White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns

I have wanted to explore New Mexico since we arrived here four years ago. We finally took the trip, after finding out that we may be moving in December. Chuckolate, Tutu, Sophia, Tessa, and I packed up into my little Civic Hybrid and headed south. We drove through Roswell, NM, and slowed down to enjoy the aliens that were everywhere (they really enjoy their reputation and every sign in town had some reference to aliens or picture of little green critters) but we only stopped for lunch and then continued to Artesia. How interesting could aliens really be? We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Artesia that I had found online. It sounded lovely and the pictures were beautiful, but the room had a funny smell and the pool that I had promised my children was so green and slimy that I wouldn't let them near it! I think the best thing about the B&B was this swing.

After dropping off our luggage and getting the room ready for a late night return, we took off for Carlsbad Caverns. We took the elevator down into the cave and it was really amazing. It was so open, airy, and light...totally unexpected in a cave. I must admit that I wondered if it would be either a little boring or a little scary to the girls (or me) but it was truly awe inspiring and we were all disappointed that part of the caves were already closed because it was so late in the day. However, we wanted to be there in the late afternoon so we could stay and watch the bats fly out of the cave opening to get their breakfast. So we headed out of the cave and found a front row seat to the bat show!

We saw a fox in one of these little caves.They called this kind of rock 'popcorn', so Sophia had to try it!We took turns carrying the tired girls."I don't care if I'm not in bed or the car, I'm sucking my thumb anyway!"I think Sophia will be giving Tutu piggyback rides soon!Ok, Ok. This picture was actually taken in front of a poster, but I love it!
There was a lot of waiting and it had been a long day, not to mention we had to wait until sunset, which was around 8:30 when the girls are usually already asleep. However, once the bats finally started flying out of the cave opening, it really was impressive. We gawked for a little while and then hurried back to the room and put the two sleeping girls to bed. They are playing around while waiting for the bats to make their nightly flight out of the cave.A cute little friend we madeWe got rained on while we waited, but it was worth it for the double rainbow.Every time we saw a bird fly over, Tessa asked if it was a bat. She was ready.You are not allowed to take pictures of the real bats, but it looked a lot like this.

Aahh! Here they come!

The next morning we headed to Alamogordo to see the Space Museum and Toy Train Depot. The Space Museum probably wouldn't have made it on our agenda if they hadn't offered free admission to military families for the summer. However, it was fun to walk through and several of the exhibits were interesting to all of us, even Tessa. The train was probably more of a hit for the girls, but not quite as fun for the grown-ups...especially because it was outside, at least 100 degrees, and there wasn't any shade in sight.Future astronauts at workI'm a giant alien, floating through space!

The view of White Sands from Alamogordo was amazing.

We left Alamogordo to head towards White Sands, but wanted to find a place to stop for lunch and find another fun thing to do. We drove past a Cherry Festival and thought that it might meet both requirements. We tasted cherries, Sophia jumped on a Bouncer (Tessa thought it was too hot for bouncing and I didn't disagree), we got some yummy, ice cold shaved ice, we checked out a lot of vendors, bought a few souvenirs, bought some cherries to snack on, and decided to find a restaurant for lunch because we needed the aircon.

Cute napkin holders and tissue boxes...I didn't want one, but I like the picture of them!

We arrived at White Sands in the afternoon and checked out the visitor center and gift shop before going to explore. We really should have bought a sled, but I didn't really want to own a sled (in Albuquerque anyway), so we climbed the sand dunes and tried to slide down on our clothes. The girls and Chuckolate also tried rolling down the dunes and the girls made sand angels and other equally messy, I mean fun, things. It was really strange because the sun was so hot, but the sand is actually some mineral and it doesn't get hot like regular sand. Of course, you can tell from the pictures of my girls' red faces that the weather was plenty hot and we really wished there was a cold ocean nearby.

Sophia and Tessa got little Indian princess dolls that they loved, until the beads started to unravel.
We stayed until it was time for the evening tour, which ended at sunset (another late night for the girls!). The tour was interesting and we learned a lot about the white sands origins and wildlife. Sophia decided to help the tour guide out a lot, luckily she was very friendly and welcomed the interruptions, um, very helpful suggestions. We arrived in Las Cruces after dark with two completely exhausted and sound asleep girls...although this time they were covered in sand. My mom and I tried to bathe them without waking them up too much, so we opted not to wash their hair until morning. I thought we could brush most of the sand out and that if their bodies were clean the sand shouldn't be too much of a problem, but there were actual piles of sand in the beds in the morning! Even after more hair brushing, eating breakfast, and swimming in the nice, clean, slime-free pool, I still had to wash their hair a few times each to get all of the sand out!
There was almost this much sand in the beds the next morning.

The last day of the trip we decided to take our time swimming in the morning, then head to Old Town. We checked out the stores and the vendors on the square, the girls played/performed on the little stage, and we met Auntie Pam and Uncle Dave for lunch. We really appreciated them driving a few hours just to have lunch with us because we all had such a good time. We ate at La Posta, which was once a stop on the Santa Fe wagon trail, many many years ago. Now, they serve delicious New Mexican food and even gave the Dads free dessert because it was Father's Day! After a little more walking around, we were finally ready to head home. We can spot a stage from across town!Chuck and Dave had some guy talk while the girls shopped.This was supposed to be a group photo but only half the group got in it!

Mmm, apple juice!

You say tortilla warmer, we say funny hats!

The trip was definitely fun and worthwhile, even if it was hot, hot, hot and busy, busy, busy. Tessa made me a little nervous when she asked to go home at least ten times in two days. Moving may be very interesting with her. However, we are all glad that we have been able to enjoy NM during our time here.