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<\/a>New Mexico!<\/p><\/div>\n
We finally break free of Texas and arrived in Carlsbad, NM. \u00a0It’s not that we didn’t like Texas, its that we lost 11 days of our trip. \u00a0I now have to totally reschedule where we will be going and I will have to skip a lot of what we have planned. \u00a0I still think we will be able to get to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore.<\/p>\n
We spent a day and a half in Carlsbad. Our first night was merely, sitting out a storm and doing some laundry. \u00a0Most of our\u00a0adventuring\u00a0was on July 4th. \u00a0I was pretty surprised that Carlsbad Caverns<\/a> and the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens<\/a> were both open on a holiday. \u00a0Apparently National Parks are open year round (weather permitting) except for Christmas.<\/p>\n Being in New Mexico, we expected a hot day so we decided to go to the Zoo first. \u00a0We were all pretty surprised that we were able to see so many animals. \u00a0I loved the Elk the most as it was huge (picture the elks in Narnia that people rode). \u00a0They also had a reptile house. It should have been a snake house as it was all snakes except one gila monster lizard. \u00a0I was glad the boys had a chance to see a rattlesnake and a few other poisonous snakes so they could see how easily they can hide in their environment. \u00a0As many times as I can warn them, it helps for them to see their\u00a0camouflage\u00a0capabilities.<\/p>\n One of the things that Sean and I liked about the Zoo, were all the different plants that are grown in the area. \u00a0Sean was especially giggly over the cows\u00a0tongue\u00a0cactus. \u00a0Brian was our fearless leader and led us around the 1.5 miles of exhibits. \u00a0I highly recommend going to the Living Desert Zoo. \u00a0Just remember to wear a hat, sunscreen and bring lots of water.<\/p>\n Next up was Carlsbad Caverns. \u00a0First let me say, be prepared to walk a lot!!! \u00a0I didn’t realize that its 1.5 miles around main areas of the cavern not counting the walk to the natural entrance that can take 1-2 hours. \u00a0We decided to take the elevators down to the main cavern instead. \u00a0The elevator goes down 750 feet in 62 seconds. \u00a0Sean was pretty impressed with that and the ranger supervising the ride chatted with Sean about it.<\/p>\n