On to New Mexico

I'm up at 6:45-for whatever reason-and put on the coffee before walking over to the restrooms & some people have already left the KOA! Hey, great coffee! And cookies of course. I head off for a short spin & let KK sleep in, while I ride 11 miles in the cool of the morning. I'm back by 8:30 & we have some cereal & start to tear down & prepare for a journey to Carlsbad, NM. It's not too far & we gain an hour, but how many DQ's will there be on the way? We're packed up & ready by 10:15 & off southwesterly, toward Hobbs, NM & on to Carlsbad & another KOA. Not many trees out this way, but a lot of oil field activity & potash plants. A couple of stops for gas and ice cream & we roll in the KOA, north of Carlsbad about 2:30 & set up in some oppressive heat and very small trees. (Our reflectors will help a lot here!) But one thing, no trains! And no interstate either! The pool looks nice & it's a salt water pool-NO DIVING!- and a hot tub too! I chat with a couple of folks from Durango, who are looking for "Aliens"& other interesting things in this area. To the showers to clean up & go to supper in town & to the Caverns to watch the bats! We're looking for a good Mexican place but end up at the "Whiner Diner". My chicken fry is excellent, but KK does not care for her terriakyi chicken salad...hey, NO WHINING! On to the Caverns & the free bat show! It's still a pretty good drive down to the park & the start of the 7:30 show. It's a short walk down to the "Bat Amphitheater", that seats about 1200, and it's a good crowd to watch the "Mexican Free-tailed bats" come swirling out of the cave opening, going counter-clockwise ( to gain momentum to escape the cave) & for 25 minutes they are non-stop at about 5-6 thousand per minute! They will stay out until dawn, feeding on insects & getting water. What a sight this is! Ranger Mike gives a good presentation & runs a good show. Glad we didn't miss this! back in the auto for the long drive back, but a short stop at Wally for some essentials (right) and thru the cruel construction in town-it's a mess! back to our chirpping alarm, but why is it doing this? I'll just rip it out! Some reading, journaling, & e-mails before going to bed at around midnight...mountain time.