New Mexico Update
Alright folks, I'm back from New Mexico. I had a blast with the family and exploring the state. New Mexico is absolutely amazing. My knee healed up nicely too so I didn't have to worry about that during all the hiking.
Here I'm going to make a long picture heavy post about the trip.
Okay so my mom and I get there tuesday night, the flight was just fine. We visited with Papafrank. They get a lot of wild life in their yard cuz its close to a sort of park. Anywho we fed the roadrunners and watched the squirrels snatch apples from their tree.
We enjoyed a family dinner (mocuite + papafrank + aunti chris + justin) before heading out to White Sands. We've been to White Sands before but it was in the day time. This time around a. it was night, b. there was a full moon. Mocuite kept telling us how mystical it was during a full moon. The white sands are just completely lit up by the full moon. Sometimes when you were hiking up a tall dune you couldn't tell where the hill of sand ended and the sky and clouds started. I tried taking pics but despite how bright the moon seemed none of the pics came out.
The next day Auntie Ruta, her daughter Savannah Rose, and her new fiance Billy arrived. I had a blast hanging out with Savannah, she's 12 now. We just went crazy and giggly and had a riot the whole time. Probably drove the older folks nuts but oh well XD.
Thursday I just kinda hung around the house with Savannah and finished Harry Potter 7.
Friday we went hiking in the Aguirre Wilderness of the Organ Mountains. I had been there before but it was still beautiful. We didn't hike far but it was still good to be there.
Friday night I went to purchase my first alcoholic beverage since my b-day. I didn't get carded! How lame!!!
Saturday all of us minus justin, mocuite, and papafrank started the 3-4 hour journey to Carlsbad. First we stopped at the Guadalupe Mts. for a few hours of hiking. Wonderful trail. From deserty brush to mountains to woodlands to streams to springs. I tried to pick a couple fav pics.
This is Nipple Mountain folks, no joke.
This trail had a ton of these guys, Stink Bugs. Once they see you they stick their butt in the air, and if you really piss em off they spray you with stink. I saw these guys right there in the middle of the trail and I had to ruin their moment. XD
After the hike and a picnic we went to Carlsbad Caverns. Here, every night after the sun sets bats come flying out of the cave for their nightly duties. They have an amphitheater around the cave entrance so you can view the bats flying out. On the night we were there approximately 300-400 thousand bats left the cave. They would swirl up from the cave entrance all going counter clock wise until they were high enough to clear the cliff face and head off into the night. The bats looked like shadows on the cliff face as the circled around. And as they flew into the distance they looked like a giant swarm of flickering bees worming their way through the sky. Pictures weren't allowed in order to disturb the bats as little as possible during their flight.
Sunday we hiked into the cavern. It smelled like nasty bat poop at first but the smell didn't carry far into the cave. You hiked for an hour snaking your way lower and lower into the cave before reaching the part where the tour started. My camera ran out of battery before I got to the tour so I didn't get any pictures of the best stuff but I still got some cool pictures.
I'm not sure what this kind of formation is but it was relatively close to the entrance.
This was called the "Whales Mouth" my flash kinda drowned it out, but you get the idea. It's cool.
Unfortunately most of my pictures of the cave didn't come out at all. =/ There were all sorts of cool formations I didn't know about and rooms just filled with these things. You really can't compare it to anything though. You have to see it for yourself.
Monday we took a break since we were all tired from the weekends adventures. I went skateboarding for a bit with Justin and just kinda hung out. Savannah left early in the morning so I didn't have her there to amuse me.
Tuesday was a great day. We went to the Catwalk. It's a path that goes through the canyon of whitewater creek. It was so cool. Sometimes you were hiking at ground level next to the creek. Others you were suspended above the water near the tops of trees as you wound your way between cliffs, other times you were even higher with just the huge rocks looming over you.
Of course the pictures I have don't even come close to showing you what it's like to be there, but they can try.
There was a cool place to swim though the current was currently too strong, hehe. Anywho, my aunt and I had fun climbing around on the rocks and wading through the cold water to cool off after some hiking.
As we were leaving the sun was setting on the canyon so we stopped and took some pics.
So thats that. What a great trip. I didn't want to come back. It seems so gray and humid here now.
Here I'm going to make a long picture heavy post about the trip.
Okay so my mom and I get there tuesday night, the flight was just fine. We visited with Papafrank. They get a lot of wild life in their yard cuz its close to a sort of park. Anywho we fed the roadrunners and watched the squirrels snatch apples from their tree.
We enjoyed a family dinner (mocuite + papafrank + aunti chris + justin) before heading out to White Sands. We've been to White Sands before but it was in the day time. This time around a. it was night, b. there was a full moon. Mocuite kept telling us how mystical it was during a full moon. The white sands are just completely lit up by the full moon. Sometimes when you were hiking up a tall dune you couldn't tell where the hill of sand ended and the sky and clouds started. I tried taking pics but despite how bright the moon seemed none of the pics came out.
The next day Auntie Ruta, her daughter Savannah Rose, and her new fiance Billy arrived. I had a blast hanging out with Savannah, she's 12 now. We just went crazy and giggly and had a riot the whole time. Probably drove the older folks nuts but oh well XD.
Thursday I just kinda hung around the house with Savannah and finished Harry Potter 7.
Friday we went hiking in the Aguirre Wilderness of the Organ Mountains. I had been there before but it was still beautiful. We didn't hike far but it was still good to be there.
Friday night I went to purchase my first alcoholic beverage since my b-day. I didn't get carded! How lame!!!
Saturday all of us minus justin, mocuite, and papafrank started the 3-4 hour journey to Carlsbad. First we stopped at the Guadalupe Mts. for a few hours of hiking. Wonderful trail. From deserty brush to mountains to woodlands to streams to springs. I tried to pick a couple fav pics.
This is Nipple Mountain folks, no joke.
This trail had a ton of these guys, Stink Bugs. Once they see you they stick their butt in the air, and if you really piss em off they spray you with stink. I saw these guys right there in the middle of the trail and I had to ruin their moment. XD
After the hike and a picnic we went to Carlsbad Caverns. Here, every night after the sun sets bats come flying out of the cave for their nightly duties. They have an amphitheater around the cave entrance so you can view the bats flying out. On the night we were there approximately 300-400 thousand bats left the cave. They would swirl up from the cave entrance all going counter clock wise until they were high enough to clear the cliff face and head off into the night. The bats looked like shadows on the cliff face as the circled around. And as they flew into the distance they looked like a giant swarm of flickering bees worming their way through the sky. Pictures weren't allowed in order to disturb the bats as little as possible during their flight.
Sunday we hiked into the cavern. It smelled like nasty bat poop at first but the smell didn't carry far into the cave. You hiked for an hour snaking your way lower and lower into the cave before reaching the part where the tour started. My camera ran out of battery before I got to the tour so I didn't get any pictures of the best stuff but I still got some cool pictures.
I'm not sure what this kind of formation is but it was relatively close to the entrance.
This was called the "Whales Mouth" my flash kinda drowned it out, but you get the idea. It's cool.
Unfortunately most of my pictures of the cave didn't come out at all. =/ There were all sorts of cool formations I didn't know about and rooms just filled with these things. You really can't compare it to anything though. You have to see it for yourself.
Monday we took a break since we were all tired from the weekends adventures. I went skateboarding for a bit with Justin and just kinda hung out. Savannah left early in the morning so I didn't have her there to amuse me.
Tuesday was a great day. We went to the Catwalk. It's a path that goes through the canyon of whitewater creek. It was so cool. Sometimes you were hiking at ground level next to the creek. Others you were suspended above the water near the tops of trees as you wound your way between cliffs, other times you were even higher with just the huge rocks looming over you.
Of course the pictures I have don't even come close to showing you what it's like to be there, but they can try.
There was a cool place to swim though the current was currently too strong, hehe. Anywho, my aunt and I had fun climbing around on the rocks and wading through the cold water to cool off after some hiking.
As we were leaving the sun was setting on the canyon so we stopped and took some pics.
So thats that. What a great trip. I didn't want to come back. It seems so gray and humid here now.