Week 3 - Corpus Christi to El Paso; Carlsbad
Monday 11 July 1994: Spent a couple of hours at the pool, watching
it become steadily busier, which was entertaining, especially the sight of
vastly overweight people in swimsuits. The water was cold, even in the hot
sun, and the floor of the pool was slimy, but it was pleasant enough. We
left and drove through Balmorhea, which had no bread in its bread shop, and
not much else for that matter. On to Pecos, which didn't have much of
anything either, but we eventually located a small grocery shop for
re-provisioning. We continued north along US 285, through the town of
Loving (how nice) until reaching Carlsbad were we got
more money. Then it was time for the Living Desert State Park
($3 - very good value), where we saw loads of things - pickled creatures
in jars, Javelinas (hairy pigs), a (very sluggish) porcupine, a hot owl,
buffalo, turtles, wolves, many species of rattlesnakes and dozens of
Prairie dogs eating red peppers. Plus there were more than enough cacti,
and a bobcat trying to catch sparrows.
We left at 7 pm, but it was only 6
really due to another time zone change, and drove to the foothills of
the Guadaloupe Mountains through the Lincoln National Forest
(no trees visible anywhere) to Sitting Bull Falls, which were
unexpectedly busy. There wasn't much too see, mainly because the waterfall
was just a trickle due to lack of water. Stopped for a night back along
the approach road, just outside the Lincoln Forest so that we could have
a fire. This we built out of cactus wood, as the sun set behind the distant
hills. Only two cars went past all evening, returning from the falls.
Again there were no lights anywhere, apart from the stars - another great
place.
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