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By Katrina Kane, on October 10th, 2018 After a day of rest, I went into Carlsbad to get the lay of the land and on to Carlsbad Caverns. I hadn’t seen the caverns since I was a small child and went there with my family. The drive up the mountain is long and curvy. At the top is plenty of parking and I got there early. I chose to do the elevator down to the back end of the caverns this trip. At the bottom was the lunch area I remembered though they no longer serve anything more than salads and drinks there now. No crowds there eating like in the old days. They did have a mailbox you could use and the mail would be stamped as being sent from the bottom of the caverns. That was pretty cool and I did send postcards to family from there.
  
The walk through the back caverns was pretty easy with a well paved and fairly level trail. It was cool but I brought my coat. I also brought a bottle of water which I was thankful for. I had picked up a trail guide device in the gift shop which told me all about the caverns every step of the way. It was well worth the rental cost. This part of the caverns is a great tour for families with kids and seniors. I also think it is the most beautiful part. It takes a couple hours to walk it and really enjoy it. Afterward, I ate lunch in their restaurant above. It was average. They only serve Mexican food but it was okay. After perusing their museum displays and gift shop, I headed down the steep path to the main cave entrance to watch the bats fly out during the evening program. Thousands of them swooped out over us and flew off for night hunting. You definitely want to stay to see that.
  
I decided to go back another day and try the front part of the caverns through the main entrance. I can tell you now that it is best for younger people. The trail all the way through to the lunch area in the bottom of the caverns is very steep. Take a hiking stick and plenty of water. It also takes more time and frankly I didn’t think the views were as lovely. I had to stop and rest several times but thank goodness they provide plenty of seating. You won’t see the bats in there as they actually sleep in a different area that is off-limits to tourists. If you take your camera on either tour, be sure to set it to manual and adjust the settings for darkness. There is plenty of lighting in the caverns for people but it is too dark to get decent pictures in auto mode. I don’t recommend trying to do the entire cavern in one day. That front part wears you out. Most of it is descending from the main entrance but you have to fight the steepness the whole way.
For more pics click here.
By Katrina Kane, on October 8th, 2018 Finally! The cruise to the Bahamas I booked a year ago was almost here. I decided to leave the gate a week early to get some sightseeing in since I’m so close to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico (only 300 miles). I discovered there is an Escapees park known as The “Original” Ranch near there which would be a safe place to store my trailer. After all I have been through recently and with the traffic building up to uncomfortable levels at that gate, I decided to give up this gate rather than hire someone to stay in my trailer and work it for me like I usually did.
I had hoped to just run straight up north to Carlsbad but found out that the highway that runs straight there is a very dangerous death highway with many fatal accidents and a ton of construction going on along the way. I had to go way out of my way to get around it by going east to pick up another road north through Jal, New Mexico and then back west to Carlsbad. The drive was nice enough but long. In Jal, I blew out a tire on my trailer. I noticed a metal piece sticking out of the trailer in my mirror and stopped to check. The trim was damaged and the tire was completely gone but no other damage. I called the emergency roadside service but it would be two hours before they could get anyone to me in that remote area. I ended up changing it myself and paying for it that night with back pain. Oh well. At least I got to the park north of Carlsbad in Lakewood before the sun fully set.
The office was closed when I got there. I drove on in to their boondocking area known as The Corral. Just as I finished backing in to a spot, several residents came over to greet me and complement my backing. Not that hard to do in a wide open area actually. They called over the night guy who once he heard I was staying awhile, moved me over to a regular space with full utilities. He was fantastic at giving backing directions! He knew his stuff. We finished just as the sun disappeared.
In the morning I checked in and decided to pay for a month though I had no idea if I would be there quite that long.
By Katrina Kane, on September 5th, 2018 Due to my work schedule, I missed out on the local parties at the park for 4th of July so I created my own party for myself and my co-workers a few days later. I cooked up hamburgers on my grill, made baked beans, etc. It was delicious! I had been helping my coworkers out by picking up items in town for them when I went in, loaning them my large DVD collection to watch since they did not have any TV service, giving them info on camping deals like Passport America, FMCA, and Thousand Trails. Silly me. I thought they were grownups and we were friends. It turned out they were just ridiculous children. I said something sarcastic one day about the group of new trucks and guys that had come in that day who were running the gate. It was one single sentence but the sarcasm went right over the wife’s head and she went completely stupid on me. They both refused to discuss it, tell me what they thought I said, or even talk to me again. I tried apologizing even though I did nothing wrong (other than using sarcasm) but that was that. They compromised the job by refusing to tell me anything that happened during their shift and created a lot of unnecessary tension for several weeks. I went on my annual splashdown vacation to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels in hopes they would grow up by the time I got back but that did not happen. After a couple more weeks of silence, they left to go work the beet harvest in Montana which they had previously committed to. Thank God! The oilfield is no place for children and that kind of behavior. I knew something wasn’t right with them constantly running to the oil company’s company man to report every little thing. Now I knew why.
For my splashdown this year, I tried something new. I rented a room in a house through Airbnb. Motels in the summertime in New Braunfels are very expensive. I couldn’t find one as close as I wanted but I did get a decent location and the house was very nice in a newer subdivision. There was a couple there renting a room downstairs. The owner was staying there in a small bedroom upstairs. I also stayed upstairs. The first night I actually stayed in the wrong room because the owner was not there when I arrived and he didn’t leave a note behind to point me to the right bedroom. The whole thing was a little confusing. He sent me the code to the front door by email. I was not aware that owners also send messages via the Airbnb app. After I arrived and settled in, I went to dinner. The owner texted me to ask when I would be arriving. LOL. I let him know I had already been there and was now out for the evening. After his text, I checked the Airbnb app and that is when I found several messages from him so be sure to add the app to your phone and check it regularly while renting. For this particular rental, I did have to leave my shoes at the door and walk around in my socks per his rules. That actually made me feel at home though. Every bedroom had an outside door lock and key so security was not an issue. The owner was even nice enough to let me hang around in the den upstairs to study one of my online courses while I waited for my hotel room elsewhere to become available for my last couple of days of vacation. His room was not available for the full vacation. The overall experience was very good and I would definitely use Airbnb again.
As per usual, I did a lot of shopping with my list that I add to all year for when I get near a big city. I went to Schlitterbahn every single day and had a blast despite the hot weather. I got to eat out at all my favorite places and, of course, I hit up Harbor Freight for supplies and tools. Aar aar aar! As my vacation ended, I went to the local HEB grocery store to restock and put everything in a cooler with ice for the long trip home. I filled my gas tank full. Groceries and gas are far cheaper in East Texas than in rural West Texas. The drive was long and filled with dread going back but I survived it all. It helped that I stopped at Schlitterbahn for a couple hours first to get wet and stay cool.
After the children left, I got a nice older couple who had lots of experience and no issues though I made a point of not getting too close to them while they were there. Unfortunately, they too had to move on after awhile and were replaced with very young newbies who were nice enough but came with their own set of issues. I sure miss my old 24 hrs alone gate I had for 3 years!
By Katrina Kane, on July 1st, 2018 Fort Stockton is located right off the I-10 in the middle of nowhere. It was a very important location back in the day though because it has lots of underground water. It was the crossroads for settlers traveling west and local Indian tribes traveling from the north to south of the border on raids. A fort was built and the cavalry moved in for a time to protect settlers and commerce along the route. The fort was abandoned when the Civil War started only to be re-sited and re-manned after the war for another short time. Part of the fort still stands and can be toured. It does not have walls, never did. The jail is still there, a barracks, the parade grounds, and officer’s quarters. It was cool getting to see those and how they lived.
  
The history of the colorful locals is interesting. I visited the Annie Riggs Museum one day. Annie had a bunch of kids and several husbands but still managed to run a hotel and seemed to be a strong smart business woman during a time when women were supposed to cook, clean, and do what their husband said. She even divorced a husband and managed to survive it well with the kids. Her hotel has 2 foot thick adobe walls and a full wrap around porch to keep cooler in the Texas heat. On the walls are pictures of how Fort Stockton looked at the start with lots of water flowing in a nearby canal for people to enjoy. Today you don’t see that due to farmers and ranchers taking too much water. The city sued them but lost. I learned there that one thing essential to building a new town is a bank. Banks are needed to make loans to bring in businesses and build them up.
  
Another day I visited James Rooney park. It is very large and a lovely grassy and well treed oasis in the desert. I took my lunch there for a picnic and sat in one of the many shelters. Once upon a time water flowed through the park but no more. The pond and channels are empty. There are playgrounds though and lots of people were there that day having fun. I walked the trail through the park. The town pool is located there and very nicely designed. Unfortunately, it sits on top of the aquifer and one or more of the pillars that hold it up had rotted away so it was closed for the season for repairs. Damn! I found out Balmorhea State Park had also found issues when getting ready to re-open so it too was closed all summer for repairs. No swimming for me.
 
I got some geocaching in around town. That led me to the oldest building in town which is crumbling and fenced off but exists still nonetheless. I found Zero Stone Park near the courthouse. They hold lots of summer concerts both there and at Annie Riggs Museum. I found the original jail and got to tour it. The sheriff would live in rooms on the first floor while on the second floor they had a big room with wall and floor chains and a smaller similar room for women. Later, they added on a large room with a large cage subdivided into smaller separate cells for men, juveniles, and black women. They all shared a common cell for showers and eating. It didn’t look too pleasant but solitary looked great and if I were in there I would have punched the first person I saw in the nose to get sent to solitary. Solitary is a large room with two bunks, a semi-private shower and toilet, a table, and lots of windows. Much better accommodations! My tour guide agreed that she too would have hit someone to get put in there. LOL. On the walls were pictures of the sheriffs of the past. One of Annie’s husbands who was a real jerk that she divorced, was a sheriff who was shot one day in his office and the murder was never solved.
  
Apparently, every time it rains, parts of Fort Stockton flood. I didn’t see it since I was usually only on the main drag but other parts flood a lot I hear.
For lots more pics click here.
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