The Drives to Carlsbad Caverns from Marfa and Marfa to White Sands National Monument
Some of the time a drive is just a drive. Some times it is terrible - the roads are bumpy; the lanes are constantly narrowed (harrowed) by construction; traffic comes to a stop, or worse a crawl (crawling in a diesel RV is not easy... the engine does not enjoy it and so neither do I); the scenery is boring, or you wind up in places that you are just not meant to be. I think the drive into Marfa fit pretty much every single definition of a terrible drive. I was not a happy puppy at all. But the drive out of Marfa was pretty darned incredible. It was a constant changing landscape, unfolding as I came around turn after turn (after turn after turn). I felt a bit like I was driving on a video game - steering to the left, then immediately to the right, side to side. I had to keep my eyes peeled on the road, but the landscape was breathtaking at each turn. I really enjoyed it. I have my phone on a charging cradle sitting up so it is pretty much a prime position for snapping shots or filming. The only issue is that I have it fully extended so it reacts pretty strongly to the vibrations of the road. SO, we have a bumpy video and for that I apologize. However, watch them twice... once with your eyes on the road and come along with me for a fun ride; and the second time watch the scenery. It is spectacular.
The drive from Carlsbad to White Sands National Monument was equally amazing!
So the drives were so amazing and I was happily blissfully enjoying them. It was beautiful every step of the way. It got particularly beautiful as I entered Lincoln National Forest. As I have said before, I think the landscapes get prettier when you get into preserved lands. I am sure it's why they are preserved as opposed to because they are, but they are all beautiful.
So I keep driving in perfect contentment and I come to the strangest little town in the middle of the National Forest. It looked like something out of a movie set and in some ways it did remind me of a town center in Monteverde, Costa Rica, which also looked like a movie set. Cloudcroft even has a name that sounds like it was made for a movie. I took some pictures as my GPS was leading me into town.
I have to admit my Spidey Sense was twitching as I entered the town. I was quite unsure of why the GPS took me here. But it was the RV GPS, the one built into the RV, and it was supposedly programmed to only take you on "RV Safe" roads. Usually I have another RV GPS running as well, but for some reason I had not done that for this ride. Anyway, if you look closely at the middle picture on the gallery you can see a street. It didn't look huge, but it looked ok and that's where I was being told to go. Onward soldiers... I made the right and the left and the street was a bit narrow and a bit uphill, but it looked kind of ok...
Until I got to the top of the hill and realized I was on a tiny almost dead end street. There were teeny tiny side streets, but nothing I could navigate. I could not really see the bottom, but it did not look good but I had no choice but to move forward. I can not back up with the car in tow unless I unhook it. well, you can see from the pics where this led. I was stuck in a small cul-de-sac! SO, i pull into the cul-de-sac as far as I can and I open the door so I can unhook the car. GREAT, the stairs don't come down. I turned off the RV and turned it back on... still no stairs. That's just perfect!! Jump down from the door (about a four foot jump) and go unhook the car. I am so happy that I got to be quick and proficient in doing so. At least that wasn't too much of a hassle!
I left the RV in the circle and drove to scout out how I should do all this. The street was a major hill and I prefer not hooking the car back up on a hill, but every street was too small and once I was off this street I was already in the town. I guess I could have parked outside of town, but that would mean leaving the car, walking all the way back to the RV, then driving the RV back to the car. I was just not in the mood. At this point, I wasn't in the mood for much, though I have to admit, I was kind of laughing at myself for getting into this predicament. And I did note that it's not life threatening, so... at worst, it's a pain; at best, it's a great story! See, my dear readers, I am always thinking of you!
Well, remember I talked earlier about not being good about backing the RV up into a parking spot. I am not. BUT, I am really good at doing 80 point turns to get my self out of a jam, and that is just what I did! I got out of the cul-de-sac, I hooked the car up on the steep incline, I drove out of the little narrow street from hell and onward once again. The stupid GPS did not want me out of that town. When I turned it on again, it was guiding me to those little side streets - worse than the one I was on - so I used the other one. It took me right out of that town and back on the very same road that I came in on. It was more turns, more very tight turns, and major hills with major grades (you know you are in for big hills when they keep telling you where the runaway ramps are for trucks). None of it seemed to matter after the cul-de-sac incident. So, the morning was glorious and the afternoon was not so much! It was just more of one of those days!!
Enjoy the pics. Go ahead and laugh at me. But while you are laughing, please subscribe, comment, ask questions... I love the interaction.
