{"id":14697,"date":"2017-07-28T09:19:40","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T16:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/?p=14697"},"modified":"2017-08-11T07:49:01","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T14:49:01","slug":"left-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/?p=14697","title":{"rendered":"Left Behind."},"content":{"rendered":"

There is something fascinating about places that stand the test of time. \u00a0Remnants of earth’s ancient past, testaments to humankind’s presence. \u00a0From the silly to the sacred, the Southwest is filled with these places.<\/p>\n

We were up bright and early to get back to Carlsbad Caverns and tour the cave. \u00a0We passed a herd of Barbary sheep that were already looking for shade. \u00a0These sheep are not actually sheep (or goats)<\/a> and they are not native, only appearing in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. \u00a0Most researchers believe they were originally escapees from the McKnight private game ranch in New Mexico<\/a> that imported the breed from their native North Africa. \u00a0And such began the parks’ struggle to restore the decimated native Bighorn sheep (actually sheep) population and remove the Barbary sheep. \u00a0The Barbary sheep are winning. \u00a0Talk about humans leaving their mark.<\/p>\n

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We entered Carlsbad Caverns<\/a> through the Natural Entrance, the same place where the bats exited the cave the previous evening. \u00a0There is an elevator down to the Big Room from the visitor center but do NOT take the elevator (unless disability requires it). \u00a0The 1.25 mile trail down to the interior of the cave is entirely passable with handrails and sufficient low level lighting. \u00a0 Most tourists take the elevator and the Big Room will be busy during tourist season. \u00a0So the descent into the cave by the Natural Entrance is the only way you can get some true alone time in the eerie dimness and among surreal cave formations. \u00a0There is just the sound of dripping water and your own whispers as you travel deeper into the cave along steep zigzagging paths. \u00a0There are impressive places where you are peering into the abyss ahead of you and surrounded by formations towering above your head. \u00a0Carlsbad Caverns was formed between 4 and 6 million years ago<\/a> by sulfuric acid (formed by rainwater mixing with hydrogen sulfide from area oil deposits) dissolving passageways among the fissures of the upraised Guadalupe Mountains.<\/p>\n

My family has been on several cave tours in the past, so we were expecting very narrow passages with an occasional speleothem. \u00a0But Carlsbad Caverns is not like other caves. \u00a0The cave is incredibly vast and the Big Room is almost 8.2 acres wide with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda straws, draperies, helictites, and popcorn along the 1 mile trail around the perimeter of the room. \u00a0Hard to believe all those magnificent features were left behind by the simple flow of water and time<\/p>\n

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We did <\/em>take the elevator back up to the surface because we had lots of other places to see that day. \u00a0We stopped in nearby Carlsbad (which is a city, compared to Whites City, which is not) to see the\u00a0Living Desert Zoo and Gardens.<\/a> I’m going to be honest and tell you that most of the animals were already hunkered into hiding places to stay cool. \u00a0The raptors were the only ones interested in our visit at all.<\/p>\n

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But even if we didn’t see them up close, the museum provided lots of information about the animals as well as the plant life and ecosystems of \u00a0the Chihuahuan desert. \u00a0The visitors center is free to the public so you can learn about the plants and animals without paying a cent, but entrance to the park is only $5\/adult and $3\/child so go ahead and stroll the 1.3 mile trail see the animals (or their empty cages) and check out the succulents greenhouse. \u00a0I can assure you it’s one of the few desert trails you can enjoy that is only a few steps away from air conditioning and an ice cold water fountain!<\/p>\n

By afternoon we were in Roswell checking out the very campy, but fun, International UFO Museum and Research Center<\/a>. \u00a0By “campy” \u00a0I mean, you know, this:<\/p>\n

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I had prepared for Roswell by listening to an audiobook titled\u00a0“Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base”<\/a> by Annie Jacobsen. (Has anyone else noticed how nonfiction books really like titles with colons? \u00a0Anyone??) \u00a0Do NOT read that book if you want to believe in aliens crash landing in farmers’ fields. \u00a0Do NOT read that book if you are terrified of government cover-ups. \u00a0You do NOT want to know what the Department of Energy gets up to—with a whole lot of money and only a teeny bit of oversight. \u00a0The Department of Energy is much, much scarier than aliens. \u00a0Trust me.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the UFO museum is a fun stop and the town of Roswell has lots of adorable aliens and UFO souvenirs everywhere.<\/p>\n

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A stroll through downtown left us at Big D’s Downtown Dive<\/a> for some some delicious burgers and Monster Fries. \u00a0We weren’t expecting craft burgers and fries smothered in chipotle ketchup, pecan smoked bacon, green chiles, and cheese sauce in Roswell, New Mexico. \u00a0But we’ll take it!<\/p>\n

From there we made our way to the free Roswell Art and Museum Center<\/a> which had everything from sculpture to Georgia O’Keeffe to extensive Western and Native American exhibits. \u00a0It was a bit of culture to compensate for the guilty pleasure of wax alien autopsy displays.<\/p>\n

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So, as it turns out, Roswell has a little something for everyone. \u00a0Plus those cute alien street lights!<\/p>\n

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But if debris left behind from alien spacecraft and\/or government nuclear testing isn’t your thing, keep heading west. \u00a0Just north of Tularosa is the Three Rivers Petrolgyph Site<\/a> where there are the remains of something a lot more interesting. \u00a0Here a basalt ridge erupts out of the Tularosa basin near the edge of the Sacramento mountains.<\/p>\n

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Follow that ridge uphill and along the way you’ll discover over 20,000 petroglyphs left behind by the Jornada Mogollon. \u00a0These native people lived in the region between 900 and 1400 AD, carving away the desert varnish on the rocks to leave a variety of images of animals, humans, and symbols.<\/p>\n

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And then they were gone.<\/p>\n

Archaeologists can only guess at the reasons that the Jornada Mogollon abandoned their settlements in the area. \u00a0Perhaps climate change, such as unpredictable rainfall, forced them to abandon agriculture and return to a nomadic lifestyle. \u00a0Perhaps their population became too small or too large and they joined up with native cultures to the north or south. \u00a0Regardless, by the end of the 15th century, nothing remained except the foundations of several village buildings and the amazing array of petroglyphs. \u00a0Lasting evidence of a culture that faded into time.<\/p>\n

And what do those petroglyphs tell us? \u00a0Are they messages? \u00a0Or just a recording of their daily lives? \u00a0Maybe even art for it’s own sake—an art gallery nestled between the mountains and the desert for the people to enjoy. \u00a0No different than us wandering around the Roswell Art and Museum Center. \u00a0Except the Jornada Mogollons picked a scenic background that beats out any other museum atmosphere. \u00a0You can climb that rocky hill, sit among those ancient pictures, and see the world in which the artists lived so many years ago.<\/p>\n

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You can almost reach through time and touch their hands.<\/p>\n

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After leaving Three Rivers we passed through the pistachio groves of Alamogordo. \u00a0The majority of the pistachio crop in the United States comes from California, but this section of New Mexico has 6 or 7 farms adding to the bounty and most of them run along the stretch of highway between Tularosa and Las Cruces. \u00a0Humankind, of course, has left a mark to recognize the feat of growing nuts in the desert. \u00a0With the world’s largest pistachio outside McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch.<\/a> The store was closed for the day, but we saw the giant pistachio. \u00a0Couldn’t miss it if we tried.<\/p>\n

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We crashed for the night and were up the next day for a glimpse of something that had been millions, yes, millions of years in the making. \u00a0The sparkling dunes of White Sands National Monument.<\/p>\n

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All this sand started when the land of New Mexico was covered by a shallow sea over 250 million years ago<\/a>. \u00a0But the sea slowly evaporated, leaving behind thick layers of gypsum, a soft sulfate mineral. \u00a0Then, around 70 million years ago, the Rocky Mountains began to form and the layers of gypsum rose as part of the the San Andres and Sacramento mountains and were exposed to erosion. \u00a0Gypsum is easily dissolved and carried away by water but 30 million years ago more plate tectonic activity in this area resulted in the formation of the Tularosa Basin. \u00a0Precipitation increased, the gypsum washed off the mountaintops, and gathered into an expansive lake in the basin. \u00a0The southwest’s relationship with rain is fickle, though, and the lake again dried up, leaving the gypsum behind. \u00a06,500 to 7,000 years ago the endless cycle of freezing, drying, and blowing winds resulted in the gypsum crystals being broken down into tiny grains of sand. \u00a0And finally the dunes were formed. \u00a0A vast sea turned into an endless beach without a drop of water in sight. \u00a0Whites Sands is a living monument to history and the earth’s powerful geological forces. \u00a0When you are walking the dunes you are really surfing the waves of an ancient sea.<\/p>\n

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But the kids weren’t so interested in the dunes’ history. \u00a0They were mainly interested in climbing….<\/p>\n

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or rolling….<\/p>\n

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or sliding down.<\/p>\n

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Because gypsum sand doesn’t absorb heat like sand derived from disintegrated rock. \u00a0So even on the sunniest day, the kids can play safely on its surface and digging just an inch down reveals grains that are refreshingly cool to the touch. \u00a0Well, they can play safely as long as the park isn’t closed for missile testing at the nearby White Sands Missile Range. \u00a0Which apparently closes large sections of the park when they are conducting “research.” \u00a0I warned you about the Department of Energy. \u00a0Although I think the addition of a gift shop takes the edge off a bit, don’t you? \u00a0What kind of bad can happen when they’re selling souvenir postcards, right? \u00a0Right??<\/p>\n

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Leaving White Sands, we continued west, tracking down another group of Mogollon people, the Mimbres. \u00a0We entered the Gila National Forest<\/a> which encompasses the Gila Wilderness, the first dedicated wilderness area established in 1924. \u00a0The wilderness area does not allow any vehicles and there no roads in the 550,000 acres. \u00a0In sharp contrast to the surrounding desert, the Gila National Forest and wilderness area has ponderosa pines, pinon and juniper woodlands, high mesas, rolling hills, and sheer cliffs along the Gila River. \u00a0 It has unbelievable scenery….<\/p>\n

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and terrifying narrows roads with hairpin curves overlooking sharp precipices. \u00a0And no guard rails.<\/p>\n

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We saw our first javelina as we traversed the winding roads. \u00a0I didn’t get a picture because my hands were clenched on the steering wheel. \u00a0But this is basically what we saw: a bristly pig cutting through the woods.<\/p>\n

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It was more exciting than it sounds.<\/p>\n

Eventually we reached our destination—the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument<\/a>. \u00a0Like seeing the Carlsbad Cavern bat flight, I had been anticipating this experience but I was not prepared for the environment. \u00a0I had imagined a dry desert land housing the caves but instead we hiked through a brushy canyon…<\/p>\n

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until we got a view of what we came for up ahead:<\/p>\n

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Here is where the 10 -15 Mimbres Mogollon families (40-60 people) lived between 1270-1300 AD. \u00a0They hunted and foraged in the area as well as growing crops on the mesa tops and along the river valley. \u00a0They built the walls using local stone and wooden beams, whose tree rings were used to help date the structures. \u00a0A lot of the original mortar and plaster still remains today. \u00a0There is a ranger in the caves to keep tourists from damaging the site. \u00a0But you can still wander among the rooms, climb the ladders, and peer into storage areas.<\/p>\n

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When you enter one of the communal rooms you can still smell the soot from their fires. \u00a0People, you can still smell the soot from the fires of a people that lived over 700 years ago. \u00a0Let that sink in for a minute.<\/p>\n

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God bless the National Park Service and the many people dedicated to protecting our environment and preserving our past for present and future generations to see. \u00a0And touch. \u00a0And even smell. \u00a0God bless ’em.<\/p>\n

We had a 4 hour drive to our next stop, leaving New Mexico for Arizona. \u00a0 So we loaded up the car, hooked up the kids to wi-fi, and settled in for a quiet ride. \u00a0Until we ran into border patrol. \u00a0When we first saw the signs for all cars to exit for the border patrol checkpoint, I assumed we didn’t have to stop. \u00a0The kids looked up at all the cones and warning signs and red flags and asked,<\/p>\n

“What’s up with that? \u00a0Do we have to pull over?”<\/p>\n

“Nope,” \u00a0I replied. \u00a0“They’re not looking for us.”<\/p>\n

Because I didn’t know any better. \u00a0 I was baffled when the lanes narrowed and I was forced to approach the guard station. \u00a0Then I was confused. \u00a0We weren’t crossing the border. \u00a0I mean, I knew the border to Mexico was somewhere around there but we weren’t crossing it, right? \u00a0Wait, right? \u00a0I wanted to look at a map but we were getting closer and closer to the border patrol agent. \u00a0Did I need to get out my license? \u00a0My registration? \u00a0Did I have to tell them where we were going? \u00a0Wait, where were we going? \u00a0I needed to check my travel book. \u00a0Did it look sketchy to check my travel book? \u00a0Who doesn’t know where they’re going???<\/p>\n

“Are we still in America?” \u00a0asked one of the kids.<\/p>\n

“Yes,” \u00a0I answered. \u00a0I was pretty sure. \u00a0Kind of. \u00a0We were still in America, right? \u00a0I started to panic. \u00a0I tried to calm down. \u00a0Because panicking looked sketchy.<\/p>\n

“It’s fine,” \u00a0Pretty said. \u00a0“They’ll know we’re Americans. \u00a0Because we all have Polar Pops.”<\/p>\n

She indicated the 44oz soft drinks we had picked up at the Circle K in Silver City. \u00a0You know, 69\u00a2\u00a0for any size of sweet ice cold diabetes<\/span> goodness. We had 6 of them tucked into cup holders around the car. \u00a0Only real Americans would need 44oz of soda per person. \u00a0In a non-biodegradable foam cup. \u00a0After leaving the pristine wilderness.<\/p>\n

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She was right.<\/p>\n

Before I could even roll my window down, the border patrol agent peered into our car. \u00a0Then he immediately waved us on. \u00a0No questions asked.<\/p>\n

Huh.<\/p>\n

With that, we left New Mexico behind us. \u00a0We would be back to see more in New Mexico on the return trip home but, for now, it was on to Arizona. \u00a0And back to the desert. \u00a0No guard rails necessary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is something fascinating about places that stand the test of time. \u00a0Remnants of earth’s ancient past, testaments to humankind’s presence. \u00a0From the silly to the sacred, the Southwest is filled with these places. We were up bright and early to get back to Carlsbad Caverns and tour the cave. \u00a0We passed a herd of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14697"}],"version-history":[{"count":62,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14899,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14697\/revisions\/14899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}