Afterward

I've been home about a week now and slowly getting back to non RV life.

I am pretty sure that my "RV legs" have turned back to normal legs now.

After a while you start to not notice the movement but it's true... when you (or your dog) move around inside a winnebago View RV, it moves with you (ever so slightly). The movement is obvious enough at first but it becomes second nature to your body after a month or so.

When I moved back into a home that doesn't move when I (or Tigger) do, it was odd. I took a little getting used to.

My brain still isn't 100% convinced that I'm not living in the RV anymore. The other night, I arose from bed not fully awake. In a foggy sleep haze, it wasn't evident to me where I was. I stepped from bed and immediately touched the floor. I knew this was wrong because I'm supposed to climb down a 4 rung ladder before touching to the floor.

I stumbled around in the kitchen and after a few seconds, I woke up enough to realize where I was.

I AM HOME!

I went back to bed and fell right to sleep.

Herman asked what was the best part of the trip. I have to say that Carlsbad Caverns was the most amazing thing I saw throughout the trip. I'd love to go back again because there was much I did not get to see there.

Worst traffic? No doubt, it was on the way home trying to get around Washington DC. What a nightmare that is. I'd rather drive in and around NYC or Los Angeles than Washington DC.

If anyone has any questions about the trip... feel free to ask in a comment below.

More from the Carlsbad Caverns

In case you missed my earlier post about this place… IF YOU’RE ANYWHERE NEARBY CARLSBAD NEW MEXICO, YOU HAVE TO GO HERE. IT IS WORTH YOUR TIME AND EFFORT TO VISIT. I PLAN ON RETURNING SOMEDAY WITH HERMAN. IT’S THAT AMAZING. SO, GO! GO NOW! GO SEE THIS WONDER OF THE WORLD.
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This was the small elevator waiting room 750 feet below the earths surface. Sometimes (OK, all the time) I am claustrophobic but being under ground in the caverns didn’t bother me at all. Neither did taking the elevator down. What D-I-D bother me was sitting in this little room (for what seemed like forever) waiting for the elevator to come down.



The longer we waited, the more people finished their caving Advetures. As they finished, they came into the small elevator room and waited to go up. Of course, the more it filled up with people, the more claustrophobic it got in there. GULP.

The elevator holds just 6 people and I was 3rd in line. I knew I was getting on the next one that came down. But when was that?!

I took pictures of the rooms ceiling to pass the time.




After about 10 minutes of sweating it out in this quickly filling, little underground room, I happened to notice that the 2 people in line before me hadn’t pushed the elevator call button. Look at the 1st pic above and you can clearly see the button between the 2 elevators is NOT lit up. You can also see the dummys arm who should have pushed it long ago. DUUUUH.

In front of the 18-20 people in the room, I loudly asked if anyone had pushed the elevator call button yet. The 2 people at the head of the line had stupid looks on their faces as everyone's hot glare bare down on them. One of the dim-wits walked over and FINALLY pushed the button. YEA!!!



Instead of running around the room, flapping my arms like a chicken and yelling... "get me outta here... I N=E=E=D to get outta here right N=O=W"... I whipped out my phone and played angrybirds. Thank gawd for angrybirds.

Hours later (ok, it was probably just a couple minutes) the elevator door opened up and 6 of us got on and headed for the surface. I pitied the fools stuck 750 feet below the surface but I was glad to be finally going UP, UP, UP.

They were only operating one elevator so you really had to be patient… and… not too claustrophobic.


Here's some random pics from my cell phone since the battery had died in the camera after taking 313 pictures. This place is that fantastic. You will want to take picture after picture.
   
 
         

Carlsbad Caverns is incredible

This place is the #1 highlight of the trip so far. Just smazing.

The darkness in the caverns makes it tough to get photos that accurately depict what the human eye sees.

I took 313 pictures before the battery died in the camera. Around every corner there was something that makes you go… “WOW” or “OH MY GOD” and even expletives I won’t type here. 


The immensity of the caves is what hit me. They’re just HUGE! Each one seemed to open into an even larger cave. It’s hard to believe that 750 feet below the earth is this magnificent national treasure. It was hidden away for millions of years and only discovered a few decades ago.
 
   

I’ll add to this blog post tomorrow as I go through the 300+ pics and find the “good ones”

I am in the central time zone again… just 1 hour off from home. Hello from Fort Stockton Texas. 9 am 1/14/12

Tigger says… “I think I see a chupacabra in the road?!”

1-12-12

The day started off with scrambled egg whites with ham and swiss on italian bread and my famous dunkin donuts homemade coffee. It was delish.


In the parking lot of the Artesia NM walmart that we stayed at, I noticed a water hose. I took advantage of it even though I was still 3/4 full.


While the water was filling I noticed the electrical boxes nearby. I wonder if they were powered. I bet they were. Had I seen them last night, I would have backed near and stealthily plugged in. Free power and water… walmart is too good to us RVers. Whenever I see an opportunity like this I ask myself, WWGD (what would Glenn do?).
   

We headed south towards the Carlsbad Caverns in Whites City NM. This part of New Mexico is wide open and pretty flat. Lots of inactive oil wells can be seen from the road.
 

I saw this 1960’s style gas station in Carlsbad. It was closed but still stood as a testament to days gone by.


An old hotel still very much open and well kept.


We found the entrance to the caverns and started the 8 mile drive in. The scenery was amazing... as usual.
 

Unfortunately, the last elevator ride down to the caverns happened about 30 minutes before we arrived. I went in to the visitor center and checked the place out online. It is definitely a place worth spending the night and seeing tomorrow.
The RV park at the entrance to the caverns wants $33 a night. That’s a rip off for a gravel lot, power and water. Both of which I don’t really need. I figured I’d drive the 19 miles back to walmart and stay for free. Enroute, I found an empty gravel parking lot of an oil well containment area about a mile away from the caverns and am going to park here for the night. I don’t foresee anyone hassling me. If they do, I can be packed up in 2 minutes and hit the road.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. <--- my new motto.
 


Tigger says... "Goodnight from White's City New Mexico."