Exploring Our Little Corner of SE New Mexico…. Selenite Mines, Gypsum Caves, and Water!

We set out this morning with one main objective…. Find the rumored selenite mine where good-sized tailings were available for the taking.

First we stopped for lunch at Rattlesnake Springs, a section of Carlsbad Caverns NP where there is a large spring and lots of birds. All the water for the park is taken from here.

Rattlesnake Springs, CAVE

Rattlesnake Springs, CAVE

 

Then we headed over to the Black River, scouting for fall and winter hikes.

Black River Management Area

 

Afterwards, we got back on the highway for our true destination… the tailings pile of selenite

Selenite Mine Tailings pile – E & A looking for cool crystals

Selenite crystals are very light and sparkle in the sun

Some larger pieces were historically used for windows before glass was cheap and widely available

M and E look for the “perfect pieces”

A is over it..

The actual mine, surrounded by a fence, keeps the largest and best selenite piece for themselves – to sell i guess…

but they’re cool enough to let us scavengers have some too 🙂

So technically we aren’t stealing

Then, since we were already in the area, we decided to check out some camp spots and a cave or two.

The world’s coolest recreation sign ever!

Definitely not the world’s coolest caving sign, but a very important one. This cave is a wet one no matter the time of the year, but during monsoon season, it can be deadly!

the pit into Parks Ranch Cave entrances

A was more than happy to head into the cave

my boys!

 

M and I, with A photobombing us

And then we headed home, with a side stop for some much deserved ice cream 🙂

Day #83 – Emergency Trip to Lowe’s

So remember yesterday when our stove kinda broke…. 

Day #82

Yeah, today, after I’d been cooking ALL afternoon, M comes home and it starts sparking. He knew where the breaker box was and how to turn it off. Better it happen with him home. If I’d been alone, I would have lost my shit and called 911.

(Imagine that call…
Operator: 911. What is the nature of your emergency?
Me: I need an electrician, STAT!)

So I’m happy that M was home; and happy that there’s  a Lowe’s close. I’m not counting my chickens just yet – we haven’t been to Lowe’s yet. That trip is happening in an hour. There may be more drama to come.

Day #78 – Poisonous Berries?

(This post would have been posted on time yesterday but my phone wasn’t cooperating)

Hiked up the natural entrance. 1-mile, 750 ft. Snack time with the mulberry tree!
Reminds me of my childhood mulberry tree that I always stopped at for snacks. My uncle showed me this awesome berry tree down the street from my house and my grandparents’ house. So every time I’d walk to their place, I’d stop to pick some berries.

Then one day my mom and grandma noticed that I was eating random berries and asked where I got them. I told them about the tree and they freaked out, thinking I had eaten some kind of poisonous fruit. Finally my uncle overheard and came in to explain about the tree he’d taught me to eat from.

I’ve been eating them ever since. Thanks to my Uncle Eric!

Day #56

Technically, I got stuck in an elevator today. A 75 floor shaft with only 2 exits, one at the top & one at the bottom. We stopped a few times on the way up. Just when we’d reached the top, & thought we were out, the doors refused to open more then an inch.

Luckily, the coworkers I was stuck with were cool & we joked about it. Also lucky was the fact that a group of elevator repairmen were waiting for the elevator at the top. They were able to wrench the doors open, & kept us laughing while they tried.

So I’m happy that my coworkers are cool, & I wasn’t stuck for long.

Day 48

Going caving today, down into Lower Cave. Haven’t been down there in almost 7 years. Happy day!

Up at 3a.m. – the Downside of Moving

On Tuesday, I loaded 2 large plants, Chicory, Lennox, and the first of several ice chests of refrigerated food into the car and headed to Carlsbad. Chicory meowed mournfully the whole way. Lennox and I ignored her and jammed to old school Alanis Morrisette.

After a few hours of poking around every corner, Chicory was settling into her new house. Lennox took the couch, as usual. I picked up Winnie from M’s parents and began the ‘cat-dog introduction process’.

Things went well the first night and most of the following day. Until 230a.m….. Winnie’s excitement at having a cat roommate overwhelmed her and she knocked down baby gate that keeps her in the kitchen.

Of course, that’s what I learned later. What I experienced was a loud crash coming from the living room of the new house where I was spending my 2nd night alone. (M is at a training in Arizona.) Much like a Christmas carol, I awoke to a clatter and sprang up to see what was the matter. My brain was racing!
Sarong, shoes, fucking sarong fell off, is it worse to have midnight robbers if you’re naked? shut up Winnie, its cold, where’s the phone to call 911, please remember the address!

So yeah, it was just Winnie, not midnight robbers. But now that my heart is still racing, I’m here on the internet.

…and now I’m hungry…

From Texas, and LouisianaMississippi AlabamaTennessee KentuckyWestVirginia Maryland, to Virginia! – Pt 2 AlabamaTennessee KentuckyWestVirginia

Last time we talked about the beginning of the trip – Louisiana and Mississippi, leaving off with Moss Point, MS on the Gulf Coast…

We crossed through Mobile (which has the COOLEST tunnel under their port…. or so I thought until I drove under Baltimore’s bay in the COOLEST tunnel ever!) and headed up to Montgomery, or Birmingham (i don’t remember) to crash for the night at a campground. This was back in the day when I needed showers and flush toilets and was willing to pay for them, like a CHUMP, at a private campground. Nowadays I am willing to forgo those niceties for a FREE campground :-).

The next day we headed up to Lynchburg, TN to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery. Neither R or myself is in to whiskey but why not visit anyway. The distillery is set in the hills and is a gorgeous ride… much like the Maker’s Mark Distillery visit of my youth. It was a great way to be introduced to the Appalachians. After that stop, we continued north to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. On a previous road trip, R and I went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and we liked it so much, we decided to check out another one. This cave was very very different from Carlsbad. No huge rooms like “the Big Room”, but with over 300 miles of underground riverway, there was plenty to explore.

We chose to hit a ranger-guided tour that involved a bus ride to a more remote part of the cave. There, in a wooded dirt parking lot, was a pad-locked metal doorway into the side of a small hill. Only slightly creepy. The guide warned us that there were over 100 metal steps to go down right at the beginning to get into the main chambers, and they were slippery. Slightly more creepy. He failed to mention the THOUSANDS of SPIDERS that were living at the entrance on the roof overhead, waiting for the door to open and admit the tiniest amount of light. Once they see the light, they begin to bounce. OMG way more creepy!
(If you need a refresher on my history with spiders…. here, and here.) And you can’t run, NO, not with the slippery steps of death or the line of 30 people who all want to run with you. NO! I spent the whole walk down the steps alternatively pushing the old man in front of me and squealing “get them off of me!”. In actuality, there were no spiders on me. It’s a mind-fuck.

Once we got down to the bottom, everyone chilled out. The place was cool and damp, dark and long. Its not overly decorated like Carlsbad but it has some fantastic history. The locals used it as a tuberculosis ward back during the Civil War and up to the turn of the century. Awesome! Survive the spiders to die by TB…

We did survive, and drove on up to Louisville and headed west to West Virginia. In all honesty, I don’t remember West Virginia on that trip…. sorry West Virginians. Here – interesting fact to make up for lack of being memorable – If you ironed West Virginia flat, it’d be larger than Texas.

Ok, moving on to Maryland and Baltimore next time!

*If you took nothing else away from this piece, remember to always ask if there will be spiders on your cave tours….

Vacationing in Northern New Mexico… part 3 – Campfires and Pecos history

ok… so we left off with camping and freezing, right?

We drove up into the mountains just outside million dollar homes overlooking Santa Fe, arriving at a gorgeous pine-scented forest service campground with the BEST campsites I’ve ever seen on public land. At 9,000 feet and with an afternoon storm blowing in (I’m completely convinced that it dumped snow somewhere nearby), it got cold pretty quickly. M went off in search of water (all the spigots were still shut off due to impending May snow), and I quickly put on layers… a long underwear layer, followed by a thermal layer, followed by a fleece skintight layer, followed by a fleece vest layer. To top off my ensemble, I pulled Lennox’s Mexican blanket out of the car and wrapped it around me baby-burrito style.

I’m clearly more of a ‘sun’ person.

When M came back and saw me, he simply laughed and announced that he was heading out into the woods for firewood…. To keep moving, and keep warm, I worked on putting up the tent.

My man and his fire, keeping my feet warm

Reheating his BBQ sandwich from earlier in the day

We spent several hours warming by the fire, reading and talking, while unknown birds made foreign noises above us. M was in charge of keeping the home fires burning while I was in charge of discovering how awesome burning pine cones look. 🙂 I had leftover cake for dinner – using the theory that Eskimos eat whale blubber and Iditarod dudes eat sticks of butter to keep warm. Denial…. or Genius…..?

Finally the sun went down and I had to add a final layer to my very bulky frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the fire was out and it was officially too cold, I headed to the bathroom one final time. In this super-awesome campground there was only one issue… the bathroom. Bathroom isn’t the term to be used. Latrine is more accurate. A pit-toilet in the freezing cold with spiders and beetles watching can only be described as a latrine. I had girl scout camp flashbacks…. (I should totally tell you guys about my experiences at camp. Another time.) I had taken the flashlight and the lantern with me into the outhouse, but was surprised when I opened the door and a motion-detected light came on. I was more surprised when the fucking light went out 70 seconds later, just as I had pulled my pants (all of my pants) down around my ankles and was hovering (NEVER sit…) over the hole! Before the spiders and beetles could attack, I calmly (re. totally freaked out) ran around, still pants around ankles, trying to find my lantern or flashlight that I had turned off in total confidence of the damn light. I kicked the flashlight into beetle territory and was not going to go fishing for it in the dark. I managed to get the lantern on after what felt like 5 hours. As I stood up, I triggered the motion-light and the room was bright once again.

Note To the Dumb-ass Latrine Designer Guys: Point the fucking motion detector at the toilet, not the corner by the door! OR change the timer for 5 minutes! Who pees, or worse, in 70 seconds from pants down to pants up?!

Anyway, after escaping death in the latrine I headed back to camp to tell M all about my experience. Humility is healthy….

M went right to sleep. I did not. I read until my fingers were frozen then burrowed deep into my 20 degree bag, still in all the layers and the coat, under the Mexican blanket. Throughout the night, as i got warmer and more claustrophobic, I pulled off the layers until I was down to just the one super-sexy electric purple long underwear.

The next morning – I really don’t remember the next morning. There was no coffee. I remember that. The plan was to drive back down to spring temperatures and find a breakfast spot with cheap food and tons of coffee.

Once appropriately fueled, we headed to Pecos National Historic Site. M had a friend to see there and I had a passport stamp to acquire.

Ever wonder the difference in quality between a really nice digital camera and an iPhone?  Here….

Top: M’s camera with a large battery… mine died. Bottom: my iPhone

Pecos was cool – and by that I mean cold, windy, and truly interesting.

An homage to geology?

I’m totally sure that goofing off for cameras is what the scary evil Conquistadors had in mind when they built this chapel and killed any natives who wouldn’t submit to the lord…. yep, totally accurate.

heathen!

not to be outdone by the Conquistadors, the natives had their own ceremonial chambers

heathen squirrel….

totally M’s camera, my iPhone wouldn’t get this awesome

After hanging with M’s friend and touring the grounds, we headed back onto the highway and crossed the most boring section of New Mexico ever created. They really should have tested bombs here, and not in the mountains near the Trinity Site. 5 hours and tons of Todd Snider later, we were back home.

The unpacking took days, but the showering off 5 days of grime took minutes. Nothing feels as good as a shower after a long camping trip!

Lost Journal Entry…

When I was posted outside the cave at Carlsbad Caverns, I got to witness some truly glorious spring days. You know those days when the sky is that perfect shade of deep blue, a few fluffy white clouds sail past to remind you of unseen winds, the landscape is a desert postcard of deep greens and accent greys, birds chirp and flirt and build homes for future chicks, and ravens play overhead to taunt you and your earthboundedness… yeah, those were the days I was inspired to write. I’d write on a tiny notepad I kept in my sexy NPS-provided fanny pack. I would write thoughts, aspirations, travel plans, and memories.

I recently found that notepad, and on it I had written this….

I discovered who I was the summer after college. I went to Virginia looking for something but not sure what. What I found was myself. The self that was hiding deep inside; the self that cried out for every trail that went into the woods along the highways we traveled during family vacations and led me down old farm roads during one of my drives. I realized that I was happiest when I was simply putting one foot in front of the other in the wilderness. I spent lazy summer afternoons lying on a mountain peak with a book in my hand, some good company and a beautiful view. I hiked through the ethereal Blue Ridge fog, the life-stealing heat of Utah’s desert and sand dunes in the Rockies. I’ve seen alligators, badgers, mountain lions and bears along winding wooded paths.

My life has taken me to many new places. I have met some wonderful and interesting people along the way. There was the practical joking law enforcement officer who engaged me in a battle of the wits, the guys who lived next door who rappelled from the roof of the house and the drunk, with whom I shared a wall, who had a heart of gold and a never ending supply of weed and beer. I have met mortal enemies and kindred souls, sometimes living with one or the other. The most interesting souls I’ve run across have been the thru-hikers along the Appalachian Trail. So many different walks of life and reasons for hiking the AT yet they all came together for one common goal; to finish the 1,200 mile-long historic trail.

I grew up a nervous child always pestering my parents with “what if” questions. Who would have guessed that I would grow to experience all that I have. I’ve been chased off a mountain peak by bolts of lightning that rained down around me and spent hours deep within the red-rock canyons of Utah never quite believing that I could get out. I have witnessed first light from the top of a 2,000 foot cliff and been woken by cowboys moving herds of cattle around my tent. I have hiked through the 120-degree heat of a Utah summer, camped in the howling winter winds of the Guadalupe Mountains and bagged a peak in Virginia during a blizzard. But none of that prepared me for the tiny holes and crevasses that awaited me my first season as a park ranger at Carlsbad Caverns. There I learned the true meaning of the words “pitch black” and understood just where the term “pinch” got its name.

I have lost toenails, gotten sun poisoning and developed a stress fracture for my love of hiking. I sold my apartment and all of its furnishings to follow my dreams and I’ve never been happier!

Happy discovery!

This was one of those perfect spring days

El Paso’s Tin Mines

 

This last weekend, M and I hiked to a series of tin mines in the Franklin Mountains. I discovered the trail from a great local blog, elpasonaturally. The first thing we noticed about this hike was although it was in the middle of the city, there weren’t any sounds of the city, no sign of the suburbs; not even a plane flying overhead.

a rare El Paso scene… no signs of the city!

The first 2 miles of the hike were on old mining roads that have been converted to hike/bike trails. This made for great easy walking over hard-packed gravel. We saw lots of small yellow flowers and a few early-crop poppies.

The old mining roads were built around 1901 as a way to cross through the Franklin Mountains, where the present-day Transmountain Road/Loop 365 runs. Several roads also ran from the railroad and highway heading up towards Alamagordo to springs located along the eastern edge of the Franklins. The geology of the Franklins is mostly limestone with some granite intrusions. The tin was discovered in these granite intrusions. Tin is very rare in North America. However, it wasn’t profitable enough so the mines were shut down in 1915.

The small dark dots on the left are mine grates… Up above you can see the lighter bands of limestone.

Grates covering mine trenches and shafts.

M striking his usual photography pose

After a few wrong turns, we made it to the entrance to the main mine. Luckily, I had cell service the whole hike and was able to follow the GPS map from AllTrails. It saved our asses several times. After some really loose rock-scrambling, we made it up to the entrance and were delighted to discover you could walk into the mines! I’ve never been inside an un-manned mine before.

 

We had brought headlamps because we thought we’d be able to look into the mine. Little did we know we would be able to walk pretty far back into the shafts.

My first thought was Mountain Lions and drug-runners would enjoy living in these unlocked abandoned tunnels. Should we come across any, we would resort to defending ourselves by whipping them with our cameras and water bottles. (Not a fantastic plan….)

I was enjoying the features of my new camera so we shot a quick video of M playing in the mine… Its on my YouTube page.

Also, you can check out this YouTube video… The guy recorded a half hour of exploring the tunnels. It’ll make you queasy in that Blair Witch sorta way.

The vertical pit that made it impossible for me to continue into the tunnel. What if it contained a mountain lion, or big scary cave monster?!

M or scary cave monster?

No scary cave monster… just M 🙂

After leaving the upper entrance, we found a route down to a lower entrance. This tunnel was much smaller than the upper one. You had to stoop over to walk through it, or crawl on your knees.

M went in and explored this tunnel. It was lit in the back by the trench that we walked along earlier in the upper entrance. It branched off in several directions, some tunnels going quite far back. From the looks of the 30 minute video on YouTube, we didn’t miss too much by not exploring it fully.

M heads in!

After leaving the mines, and getting a bit off trail in a washed out gully, we retraced our path back down the mountain to the neighborhood where we had parked. It was a very cool hike, a great place to take kids, and I’m glad we did it (in spite of my pulled thigh muscle that cramped up for most of the trip. I pulled it hiking a few weeks ago).

The muscle-pulling hike we did last time. See the tiny trail down below…. The car is parked down there.