Carlsbad Caverns - National Park #36

Continuing our travels in Texas, we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns,

just a few miles over the Texas border in New Mexico.

There is a reason it is called a cavern instead of a cave!

This place is huge.

We hiked the self guided trail in the cave's "Big Room" which cover 14 acres!

This formation is called the Totem Pole with the "Chandelier" in the upper left corner.

 The "Lion's Tail" was my favorite formation.

A huge column

An old wire ladder leading to the lower cave.

Carlsbad Caverns was very impressive.  I thought it was prettier than Mammoth Cave

and much more spacious.  The big room was huge with a ceiling height of 285 feet in some places.

In contrast, Mammoth Cave is longer but its passages are much narrower.

Both parks are worth visiting though.

Palo Duro Canyon

We are escaping winter by heading  to Texas.

First stop is Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

The canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the US.

 Can you see the lighthouse formations in the upper left of the photo?

We will be hiking to them on this trip.

One of the neat things about the park is that you camp right down on the canyon floor.

Cool!

  We took several hikes here.

 My favorite hike was the Lighthouse Trail.

 You hike to these lighthouse formations.

To give you an idea of their scale, look for the guy sitting on top of the left one.

This is the view from the base of the lighthouse, looking down the canyon.

The canyon is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep.

This is a fabulous state park!

Still Winter

The calendar says Spring, but the weather says Winter.

We had sleet & snow today.

Beaver Evidence

I spotted some beaver activity along the creek.

Over several days, the beavers have taken down several trees.

I can't seem to find where they are building a dam.

They are working fast & hard, so I'll see it eventually.

 

Down by the Riverside

Raccoon tracks down along the creek.

The Loss of a Great One

We lost Tag this week.

Tag was my first horse.
He took care of me, a middle aged horse crazy woman, and gave me confidence.

I had him for 12 years.

Tag was an Appaloosa and had lots of black spots & markings when I bought him.

As he aged, he gradually turned all white.

He was an excellent riding horse,

very brave & willing.

And he was infinitely patient in our dress-up sessions.

I was lucky to have this unforgettable horse.

So long, old buddy.

See you over the rainbow bridge.

Geese Migrating North

The Run Off

Water trickling everywhere.

Definitely the sound of Spring.

Maple Syrup Making

The sap buckets have filled.

And we've collected the sap.

Forty-seven gallons total.

The evaporator is fired up.

The sap is boiling.

We bottled the syrup.

 2015 syrup batch is in the bottle!

Foggy Morning

Pins & Needles

Freezing & thawing cause unusual ice crystals on the creek

The Breakup

Robin on Ice

Tail Tales

Remember our braided tails last fall?

Today the braid came out.

I'm hoping Spring is here to stay.

Looks like the braid worked

He needs a trim to keep it out of the mud.

The Sap is Finally Running!

After weeks of sub-zero temperatures the thermometer finally climbed above freezing.

Time to tap the trees!

Drilling the hole

Tapping in the spile

Within seconds the sap is flowing!

Maple sugarin' is finally underway

March Snow

Ten inches of snow fell on March 1st.

Winter isn't giving up without a fight!