Day 5 – Alien encounters (terrestrial & extra-terrestrial)

Today we experienced two completely alien worlds: the underground marvels of Carlsbad Caverns NP and the alternative reality of Roswell, NM.

First up – Mother Nature’s Treasury.

We decided we would walk into the cave – a mile-long hike that takes you down 80 stories (or 800 feet) below the surface. While prepared for the physical descent, we had no idea about the experiential impact: The spaces are mindbogglingly expansive – larger than any cathedral or other built environments I’ve experienced. They go on and on, and just when you think that this is now everything, you take a turn (on the windy, handrailed path that leads through semi-darkness) and around the corner is something even more fantastic and beautiful.

And that was only the way down to the real attraction! The understatement of the century is the name of the main site: BIG ROOM. Gargantuan. Gigantic. Epic. Any of those would be more appropriate.

The room is so big it has rooms inside rooms. Including one where you can eat a sandwich… We walked around for miles and miles, hours and hours, and still felt like we should have spent more time exploring. However, I also felt something akin to the visual overload I get in Museums, so it was good to get back on the road – with nothing but desert landscape to occupy my eyes.

Second stop – Roswell. Another experience you have to see to believe. And while our first stop made me gush out superlatives, this one made me smile, grin, laugh and smirk. It was awesome in its very kitschy, constructed fake reality. We went to the UFO museum and to another place to experience “Area 51”. The latter was highly entertaining and we now know a few of those visitors from outer space  quite well….

After those encounters it shouldn’t have been to surprising that our arrival in Santa Fe at sunset also seemed quite otherworldly, but as far as we know the old RV is still firmly on the ground in the USA of 2017 …