Land of Enchantment

2012 April 15

When we were driving through Texas, Raymond kept calling it "Big Sky", and I kept telling him that's what they call Montana. Well, now here in New Mexico, I keep thinking how big the sky is. Last night I took Greyla out for a walk around 11:30 pm and was astonished, once again, by the number of stars I could see with just my unaided eyes! It was cool, since the wind event we experienced most of yesterday was still underway, and the temperature was dropping into the mid 40s, but the sky seemed enormous, and the stars closer than they have at any point before on this journey. We are camped in Whites City, NM, just 7 miles from Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Our RV is the last one on the left, seen from the area of the General Store, in Whites City RV Park, NM

The winds of yesterday diminished somewhat around 5 am, which was a welcome relief, since some of the gusts were as high as 45 mph, and the constant wind was around 25 mph. The sunrise this morning was lovely. 

 Sunrise from our "yard" @ the RV Park, in Whites City, NM

Unfortunately, the winds are currently blowing at 22 mph, but the local weather assures us that this kind of wind event happens a few times a year. Apparently we just have odd timing. In any case, even this wind hasn't diminished my initial love of New Mexico. The state motto is "Land of Enchantment". I totally get that! The colors of the blooming ocotillo flowers, the deep blue of the sky, the intensity of the green desert plants against the soil colors ranging from tan, to brown to reddish and deep red, along with the deep velvet sky sprinkled liberally with twinkling stars, are more than enough to allow me to see the enchantment of this place. If I am so taken by this brief visit in the far south eastern corner of this land, how will I feel when we reach what they refer to as "the enchanted circle" north of Santa Fe?