February 1 - 6, 2020
Expect the unexpected in Carlsbad, New Mexico
"We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." -- Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
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| Sometimes, you have to have faith and follow your path, even when (especially when) the destination is unfamiliar, dark, and mysterious. |
Have you ever noticed on Google Maps, a yellow alert that your trip crosses into a different time zone? No, neither did I until after we visited Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The drive from Tucson to Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GMNP) was supposed to take a little over six hours. After breaks, we planned on seven. What we didn’t plan on was entering a new time zone, which meant we arrived about an hour later than we had planned. It was a long day on the road.
In El Paso, we passed a beautiful scenic pullout high on a hill overlooking the city. I wish we had known about it beforehand. We would have stopped for a photo.
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| The sun setting on a West Texas highway |
We arrived at the park campground well after sunset. We had been driving uphill on a winding four-lane highway that did not have reflector markers. It was pitch black and hard to see as all oncoming traffic seemed to have their high beams on. We were tired, and there were few signs to lead the way and no street light to help us find the campground entrance.
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| Night falls on a set of work camp trailers. |
Pine Springs Campground at GMNP is simply a parking lot. It’s the only public campground in the area and is on a first-come, first-serve basis, $15 per night, self-check-in. If no spaces were available, our plan B was to stay in the BLM boondock lot farther down the road known as Chosa Campground. Fortunately, there was plenty of space. The wind whipped through the campground and shook the van now and then. We didn’t mind; we were tired and quickly fell asleep.
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| Pine Springs Campground at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far West Texas |
In the morning, after a simple breakfast of cereal and yogurt, we packed up and went to the Visitor Center, where the rangers suggested a hiking trail. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a hiker’s park. It doesn’t have a scenic road to drive through the park. Still, it does have 18 hiking trails ranging from a quarter-mile, wheel-chair accessible trail to the 11.3-mile moderate/strenuous trail through the Chihuahuan Desert to the base of El Capitan.
The park rangers recommended Smith Spring Trail, a 2.3-mile round trip hike with a moderate difficulty level. They said it’s good for wildlife viewing because the animals are drawn to the spring.
While at the Visitor Center, we also asked about the time, which kept confusing us. I thought it was 9 a.m., but Roger thought it was 10 a.m. One phone said one time. The other phone said another time.
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| Meet Carl’s Bad, our Year of the Rat mascot |
After getting my National Park Passport Stamp, I looked for a Year of Rat mascot in the gift shop -- and found a cute hand puppet packrat -- with a little backpack on his back. I immediately fell in love!
We left the visitor center with a plan and hiking map in hand. Within several yards of the visitor center, we saw a historic pullout. We pulled in and walked the short trail to the ruins of the old Butterfield Overland Mail station, known as The Pinery. This stagecoach service operated between east and west coasts from 1858 to 1861.
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| Ruins of the old Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station |
After snapping a few photos, we hopped back into the van to head further down the road to the trailhead. Or so we thought. The van would not start. Roger tried and tried and tried again, but it would not start. Since the van’s engine had always been an easy and strong starter, it was evident that this was serious, and Roger’s initial fear that the engine was not getting fuel was later confirmed.
We started calling tow truck companies and auto mechanics in Carlsbad. Our cell phone connection was poor, so we walked back to the visitor center and sat in the foyer to make more phone calls. Eventually, we made plans to be towed 50 miles to Carlsbad, where they would deliver the van to a recommended mechanic. After dropping the van off, the friendly tow truck driver gave us a ride to the Days Inn, where I had made a reservation.
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| #vanlife meets #towtrucklife |
The tow truck driver was the younger brother of the man who owned the towing business. “I tried to join the military, but they wouldn’t take me because of my hand tattoos,” he said, so he came to Carlsbad to work for his brother. He also told us more about Carlsbad, “You were lucky to get a hotel room. They’re so expensive now because of the fracking.”
Fracking is slang for hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting oil and gas from the ground. “As of March 2, 2017, there were 29,996 approved oil wells and 27,780 approved natural gas wells in New Mexico.” (https://ballotpedia.org/Fracking_in_New_Mexico, retrieved March 26, 2020)
The tow truck driver told us that Carlsbad is a town built for 30,000 people but now has 90,000 because of fracking. All the hotels are usually sold out, and everything is more expensive since the fracking started. “It’s good for the workers,” the tow truck driver said, “but it makes everything more expensive for everyone else.”
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| An empty lot in downtown Carlsbad |
Fracking is a controversial topic. It’s positive for economic development and the development of energy resources, but its environmental impact could be catastrophic. The toxic chemicals used to separate oil and gas from sediments in the ground could contaminate the local water supply. Also, Carlsbad is located in a giant, natural basin, and fracking could potentially collapse a giant sinkhole under the city.
(Read more about fracking in New Mexico. Study: New Mexico would lose billions if fracking banned, oil and gas lead economic growth, by Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus and A fracking disaster waiting to happen in Carlsbad, New Mexico by Denise Gascoigne)
The only consolation to breaking down and being towed to town was settling into our hotel room and watching the Superbowl. While we had been looking for a bar or other suitable place to watch the game, this was just perfect, with a few beers rescued from the van’s refrigerator. Our plans called for us to be at the KOA Carlsbad campground, north of Carlsbad, the next two nights. Instead, we ordered Dominoes and settled in at the Days Inn.
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| Our home away from #vanlife in Carlsbad |
Roger called the garage first thing the next morning. They hoped to take a look at the van that afternoon and would call him to let us know as soon as they knew anything. If you know Roger, you know he is persistent. He called early in the afternoon. Then again, a little later. Finally, he got the news, a broken fuel pump. They’d have to order the part. It should be there tomorrow from El Paso, they said.
We realized the van probably wouldn’t be fixed the next day, so we walked two miles to Walmart, where Roger got in line for a haircut. We bought food to take back to the room and walked back to the hotel, stopping along the way to have a late lunch at La Patrona. Roger ordered a chile Rellenos burrito, and I got an enchilada plate. La Patrona is a window service restaurant with a covered outdoor seating area. You know it’s a local favorite because many truckers and people getting off from work were stopping there for their dinners. One thing we have enjoyed in the Southwest is the delicious, authentic Mexican food, and this place didn’t disappoint us.
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| La Patrona, a local place for Mexican food |
Carlsbad, New Mexico, is not the kind of place people dream of spending their vacation. Most of the city -- the part we saw, anyway -- looked like one big industrial park. The wide highway ran through the middle of town, and every parking lot was full of white, American-made, four-wheel drive, extended cab, pick up trucks. Many of the vehicles had big generators and welding equipment in the pickup beds.
Hotels were being built up and down Highway 285 through Carlsbad. According to the tow truck driver, one hotel under construction was already entirely reserved by a single company as soon as it’s completed.
We were eager to get the van fixed and back on the road. Mother nature had other plans.
An unusual cold front and winter storm was moving through the area. After our second night at the hotel, we checked out, hoping the van would be ready that day. We sat in the hotel lobby, waiting for the call from the garage. Roger waited until the afternoon to call them. The garage assured us that they were working on it, and it should be ready by the end of the day.
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| The hotel parking lot was full of white, American-made, extended cab, four-wheel-drive, pickup trucks. |
The weather reports called for freezing rain and snow. The hotel was filling up fast, and the manager said he had one room left, and he suggested we take it. Even if the van got fixed by 5 p.m., it would be dark, and it was a good 21 miles to the KOA campground where we had a reservation. The hotel manager was right. Even if we did get the van back that night, the roads would be slippery, and the van does not like snow.
We booked a third night at Days Inn, postponed our KOA arrival another night, and ordered a Lyft to the garage to pick up the van. We lucked out with the Lyft. The driver just happened to be in town, dropping off a customer. Carlsbad usually doesn’t have Lyft or Uber.
We got to the garage and waited and waited until well after their 5 p.m. closing time. Finally, the woman at the desk (I think she’s the matriarch of the family) told us the van would not be ready that night. On a regular van and fuel pump, it would have been finished, but it was taking longer because of the RV systems. They wanted to make sure they hooked everything back up correctly.
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| Shopping for space heaters at Walmart. A sign of things to come? |
We appreciated their thoroughness, but we were also frustrated. We asked for a ride back to the hotel. We crawled up into a white, American-made, four-wheel drive, extended cab pick up truck.
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked the driver who had been one of the employees working in the office. (I think he’s the grandson.) “Why does everyone have white trucks?”
“They don’t show the dirt,” he said. “It’s so windy and dry here. As soon as you wash your vehicle, it’s covered in dirt. White doesn’t show the dirt as much as darker colors.”
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| Native people of this land used the base of mountains as a natural shelter. |
We got dropped off at the local brewery, Guadalupe Mountain Brewing Company. I ordered a flight of beer and a Reuben sandwich. Roger ordered a Cuban and a hard cider. The sandwiches each came with a bag of chips. The sandwiches were tasty, but mine was cool in the middle, and not quite as mouth-watering as I would have liked. I enjoyed the beer, and the atmosphere was friendly, casual, and had a bit of an artsy/creative vibe to it. There is a small stage in the corner of the dining area for live music, although there was no music when we were there. There’s also a nook opposite the stage with comfy sofas and chairs for a more relaxed seating area.
The chilly wind was starting to pick up during our walk back to the hotel. I hadn’t thought to grab my winter coat and hat when we left the van at the garage two days earlier. We’re in New Mexico for goodness sake! It’s supposed to be warm here!
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| In summer, visitors can participate in the Bat Flight Experience at Carlsbad Caverns. |
The next morning, we checked out of our room and waited in the lobby for the call from the garage. By now, the front desk staff (same people every day) were getting to know us, and they teased us about bringing the cold weather from Alaska. I can’t say enough about the staff at the Days Inn. They were friendly and sympathetic to our dilemma. We were lucky we came to Carlsbad during a slow time in the fracking industry. The hotel manager told us the rooms go for as much as $300 a night during the busy season. Our room rate was around $130 a night.
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| Some people take the elevator down to the cavern. We opted for The Natural Entrance. |
We finally got the call from the garage that the van was ready, and our ride would be on his way in a few minutes. What a good feeling to get back into our newly repaired van home. Our first stop was propane, where we stood in a long line of RV dwellers filling their tanks for the night. There were two servicemen continually operating the gas station propane tank, and at one point, more than 15 people were waiting. Many of the locals and fracking workers live in RV parks and mobile homes, and they were all worried about their pipes freezing.
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| This underground world was like an imaginary world from a fantasy novel. |
The weather report called for temperatures as low as 15 degrees in the night. The propane heater in the van had stopped blowing hot air several days earlier. So, the next stop was Walmart, where we could buy an electric heater. We would have an electrical hookup at the KOA campground that night. Of course, we arrived at Walmart only to find empty shelves where the heaters were supposed to be. On the lowest shelf, we found two small 150 watt heaters and snatched them up as if they were made of gold.
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| The caverns would naturally be completely dark. The Park Service installed spotlights. |
We drove 21 miles to the KOA campground, passing scenic high desert landscape and Brantley Lake, a man-made reservoir created when Brantley Dam was built across the Pecos River in the 1980s. I imagined it was probably quite lovely during other times of the year, but on this day, it was not appealing. The earth was desolate and stark. Across the landscape, oil fields were easily identifiable by their tall candle-like structures burning off natural gas that can’t be processed or sold -- a process called flaring.
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| My favorite color green in a cavern pool |
That night I wore extra layers of clothing to bed -- socks, leggings, Smartwool shirt, pajamas, and a knit cap on my head. Roger had bought a cold-weather sleeping bag for me early in the trip. Usually, I slept with it unzipped, laid on top of me. On this night, I zipped myself into it like a mummy. We slept with both heaters going.
When we woke the next morning, the temperature outside the van was 15 degrees. Inside was 35 degrees. As soon as the sun began to rise above the horizon, so did the temperature.
We backtracked through Carlsbad and returned to our road trip. We eliminated Big Bend National Park from our itinerary to both makeup for the lost time and because of this winter storm. One of our campsites would have been at 5,000 feet elevation and was predicted to get several inches of snow.
We spent the morning and early afternoon exploring Carlsbad Caverns -- what turned into one of our favorite days of the entire trip. We were so appreciative of the WOW factor after our unexpected detour in Carlsbad.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is known for the bats that fly out of the cave each evening from May through October. We didn’t get to see the bats, but we were able to enter the caverns through the bat cave entrance, known as the Natural Entrance Trail.
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| Stalagmites (rises from the floor) and stalactites (hangs from the ceiling) |
The magnificence of Carlsbad Caverns is impossible to describe with words, and photos (especially with our phone cameras) do not do it justice. Driving to Carlsbad Caverns is a little out of the way, but I recommend you see it for yourself. I am sometimes a little claustrophobic, and I don’t like heights at all, but I felt ok in the caverns.
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| This chandelier dominates the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns. |
We left Carlsbad with a good riddance attitude, but, in retrospect, our time in Carlsbad opened our eyes to a different part of the United States. And, isn’t that the purpose of travel? To experience new people? New places? To learn something about the world that we didn’t know before? To feed our perspective? To keep our understanding of the world fresh?
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| Thank you, U.S. National Park Service, for preserving earth’s natural wonders. |
We didn’t plan to go to Carlsbad. We didn’t want to spend three nights in a Carlsbad hotel. But guess what story we tell the most? A story with a happy ending.
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| Panoramic view from Carlsbad Caverns National Park Visitor Center |
"For how can one know color in perpetual green, and what good is warmth without cold to give it sweetness?" -- John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley
#CarlsbadCavernsNationalPark #GuadalupeMountainsNationalPark #CarlsbadNewMexico #me2ak #vanlife #ontheroad
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