Our day started off much like any other day except that Mac was not up to snuff this morning. When Joyce went to take Mac out for his morning stroll, he slipped on the bottom step and fell out of the Motorhome. He has a touch of arthritis in his back hips and they tend to bother him every so often. The fall irritated his back hips and I had to carry him in. At that point he didn't look good at all, he was shaking and couldn't hold his head up.
We figured this might be it for him and that his Kidney failure had finally worn him out.
We sat for a while to see how he was and decided to take him along with us and see what happens. Well to make a long story short, I think he may have been faking it because once he got in the Jeep, he was a pup again.
He spent the whole day with us, went swimming again, and we had to share our fries with him at lunch. Nobody likes a faker Mac!

So, off we go to Sedona which was only about a half hour away from where our camp is. I should have cleaned the windshield so you wouldn't have to look at the dead bugs.
As we drove along, this plane kept circling above us. This is one of those vertical take-off planes. It sounded like a big helicopter as it passed over us.

Here we are approaching the outskirts of town. This place is a tourist heaven.

After a brief stop at the Tourist Info. Center, we continued through town to some of the picturesque areas.

So we drove all the way up to the top of this mountain so we could stand and freeze. There was snow on the side of the road going up.

So we came back down and I wanted to check out some of the homes. We really like the Santa Fe style. But ran into this one.

And it is still under construction

On the other side of the street, is a Chapel built within the rock formation.

As viewed from the street.

The traffic was so bad and there was road construction, so I had to take this shot from behind the wheel. We did see a lot of homes that we like but I didn't bother taking any pic's of them.

Then we took a side street that brought us to a section of the Coconino National Park.

A little history of the area where we were.

They are restoring the water wheel.

Further down the path, Mac found a place to cool his feet.

And we found a perfect spot for a home.

Same area just a different angle.

Joyce hanging onto Mac who's out of the shot.
I could have just sat here for hours, it was soooo relaxing.

If Mac could speak he would probably say..........