We left home (Mesa, Arizona) Friday morning; destination – Silver City, New Mexico. Neither Linda nor I like driving on interstate highways, so we didn’t. We drove east on US 60 and 70 through Globe and Safford, and then jumped on US 191 and State highway 78 through Mule Creek into New Mexico. Highway 180 south took us past Buckhorn and Gila, into Silver City, arriving around 4:00 in the afternoon.

We had previously considered staying at a Harvest Host in Mimbres, but found a KOA campground a short 10 minute walk from the Whiskey Creek bar, where Tab Benoit played that evening. We cleaned up, drank a celebratory beer (celebrating our first day on the road), and then walked to the bar.

What a great concert! Tab, and his opening act, The Ghalia Volt Band, rocked the place for over two hours. We listened, we danced, we sang, and we chatted with the KOA campground hosts who were sitting next to us. I’m really glad Linda found the tickets for the concert. The concert was a great way to start our journey.

The next morning, we packed up Bucky and drove east to White Sands National Park, where we hiked for a while, climbing white dunes that stretched for miles. Here’s my impression of the park.

It used to be that national parks were a place where one could experience the most beautiful places in America. Places like Yellowstone and Yosemite and Glacier instill images of grander and awe-inspiring beauty. White Sands doesn’t offer that. That’s not to say that it isn’t beautiful in its own way. It’s like comparing the deserts of Arizona with the mountains of Colorado. Both are beautiful, just in different ways.

Getting the status of a nation park offers lots of protections – no hunting, no drilling for oil, no mining for ore, etc. This is a good thing, as we need to protect our lands for future generations. Places like White Sands and Guadelupe Mountains (more on that later), while not being spectacular, do need protection from the cattle ranchers and oil barons and gold diggers, or else we soon won’t have any lands left to visit.

After hiking in White Sands, we drove to Carlsbad. We had a reservation for two nights at the Nurvis Pervis Brewery, a Harvest Host. We reserved two nights so we could spend time in both Guadelupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks. Here are a few images from the two parks.

Cloe

After parking in our designated spot, we went into the brewery for a beer. We met Cloe, our bartender for the night. Cloe is a young, beautiful local girl who works part-time at the brewery. She was friendly and told us much about the area, and two parks we planned on visiting. She also told us that she was a creative person who liked to make crafts. She gave us her simple card.

The next night, after visiting the two national parks, we went back to Bucky and into the brewery for a beer. Cleo was there, not working, but waiting for a friend to get off work so they could raft the Pecos River. We said hello to Cleo. She walked over and sat with us for a few minutes. She then told us she had something for us, went into the back room, and brought us this creation she made for us the night before.

Cleo is a very talented woman. If you’re ever in Carlsbad, New Mexico, stop by the brewery and look her up.

We pulled out of Carlsbad the next morning. The brewery parking lot was deserted except for us. Linda and I started a semi-daily routine that morning. There is a Planet Fitness in Carlsbad. We get free membership there through our old person insurance. We went, had a great workout and a better shower.

On to Texas.