Going Batty

If you have been following this blog you may have noticed that road tripping has been a priority since retiring in May.  You may have also noticed that New Mexico has been a crossroads.   Don’t get me wrong, heading west to California and the left coast is pretty cool.  It just happened that heading east was on the agenda.

As July waned, Deanna and I made one last trek through southern and central New Mexico.  The goal?  See the bats.  We have talked for years about visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park to see the bats.  Have you ever been there?  Are you scared of bats?  They say 300,000-400,000 bats make there way into the open skies at sundown to feed on insects before returning at dawn.  No vampires, no sucking of blood, just moth eating.

We sat quietly in the amphitheater anticipating the great cloud of bats.  We were a little disappointed.  The bats were late and we didn’t see the circular, whirlwind of bats that fly overhead.  There were many, many bats.  (How the bat counters count to 400,000 so fast is remarkable.)  The bats simply popped out of the cave, made a quick left turn heading toward the feeding grounds.  (Sorry, no bat pictures.  Park rangers are afraid the bats will get irritated with the paparazzi and not come back.)  Despite the show’s let down, we will be back at sundown another day to see the bats.

 Undaunted by the lack of bat drama, we followed that bat experience up by checking out the cave the next morning. It was a very nice walk in the dark.  

Next, we went to Roswell, the home to the International UFO Museum and Research Center.  We took our time going through the museum. Are you a believer? I looked at all the evidence.  I believe an “encounter of a third kind” happened just outside of Roswell.  Government cover-up? Maybe.  “The truth is out there.”

Tourism seems to make up a large segment of the local economy.   If you look closely you will discover that aliens are in abundance in Roswell.  Where else would an alien feel so welcome?  How else would you explain the interesting beings that walk the streets of Roswell?  Besides, their spies want to know what we know.

A local resident and author thoughtfully suggested that “there is a big difference between believing and knowing.”  He knows and I know.

Later, we enjoyed a beautiful drive thru Alamogordo, White Sands, Silver City, and Ruidoso.  Sadly, the fun had to end.  As we rolled out of the mountains and into Safford and on toward Globe we accepted that our little vacation was over.

New Mexico is enchanting.  But, things did get pretty batty.  I came home from New Mexico with a new job.  So much for retirement.  “Beam me up, Scotty.”