DAY 30 - Deming, N.M. to Carlsbad Caverns

(photo: Nora with her rock and Junior Ranger badge. Sorry, no photos of the bats. It's not allowed. The flash is bad for the bats.)
Yesterday, Michael fell asleep during my 5 p.m. hike and didn’t wake up (it was 6 p.m., but we changed the clocks coming into N.M.) so I woke him up before I went to bed and fed him. He woke up at 7 a.m., which was like sleeping in. We packed up at a leisurely pace. Nora asked to go back to the playground again (I can’t believe she remembered that she could, and thought to ask…) so David took her while I washed the dishes and put away all the inside gear. On our way out of the park, we stopped at the visitor center. There was a ranger there who gave Nora a Junior Ranger badge and let her choose one of the polished rocks from the basket. She was really nice. She also told me one of the rocks I found had a bit of opal in it! Not enough to make us rich, though, I’m afraid.
Our destination today is along the southern border of New Mexico, so we actually crossed into Texas for awhile to follow the highway. We stopped and gassed up for $2.14 a gallon. It’s the first time I can remember when we were below a quarter of a tank and we filled up and it cost less than $100.
Around 2:30 p.m. we drove through the Guadalupe Mountains, which were beautiful. There is a small national park there, but we didn’t stop. We are going to Carlsbad Caverns. The place we are staying tonight is in the town of Carlsbad, 20 miles past the caverns. The campground sounds really nice, but we are going to stop at the caverns first to watch the bats fly out at sunset.
Michael was fussy during the beginning of the drive. Neither a clean diaper nor a full belly would calm him down, and he didn’t want his pacifier (which we found), either. After lunch I ended up falling asleep with my head on the side of his car seat, I was so exhausted from trying to comfort him. He did finally take a nap, and mercifully it was at the same time as Nora’s nap. It’s nearly silent in the camper now as we drive through the high desert and prairie toward the caverns. Silent, that is, as long as you can tune out the roar of the engine and the squeak of the side door and the rattle of the trays in the oven.
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Made it to Carlsbad Caverns, toured the visitor center and made dinner in the parking lot. Then we went to see the bats leaving the cave. It was amazing. They swarmed at the entrance, almost like they were in a blender, and the sound of their wings was like a far-off waterfall. Then they would take off in groups. It looked like a cloud of smoke leaving. There were thousands and thousands. It was beautiful. Nora tried really hard to be quiet, as there is supposed to be silence so as not to distract the bats. But the amphitheater is right at the cave entrance. And it is hard to be quiet when you’re almost two. There were other families there, but the kids younger than Nora weren’t talking yet, and so were quiet. The kids older than her had some idea about whispering and such. We tried to teach Nora to whisper and she would do it a couple times, and then she would say in a loud voice, “Nora whisper. Bats whisper. Mr. Bear whisper, too!” So David had to end up taking her to the back, but they could still see.
After that we left the park and drove the 20 miles to the campground. It is really nice. There is an indoor pool, a big playground, and -- best of all -- good neighbors. The folks next to us are great. Their kids are 14, 11, 9 and 7. The oldest girl, Lindsey, is deaf. So we had a great time hanging out with the parents and the kids after our two went to sleep for the night. Pretty sad when conversation with middle schoolers is exciting, but that is honestly the case. It was also fun brushing up on my sign language talking with Lindsey.