By the end of week one we made it to central New Mexico. It is unusually hot for this time of year here. After Chiricahua Nat. Mon. we headed up to the Whitewater River catwalk, Gila Cliff dwellings and then to White Sands Nat. Mon. where we took a 3 hour walk amongst the dunes that look like snow. Eastward, we hit Carlsbad Cavern which always impresses. The local accomodations, however, have seemed to slip over the years. We counted 8 of 8 toilets in the only nearby campground that were all plugged up. Add to that the early Greek style showers in the mens room with a noticable amount of un-picked up soap.

Before the trip we bought a Nikon D40 camera to handle pictures in difficult lighting situations and it paid off in the caves. The most unique formation was in Slaughter Canyon Cave. It looked like something straight out of an Iron Maiden album cover. Imagine the early explorers stumbling on this in candle light. I suspect they would have left a formation of their own right there.

Next we travelled down to Big Bend National Park in Texas. Still very hot during the day, but nice at night. The Rio Grande is quite low right now and they don't recommend swimming in it as the US and Mexico have vastly differing sewage standards.