PEACE

Tuesday December 9 2008

28^th Year and One Day Anniversary of the murder of John Lennon

Carlsbad Caverns, NM

I'm not quite sure why I forgot it, but I did. Yesterday was the 28th anniversary (infamous as it was) of the murder of John Lennon. I remember as a 17 year old punk watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell came on and reported that Lennon had been shot. I was shocked, as was the rest of the world. Beatles 65 was the first album I ever owned, soon followed by Let It Be. My life as a lost soul-rock and roller was cast. That's what really made today at Carlsbad Caverns such a trip: Mind Games. That and the wintry scene 750 feet above us: a bleak reminder that anything can change life at any time, so live life to its fullest, and enjoy shipmates, enjoy!

Whew, what a change in the weather. Yesterday, we arose to clear skies and warm temps. Today, it was raining and windy and 36 F…and by the time we left the motel it was snowing. All I can say is, boy do we know how to pick ‘em. Most National Parks are there because of the things you can do outside. Carlsbad Caverns is designed to do things inside a constant 56 F temperature cave, with no rain, snow or wind…and 750 ft below the surface of the Earth. The only bad thing about our timing is that the bats had all left for Mexico. Oh well, there’s always next time. But the caverns were magnificent. We went down through the natural entrance—1 mile down over 700 vertical feet along a windy trail—to the Big Room—an 8.2 acre cavernous room with tremendous subterranean structures. It is impossible to even begin to describe the caverns; and pictures belie the awe inspiring structures we saw. At another time, it could be a very spiritual experience. The things we saw, or thought we saw, in the structures betrayed our logic and reality. The millennia of history that lies lurking in the crevices and halls of the caves is awesome. Although ours was the self-guided tour, in the future it would be great to come back—after Mathew is older—to go on a ranger-guided spelunking adventure through less accessible parts of the cave. Since we’re reading the Lord of the Rings in the car, I discussed with Mathew how this could be very similar to the caves that Gollum lived in in the Misty Mountains, and where he met Bilbo.

The wintry weather we experienced was apparently a once a year occurrence, if that. The wind, as I said, was blowing 40-50 mph with snow (maybe 1/4”) being plastered on the cactus, ocotillo, and yucca, as well as ourselves. It was a great day to be below ground.

As we leave Carlsbad, the snow has stopped, but the wind has not. We’re headed north on New Mexico highway 285 towards Cloudcroft (east of White Sands National Monument) as the last stop before Taos.

Late News: We arrive in Cloudcroft, NM at the Cloudcroft Mountaintop Hostel at about 7PM with an air temp of 17 F and 4 inches of snow. At least the wind died down. More in the AM.....& more pictures of CC, too.

Peace, Just Imagine.....Mike, Debbie and Mathew.