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wispfoxIt does help that I just remembered that I can upload them straight to flickr from itunes.
The pictures of my drive from Los Alamos to Carlsbad are now up. :)
Last I wrote, I was in Carlsbad, NM. I did, indeed, go to the Living Desert Museum, Park, & Zoo. Surprisingly humid; locals were expecting there to be a storm sometime relatively soon, as it had been humid for a couple of days. Pictures of this, many. :)
Also went to Carlsbad Caverns, although too late in the day to get to walk down from the natural entrance. I also forgot to get my National Park Passport stamped there, due to lack of time. There are, indeed, pictures! I filled my memory card that day, and today. I need to get a spare, I think!
[eta: Carlsbad photos.]
I got a book that I want to give to all three of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
metahacker, jasra, and galaneia (reverse-alphabetical!). It is, however, difficult to give a single book to three people, so instead I shall lend to each of them, and _wish_ I could somehow give it to them (I was not willing to purchase three, mind you). I am not sharing the title or author because I want it to be a nifty surprise!
The water jug replacements I'd purchased to recover some trunk space ended up being leaky from the place which the water should come out, even fully closed. Alas. Shall visit another REI in Alberquerque when I'm there, return these if I can, and get a non-collapsible type.
There were _TOTALLY_ bats. No pictures, though, as it's not allowed. But BATS! Flying over our heads, when the small children in the audience were quiet, and lots and lots of them flying out in spirals and swooping off into the night. That was _SO_ much more spectacular to me than the caverns themselves. I am far more interested in living things than geology, however, and geology is generally interesting for colors and contrast. You get less of that in caves.
The bat flight being just after sunset (~8:10 they started coming out in large enough to notice numbers, I'd say), and there being a not inconsiderable drive back to the place I was staying, I basically went home and crashed.
So far, the "thank you for hosting me" gift of a tiny Vermont (because it's difficult to find tiny local syrups;heinleinfan and sunstealer got the actual local syrup and also some local honey) maple syrup has been a huge hit with the CouchSurfers I've stayed with. Not that this surprises me; I doubt it's easy to get here!
Woke up early this morning, with the intention of getting to White Sands National Monument early enough to get a campsite, considering that it is both a full moon and the first day of summer for many people. Continued to find it difficult to remain awake during the flat & boring parts of the drive, not helped by early rising. Lots of sugar helped, as did a stop at a random petting zoo/bathroom/selling everything ever place. Lots of those around, not shockingly.
I did, indeed, get here early enough for that goal. From there, I wandered around, including in to the visitor's center. Went to the zoo, mostly to pass time in a relatively cool location. Went back with the intention of setting up my camp around 4:30. Got to the entrance to the park around 4:45. Got to the parking lot for the primitive campsites around 5. At about 6, I was back at my car, having determined that while a mile is entirely do-able for me at a slow pace, it is _not_ when I'm hiking across sand dunes. Perhaps not even if I had not also had all my gear for camping. I forgot how hard it is to walk on sand dunes. Much like powdery snow, really, except not cold. Oddly, the sand acted like salt when I was on the flat parts, not sure if that relates to it being made of gypsum. Sort of... crunchy like salt is when it's on the road after a winter storm. Y'know?
So yeah. At around 6:45, which would have been the sunset walk, I found myself a relatively inexpensive hotel room. And, after determining that the door did in fact require me to open it with enough force to overcome a slightly damaged sill in ways that made me feel like I was breaking the door, I got into the room. The shower was the _BEST THING EVER_, after a day filled with a fair bit of sweat just due to being outdoors in the hot & humid, on top of which there was the "Oh, _wow_, I'm not in good enough shape to walk a mile in sand dunes..." sweat drippingness problem. Layers of dried sweat plus actual dripping wet sweat. Yeah, that shower was lovely.
I'd guess I made it about .25 miles, maaaybe .5, but I doubt it. My legs were shaking after that, though... right. It was round trip. I probably did walk about .5 miles. Anyway. Shaky legs, oh yes. There will be yoga while I wait for uploading pictures to finish. Also a snack, since I had no dinner (I forced a banana and lots of water after getting back to my car, but food - and drink - was _NOT_ what I wanted. Nausea immediately after the banana, which I think was from excertion).
Tomorrow morning, I go back to the dunes and do things _not_ involving a mile hike through the dunes. :) There's a nature walk, a boardwalk through dunes, and a scenic drive, at minumum.
Then, heading more north again.
I need sleep. I will update this entry tomorrow with the relevant photos that are currently uploading.
[eta: Alamogordo pics.]
The pictures of my drive from Los Alamos to Carlsbad are now up. :)
Last I wrote, I was in Carlsbad, NM. I did, indeed, go to the Living Desert Museum, Park, & Zoo. Surprisingly humid; locals were expecting there to be a storm sometime relatively soon, as it had been humid for a couple of days. Pictures of this, many. :)
Also went to Carlsbad Caverns, although too late in the day to get to walk down from the natural entrance. I also forgot to get my National Park Passport stamped there, due to lack of time. There are, indeed, pictures! I filled my memory card that day, and today. I need to get a spare, I think!
[eta: Carlsbad photos.]
I got a book that I want to give to all three of
metahacker, jasra, and galaneia (reverse-alphabetical!). It is, however, difficult to give a single book to three people, so instead I shall lend to each of them, and _wish_ I could somehow give it to them (I was not willing to purchase three, mind you). I am not sharing the title or author because I want it to be a nifty surprise!The water jug replacements I'd purchased to recover some trunk space ended up being leaky from the place which the water should come out, even fully closed. Alas. Shall visit another REI in Alberquerque when I'm there, return these if I can, and get a non-collapsible type.
There were _TOTALLY_ bats. No pictures, though, as it's not allowed. But BATS! Flying over our heads, when the small children in the audience were quiet, and lots and lots of them flying out in spirals and swooping off into the night. That was _SO_ much more spectacular to me than the caverns themselves. I am far more interested in living things than geology, however, and geology is generally interesting for colors and contrast. You get less of that in caves.
The bat flight being just after sunset (~8:10 they started coming out in large enough to notice numbers, I'd say), and there being a not inconsiderable drive back to the place I was staying, I basically went home and crashed.
So far, the "thank you for hosting me" gift of a tiny Vermont (because it's difficult to find tiny local syrups;
heinleinfan and sunstealer got the actual local syrup and also some local honey) maple syrup has been a huge hit with the CouchSurfers I've stayed with. Not that this surprises me; I doubt it's easy to get here!Woke up early this morning, with the intention of getting to White Sands National Monument early enough to get a campsite, considering that it is both a full moon and the first day of summer for many people. Continued to find it difficult to remain awake during the flat & boring parts of the drive, not helped by early rising. Lots of sugar helped, as did a stop at a random petting zoo/bathroom/selling everything ever place. Lots of those around, not shockingly.
I did, indeed, get here early enough for that goal. From there, I wandered around, including in to the visitor's center. Went to the zoo, mostly to pass time in a relatively cool location. Went back with the intention of setting up my camp around 4:30. Got to the entrance to the park around 4:45. Got to the parking lot for the primitive campsites around 5. At about 6, I was back at my car, having determined that while a mile is entirely do-able for me at a slow pace, it is _not_ when I'm hiking across sand dunes. Perhaps not even if I had not also had all my gear for camping. I forgot how hard it is to walk on sand dunes. Much like powdery snow, really, except not cold. Oddly, the sand acted like salt when I was on the flat parts, not sure if that relates to it being made of gypsum. Sort of... crunchy like salt is when it's on the road after a winter storm. Y'know?
So yeah. At around 6:45, which would have been the sunset walk, I found myself a relatively inexpensive hotel room. And, after determining that the door did in fact require me to open it with enough force to overcome a slightly damaged sill in ways that made me feel like I was breaking the door, I got into the room. The shower was the _BEST THING EVER_, after a day filled with a fair bit of sweat just due to being outdoors in the hot & humid, on top of which there was the "Oh, _wow_, I'm not in good enough shape to walk a mile in sand dunes..." sweat drippingness problem. Layers of dried sweat plus actual dripping wet sweat. Yeah, that shower was lovely.
I'd guess I made it about .25 miles, maaaybe .5, but I doubt it. My legs were shaking after that, though... right. It was round trip. I probably did walk about .5 miles. Anyway. Shaky legs, oh yes. There will be yoga while I wait for uploading pictures to finish. Also a snack, since I had no dinner (I forced a banana and lots of water after getting back to my car, but food - and drink - was _NOT_ what I wanted. Nausea immediately after the banana, which I think was from excertion).
Tomorrow morning, I go back to the dunes and do things _not_ involving a mile hike through the dunes. :) There's a nature walk, a boardwalk through dunes, and a scenic drive, at minumum.
Then, heading more north again.
I need sleep. I will update this entry tomorrow with the relevant photos that are currently uploading.
[eta: Alamogordo pics.]
