Back from the caves.

We had an absolutely wonderful time on our short little getaway. We packed bunches in. I hope to have pictures posted soon, but I have to wait until my computer genius is feeling better. If any of you hate hearing about others' vacations, skip today's blog.

On the way down we stopped at Fort Union on the Santa Fe Trail. I am a big history buff, so I loved it. Fort Union was a supply depot for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail and was also a training and storage supply facility for soldiers during the Civil War. There was a pretty famous battle fought near there (Glorietta). After a couple hours of Civil War, we moved on to Roswell, New Mexico. Yes, the cite of the big alien landing in the 30s. Again, photos to follow, but the street lights look like aliens. The outer space kind, not the people kind. We spent the night in Roswell and then we went on to Carlsbad. It was amazing. God does amazing work. It was so beautiful and so vast, I can't put it in words. The caves bothered me a bit in the beginning as I am claustrophobic, but once I spent a while down there, I was fine. The sheer beauty took my mind off of being 1,000 ft. underground. We spent five or six hours underground and still didn't see it all.

We then went to the surface and watched a million Mexican Bats leave the caves at dusk. It looked like a huge swarm of bees only bigger. I was amazed that they all know when to leave at just the right time, every day. I also thought that it was amazing that out of a million bats, each mama bat recognizes its own baby when she returns in the morning. We were worn out, but mentally fed at the end of the day.

On Sunday we started back home. We stopped at a little zoo called the "Living Desert". It was lots of fun, but soooo hot. 104 degrees to be exact. We traveled on to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where we spent the night. No bright lights here folks. Michelle, I am sure I didn't see you there. Las Vegas, NM is a hole on the side of the road. Almost a ghost town, but the history loving side of me was enthralled. I loved imagining what life must have been like 150 years ago. It reminded me of "Gun Smoke". Remember the show? If you do don't admit it because it was a while ago.

On Monday, on the way home, we took a side trip through Santa Fe and on to Boldier National Park. It was amazing. We climbed and walked through the cliff dwellings from the Pueblo People. They dated back to the 1400s. It was amazing to discover that just because these folks lived in a cave, they had a lot going on. They were brilliant in how they hunted, kept time, communicated. We touched the pictographs on the walls. No T.V., but lots of communication going on. Through this communication, we could see that they worshiped, valued family and just lived day to day. Just like we do today.

We got home late Monday night. We were exhausted and Tom was sick with a cold. He is still recovering, but a little better. Today, he is to have an endoscopy done. As a lot of you know, Tom's brother is recovering from esophageal cancer. Tom is clear. He is not a smoker or a drinker, so I am sure his is just fine. He does have Barretts Esophagus, so we want to keep an eye on things. Please keep us in your prayers today.