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The following is a recap of a quick trip I put together to Southern New Mexico over the July 4th weekend. Mark, my son, and I did't take our usual Memorial Day trip because he attended a friend's wedding in Guatemala that week. So I was itching to go somewhere so this is what I decided. I didn't have time to go too far so this is the loop I did. I wanted to see Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands and some mountains. So here I go.
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New Mexico Trip
07/04/08 - 07/06/08
Day One - Friday, 7/04
Home (Willow Park) to Carlsbad, New Mexico
466 Miles
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This is the route from home to Carlsbad, NM. It's a straight shot without a lot of scenery. I wanted the quickest route there without using the Interstate. I got there early enough that my room wasn't ready where I had reservations. So, I took my rear bag off, left it behind the desk at the motel and headed on down to the Caverns.
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I took a picture of my odometer before leaving home so I would remember the mileage on the bike. Also note the time and temperature.
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Although I didn't let the camera focus, you can still make out that it's 427 miles to my original destination of Carlsbad. When I got there I altered the route by going on down to the Caverns which I originally planned to do on the second day.
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I stopped for a few minutes in Breckenridge.
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There was a bunch of these all over West Texas. From the picture it's hard to get a perspective of how large these are. My guess in that the blades are approximately 125 feet long with the overall hub height being around 300 feet.
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Stopped at the New Mexico state line for a photo. I was making good time, it was around noon when I got there.
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As I said earlier, I got to my motel before check-in time. So I left my bag there behind the desk and continued to the Caverns.
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This is the official entrance to the park.
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It's about a 2000 foot climb to the Visitor's Center. This is looking down at the road behind me.
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This is looking ahead to the road in front of me.
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I didn't walk down the trail (1.5 miles) from the main entrance since I was wearing my motorcycle boots, which aren't the best for hiking. I rode the elevator down which cost $6.00. It's 754 feet to the bottom where the Big Room is.
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There are several trails of different lengths to walk in the Big Room . I took the one that's about .6 miiles. The pictures aren't very good because the flash just can't illuminate that large of an area.
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Another shot along the way.
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Another.
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And another.
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Last one in the Big Room.
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These buildings just outside the Visitor's Center were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's as public works projects during the Great Depression.
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This was taken from the front of the Visitor's Center. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the drop off to the area below is probably 2000 feet.
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This is one thing I reallly like about the National Parks. Motorcycle parking is always up front.
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Back at the motel and checked in.
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Put the bike to bed, took a shower and walked a couple of blocks down the street to Chili's for something to eat.
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