Introducing... Jan Bartelstone. Professional photographer, yogi, Tai Chi aficionado, and just generally a lovely man. We met at a yoga center in ABQ.... and instantly felt drawn to each other. We have been dating for weeks now, and took the leap to spend a few days traveling and camping together after my departure from Moto's home in the Sandia Mountains. He is not normally a camper kind of a dude, so it took some amount of trust and a great leap of faith on his part to embark on this adventure with me! I was really touched and glad that he did. We had an amazing time together, as you shall see!
 |
| Yeah, he doesn't like to smile for photos... but he has a wonderfully smiling soul! He has utterly captured my heart...and I do believe it is mutual! |
These four photos were taken where we camped the first night together, at the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. It is a volcanic region--hard to see in the photos, but there is a lot of black rock from an old lava flow. There were great vistas of open space, which we admired from our secluded spot on a nice outcropping overlooking the valley below. The only drawback: it was very windy, and we were both concerned about the survival of our violently shaking tent! It DID make it through the night still standing; thankfully, the wind eventually died down.
On Saturday the 29th, we drove from Valley of Fires to White Sands National Park, a VERY popular New Mexican destination, and for good reason. The area-- as you will see below--is positively stunning.
Here is the description from their website:
"White Sands National Park rises from the heart of the Tularosa Basin and created the world's largest gypsum dune field. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and preserves a piece of New Mexico's unique geology. Typically, gypsum is rarely found as sand because it dissolves in contact with water. But, the isolation and weather patterns [created the right conditions for the formations of these dunes]. White Sands National Park preserves not only a major portion of this unique dune field, but also the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment."
Jan and I cavorted all over these dunes, sliding down them, struggling to climb back up, and of course taking dozens of photos. At my encouragement, he performed some Tai Chi moves at the top of one dune, resulting in my absolutely favorite shots (which I hope to enlarge eventually). The whole experience was positively glorious!
It can be brutally hot out on the dunes, even in springtime. As such, we were VERY fortunate to get there under overcast skies. It not only made for pleasant temperatures (in the 60s and 70s), but also for spectacular contrasts between sky and earth.
 |
Incredible how ANYthing can grow out here in the arid sands; miraculously, many plants do! There are many desert creatures that live here as well, but they--as may be expected--are mostly nocturnal and quite elusive. Didn't see anything living besides the assortment of sand-dwelling flora.
|
The next day, Sunday, we went on to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, another iconic location in New Mexico.
Here is the description:
Carlsbad Cavern has a labyrinth of underground chambers, including one of the largest ever discovered. The total length of the rooms and passages is still unknown, but the explored part of the main cavern is more than 30 miles (48 km) long, of which 3 miles (5 km) are open to visitors.
It was QUITE the adventure!
Jan and I painstakingly made our way down a dimly lit, very steep, paved walkway, descending ever deeper into the earth. There were placards along the way with explanations about the various unusual formations... as Jan is vision impaired, I read them to him, and also acted as his guide the whole way: in the dim light, there was little he could see, and this whole experience was a phenomenal challenge for him. I honestly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into... I felt a bit guilty about it... but he gallantly succeeded in walking the 3 miles with me and came out of it shining like the star that he is!
The photos don't really do justice to this underground wonderland, but I did my best.
That night, we drove to a KOA RV park outside of Carlsbad... a BIG mistake!!! It was not far from a fairly major highway, and the noise of traffic never abated the entire night. The staff were nice, and we had electricity for charging our phones, but it was an experience NOT to be repeated! In general, KOA's are designed for insulated RV's, and NOT for people staying in tents! Live and learn, to be sure...
We DID at least enjoy a couple nice meals at a restaurant in town...
On Monday the 31st, I was sad to have to drop Jan off at the small town airport so he could fly back home (in an 8 passenger plane, no less! I was a tad envious!)
I myself continued onward, heading further south into Texas and the Guadalupe Mountains... more about that in the next blog!
Comments
Post a Comment