Geologic Wonders of the Great Southwest

---

Our final day in New Mexico began with a great breakfast at a local cafe frequented by the local oil-field workers, as well as the town's professionals. The menu was exactly what we were looking for - good country cooking and lots of coffee. We had plenty of time as our plans for the day included hitting the local antique stores and a mountain tour of the Lincoln National Forest.

There were four primary antique stores in Carlsbad, our favorite was more of a conglomeration of "stuff". We were able to find several treasures that were worth hauling back to Oklahoma. The shop merchants were extremely hospitable and inquisitive of our "virtual" store. Of course, we did not really expound on the "virtual" aspect of The Prairie Schooner. Most shop owners seem to detest those who sell wares on the internet. That practice has adversely impacted the small, local shop owners, or so they say. People who like to explore the antique and junk stores will still seek out these locations for a day of fun hunting - I know that we do! The other stores were nice and we did find several pieces that we just couldn't live without.

After our antiquing, we headed west into the Lincoln National Forest. The name seems to imply that there are trees on these federal lands. However, it was not a forest as most would think. The trees that we saw were scrub brush and mesquite. Lots of cactus dotted the landscape, bear grass, and yucca. It was quite beautiful, just not a heavily wooded forest as you would see in the Colorado Rockies. However, these are the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas and New Mexico. They are on the western edge of what is known as the Permian Basin. This was an old inland sea hundreds of millions of years ago. As such, some of the mountains were formed from a large coral reef that stretched for hundreds of miles through Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Our mission for the day was to find Sitting Bear Falls, located some 36 miles into the Forest. After driving for about forty-five minutes through breath-taking scenery, we appeared to arrive at the Falls. However, the entrance gate was closed and locked. There was a sign warning visitors to not walk pass the locked gate. It appears the opportunity to visit the Falls was restricted due to the federal budget problems. Who would have thought a small tourist attraction in New Mexico would have fallen victim to the sequestration? Go figure! We were able to hike along an open trail to a high point near the falls where we could hear the water rushing. Not quite the same as seeing the falls, but we at least had the satisfaction of knowing that we were near and had the benefit of nature's sound effects!

After a short rest back at camp, we headed to town for a late afternoon movie. The movie theatre was surprisingly nice. We had a snack before the movie and popcorn for dinner! When you're retired, you have to cut some corners!

Tomorrow we head back toward Oklahoma. We will go through Roswell and then over to the Texas panhandle toward Caprock Canyon. Hopefully we will have the wind to our back!

Happy Travels!

---

Photos

Big Breakfast
McDonalds should take note - this is what a "Big Breakfast" looks like!

On the Mountain Trail
While we didn't get to see the falls, we did have a good mountain hike.

Cynde Found Otherworldly Love
Since I wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl, I was not worried!

Comments

[fernlhill]

Great Southwest
Happy You Guys had a great time. Thanks for the diner and our visit on Your way home. Love You Both.