Bat Flight

Bat flight is the free program given from May - October when the Brazilian/Mexican Free-tail
bats fly out of the cave at sunset. They fly down to the Pecos River in search of their dinner: BUGS, mostly moths and beetles. They're a great help to the local farmers who benefit from the bats eating the insects and leaving behind bat guano (poop) which is an excellent fertilizer.

This summer I've watched bat flight from the back of the amphitheater, while another ranger gives the program. I'm not one who likes to take a back seat, so I asked if I could give the program. Tonight was my first, and hopefully not my last opportunity.

It wasn't a big crowd, sometimes the program draws over a thousand spectators. Tonight there was probably less than 200 people, but it was a lot of fun. Of course, the visitors come to see the bats, but until they emerge from the cave, you have to talk. Tonight they finally made their appearance about 50 minutes into my program! THANK GOD!!! I was running out of material and my throat was drier than the Chiahuahuan Desert.

John was nice enough to come and see it, and a couple of other fellow rangers came for morale support. They all were kind and said it was a good program. The visitors seemed to like it, although with the late bat flight (they flew at 7PM, which was about 15 minutes after sunset), the visitors didn't get to see the thick stream of bats. Earlier summer flights have provided a better show with a thick stream of bats.

Personally, I had a lot of fun and hope to do it again before the bats migrate. If you want to observe it, you better hurry. They migrate south next month sometime...

VAL

Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge

Went for a drive today, north towards Roswell. About seven miles east of Roswell is the Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge. It was our first trip there so we went into the Visitor's Center. Very nice displays of the birds and other animals that live in the area. We watched two short movies before driving around the 9 mile loop.

Although each season brings a variety of animals, the winter season here brings the migration of thousands of birds. The refuge lies along the Pecos River which provides sancuary to numerous species of birds - some for a few days, others for the winter months. We'll look forward to returning in the coming weeks to see what birds had flown in. Many of the same birds we view in Florida spend time here in the winter.

Today we saw a flock of White Pelicans. There were a few already in a pond, while we watched others fly in and land near them. Also indenified some Coots, and saw what we thought might be Dowitchers. We need to look at John's pictures to be sure. There were thousands of dragonflies flying around - and some damselflies as well. There have a large variety of both.

We'll return again soon, and I'll post some of John's pictures as soon as he goes through them.

Miss you all.

Val & John

Walnut Canyon Flood

The drive up to the caverns is a seven mile trip up Walnut Canyon. This summer has been very rainy and the desert around us has been quite green instead of the usual brown. Last night, however we had heavy rains. Lots of it, and for most of the night.

This morning, I got to the van pool only to be told we had a two hour delay. So at 9 AM we headed up the canyon. I was surprised to see water cascading over the road way in a couple of spots. Even after the water had several hours to crest, it was still moving swiftly. There was significant amount of debris (mostly dead plants and cactus) visible from the roadway.

From talking with other employees who've worked at the cave for many years, this was the worst flooding since the 80's. Flooding in the town of Carlsbad is common, but apparently, the canyon doesn't flood that often.

It made for an interesting start of the day.

That's all for now,

VAL

The big city

Hi Friends,

We went to the big city on Sunday - a drive to Albuquerque . It's a long haul (about four and a half hours), but we both needed to go shopping in the big city. Mom sent me a check for my birthday and I desperately needed some hiking boots for work. The local stores had nothing in my size - children size 4 - yes FOUR. We went to REI, a great place for all kinds of hiking, camping equipment. They had exactly what I needed and luckily children's boots are much cheaper than adults!

We looked for a camera store for John, but unfortunetely couldn't find it, despite having the address. He'll have to shop online instead. We did some other shopping in town before heading home.
We came home through a small town of Belen, south of Albuquerque and a series of other tiny town. A pretty ride, which some of the trees in a few areas starting to change color. Looking forward to autumn, which I think starts today!

More soon...

VAL

Summer's almost over

Hi Friends,

Hard to believe this is the last weekend of the summer. Seems like we just got to New Mexico.

Went on a hike this morning. The trail was so overgrown, we had trouble finding the cairns. Eventually, we had to turn back. The wild flowers were beautiful, the mountain impressive, but the briars and brambles really tore both John and my legs up. Ouch! :-(

This evening will be the annual employee picnic and we are expecting nice weather - 80's, a nice breeze and almost cloudless sky. I baked a banana bread as my contribution (shocker, huh). Looking forward to eating lots of interesting foods, although I've yet to eat chili - red or green. Despite being in New Mexico, where I'm certain they make awesome chili, I have never developed a taste for it!

That's all for now. Need a shower before the picnic...

Miss ya all,

Love Val & John

Busy week

Hi Friends,

Sorry for not posting more often. I've been working six days a week. Today is my only day off, so I thought I'd make a quick post.

Last night I finally got John into "The Hall of the White Giant". It's my favorite off trail tour. It's a strenuous trip, with a wide variety of physical challenges. The beginning of the tour you have to go through the corkscrew. Easy for tiny me, but for the bigger men (like John, Sam, and JD) it's an interesting challenge. There's also what we call the 'pinch', 'castration rock' and that's just a few of the other fun things you get to do!!! There's an alley you need to 'chimney' through - my Glacier friends would have a blast in this cave tour. You also have to climb a rope up through flow stone (very slippery rock surface), climb a narrow ladder - only one foot will it on it's rung. All this to get to the "White Giant", which is a beautiful white calcite stalagmite.

My fellow ranger Sam was kind enough to lead the tour, and I was trail ranger for a small groups of rangers, other park employees, family and friends. My hat (or actually my helmet) off to Sam for missing most of Paul's party to spend Friday evening with us. We had a blast - thanks, my friend!

Working tomorrow for another six day stretch. No luck yet with a winter job, so the OT although exhausting, is welcome. Promise to post more soon. JD took some pictures last night, so once I get them, I'll post a few so you can see where we were. Who would have known that I would love caving so much. Just goes to show you, you're never too old to learn new tricks!

Love ya all and miss ya! Come visit. I'll take ya caving too!

Love,
VAL & JOHN