Walking through the dimly lit caves at Carlsbad Caverns can sure fire up the imagination. I grew up on bad black-and-white sci-fi movies that played on Saturday afternoon TV in the early 60s: Invaders from Mars, The Crawling Eye, Godzilla, The Blob. Classics, all of ’em. About halfway through my time deep underground in the caverns, I started seeing things. Things that creeped me out. Things that did not look like they came from Earth. I managed to capture some of them with my camera and I share them with you here. Rock formations or aliens, you decide. I swear I…
Weekly Update: March 1, 2017
Note: Last week, I was incommunicado down in Texas so this post is catching up on two weeks worth of travel. I’m definitely in love with New Mexico. My week at Oliver Lee State Park, halfway up the western foothills of the Sacramento Mountains sealed the deal. I could see for miles, stare out my windows at rocky mountains, and even see the White Sands National Monument off in the distance. I was supposed to leave on Friday and head down to Texas, but the morning weather check wasn’t having it: 30 mph winds and gusts up to 50 mph…
Craters of the Moon
You might never have heard of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in south-central Idaho. I hadn’t, even though I’m kind of a space nerd and the Apoll0 14 astronauts trained here to learn the basics of volcanic geology. As I was driving across Idaho anyways, I figured I’d stop in and check it out. Good decision. It was wild, truly wild. Not many people, as barren as the moon in some corners, and almost as unearthly. If you ever wanted to walk on a lava field, this is the place to go (and save yourself the airfare…
Sunday Serenity: Sunset Silence
Sunday, the day of rest. The day to relax, to recharge. The day to appreciate the moments as we’re in them, instead of thinking ahead to what tomorrow might bring. I offer these images to relax you, to recharge you, and to remind you that everything is fine just the way it is. A sunset …. is what our lives should be: quiet, noble and unhurried. C. L. Rawlins
Travel Tuesday: Death Valley National Park
Death Valley. When I was growing up, I had zero desire to see what this place was all about. I knew it was desert, hot and dry, and those were two words that never had encouraged me to go. I was a water girl, beaches and surf. More than two decades in California growing up and I never went to Death Valley. Never wanted to. And then my friend sent me a message that she was going to be in Death Valley and why not come down in November? I thought about it overnight, checked the November weather averages, and…