Number of Miles Driven: 504 (Day 7); 294 (Day 8)

Drive Time: 10:30 a.m. - 6:15 p.m. (Day 7)

States Driven through: TX, NM (2)



We set out later than anticipated for our trip to Carlsbad because of our late night the night before. We made a pit stop at Target to grab some necessities - you know, bread, hair ties (they got lost somewhere in Mobile), Dunkin Donuts creamer, and ice; and then we were on our way. Meanwhile, Matthew was clutching his lunch as if someone might try to steal it and his first question immediately upon getting into the car was "when can we eat lunch." I commented that he's holding it like a baby and he said - in all serious defensiveness, "Babies can't hold food." The estimated driving time was 7.5 hours and we were gaining an hour by entering the Mountain Time Zone. We couldn't match our one-stop achievement from our previous 7.5 trip from Prairieville to Austin - but we packed PBJ for lunch in the car and still made great time. We drove through several small towns on small highways before we reached I-10. Apparently, west of Austin is the Napa Valley of Texas. There were wineries every 1-5 miles for at least 30 miles if not more. If only we had time to stop and do a wine tasting...

Once we got on I-10, Waze told us we had 210 miles to go - just on I-10 - before our next turn - oh boy! I worked on the blog for our time in Austin while Michael tried to stay entertained with music (we started a Sirius XM trial). Andrew and Carolyn had to work on their journals for 30 minutes before getting tablet time - they try to rush through it with the bare amount of details so we check their work and usually have to "encourage" (ahem..require) them to write more. Matthew has been keeping video journals and he starts each video with "Hi, it's Matthew Griffin. We are taking a cross-country road trip." The drive through West Texas was dusty (see the van below!) but very pretty. The landscape changed to low trees/bushes, rock mesas, and dirt. The kids even noticed that the primary mode of transportation changed to big trucks! We saw lots of oil rigs and tall metal poles/posts (gas flares) that had fires coming out of the top - apparently they were burning off excess natural gas that comes up with crude oil (thank you google...). 





We had to make 3 (!) stops for this 7.5 hour trip. Two bathroom stops and then a dinner stop. Dani is potty training herself with each bathroom break that we make. I'm not objecting because if she can potty train herself by the time we get back, then that alone would make the WHOLE 5-week excursion worth it. I just wish I had brought pull-ups because it sure would be easier to let her go to the bathroom if she were in a pull-up instead of a diaper. 

We had a fancy dinner at the last truck stop. There wasn't anything between Pecos, TX and our hotel so we had planned to do cereal in the hotel room - but we passed a Pilot Truck Stop that had a "fresh market" attached to it so Michael called an audible and we pulled in to grab dinner. Honestly, though, it was a really good/fresh cheese pizza (and there were lots of other things to choose from but the pizza was most economical). 


After a quick dinner (and a final bathroom break), we continued to our hotel. Unfortunately, we were driving into New Mexico on a fairly small highway, so we didn't pass a "Welcome to New Mexico" sign - it's the first one we haven't gotten a picture of and it also means the kids couldn't check it off on their scavenger hunt. We'll do a neck crane when we're leaving the state on Monday and try to see it on the opposite lane. 

A fun fact about New Mexico is that 75% of the roads aren't paved (just dirt/rock) because the climate is too dry. Although we've only been on paved roads so far, the "highway" (that's a stretch..) that led us into Carlsbad was washed out. We had been traveling on it for several miles when we got to a "Road Closed" sign in the middle of the road - we gave each other concerned looks because there wasn't a detour option. Were we really going to have to turn around and drive MILES out of the way to get past this road block. Luckily there was a car coming from the other direction, and they drove right through the road and past the "Road Closed" sign (and they were pulling a camper) so we decided to do that too. Apparently, the road had partially washed away and boards had been placed on the road to allows cars to continue using it - but it was definitely a one-car only passage. We made it safely across and continued toward Carlsbad - at that point we were only 15-20 minutes away so we were grateful we didn't have to backtrack and find an alternative or a "Breaking Bad" type dirt road to get to our destination. 

The kids were excited to get to the hotel - It was the first hotel we've stayed at on the trip so they couldn't wait to check it out. Matthew was SUPER impressed that it had two beds...that were MADE! The hotel is the only hotel located directly at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns. The other hotels are in Carlsbad which is 15 or so minutes north of the caverns - so it was a very convenient location. And it also had a really neat kiddie pool section with a boat and mushroom that had water flowing over it. Dani held onto a cactus while posing for a picture, so we had to address her pain first and foremost, but we got them swimming really quickly since they'd been in the car all day. 
Notice Dani grabbing the cactus...






After a little bit of swimming (and a LOT of unpacking the car..I think every bag we own came in - notice the new outfits in the upcoming blog posts!), we got ready to see the bat flight at Carlsbad Caverns. After a ho-hum experience at Austin, we were hopeful the experience at Carlsbad would be better. We were told to get there by 7:30 because they don't allow people to enter after that time because they want to keep it quiet. However, we were also told the bats don't fly out until as late as 9 pm. Uh-oh...a long way after an unsuccessful long wait the night before. We went prepared with books, coloring books, and activity books to keep the kids occupied while we waited. Luckily, it turned out to be a great experience!

First, once you enter the grounds of Carlsbad Caverns, it's a 7-mile drive to the actual caverns - and the scenery was just amazing. Carolyn took LOTS of pictures of the drive up to the caverns but it doesn't do the view justice. Dani thought the mountains/mesas were all volcanoes and kept saying she wanted to walk up a volcano. 

Phones weren't allowed at the bat flight amphitheater so we have no documentation of the bat flight, but I promise it happened. Shortly after arriving at 7:30 the park ranger did an educational talk about the bats and their history at the Caverns. There are over 450,000 bats living in the "bat cave" and they come out most nights between April and October. Luckily for us, they decided to make an early escape because they had been holed up the previous few nights due to heavy rains and they were hungry! By 8:15 the bats came out in droves and made a very cool cylindrical shape as they flew counterclockwise. Large sections would fly out at the same time but the event lasted at least 20-30 minutes and we left before it was even over. Toward the end, the bats were flying very close to us and would swoop by very quickly - it was a little startling but very neat. Overall, a much better experience than Austin. Interestingly, the ranger specifically mentioned the bat show at Austin and said there are over 1 million bats in Austin and they are "city bats" (not "country bats" like they have at Carlsbad), so they like sounds and lights - but perhaps they hadn't come out because of the rain that Austin had been received. 

We got back to the hotel and the kids watched TV while we sorted through clothes and traded out outfits for the next several nights. We also pulled out our hiking boots - our first chance to test them out! 



As for our next day (Friday) at the Caverns - it was breathtaking. None of us had ever been there, so we were excited to see what it was all about. We had passes for 8:30 so we got an early start and the caverns were fairly sparse. Oddly enough, we parked next to someone from Charlotte, North Carolina and they had also taken the southern route (through Mobile to visit family) to New Mexico. We took the elevator down 750 feet to get to the caverns and the experience was indescribable. I had never seen anything like it. The "trail" through the caverns took about 1 hour and all of us were taking pictures every 5 steps. Matthew was especially cute as he clicked away on his camera and just took pictures of everything. He kept saying "Isn't this amazing, Mom?!" Andrew also really enjoyed the Caverns tour - he named several of the stalactite and stalagmite formations - his favorite being "Sea Monster" (see picture below). Dani was the only one who wasn't super impressed (at least after 15-20 minutes of walking) and she got whiny about being cold (it was 56 degrees) and her legs hurting... Michael carried her through most of the caverns and gave her his undershirt to wear as a jacket. Matthew also got tired of walking at the halfway point but overall he enjoyed it. I think no one was used to the weight of their hiking boots and it made feet/legs get sore sooner. 
Descending 750 feet to the caverns. 







Andrew named this one "Sea Monster"





All in all it was a great trip to the caverns - and the kids spent almost as much time in the gift shop as they did the caverns. Andrew and Carolyn each found pocket knives with their names on - yes, even Carolyn! And Dani and Matthew got stuffed bats. Highly recommend Carlsbad Caverns!

We were finished with Carlsbad Caverns by 11:30 a.m. and headed toward our next stop - my Uncle John's house in Las Vegas, NM. However, we made a quick stop through Roswell before getting there...stay tuned for our alien experience!