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Carlsbad Caverns, Part 1

Friday afternoon. Carlsbad, New Mexico. Home of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Which is home to thousands of bats.

This was our first official day of camping (can you believe hotels don't count?!). We arrived in the area around 4pm and headed straight to Brantley Lake State Park, about 22 miles north of Carlsbad. We were really trying to hurry and, for our first set up, we did very well, getting set up in well under 2 hours. Not bad for 3 tents plus kitchen set up. By the end of this trip, we'll have it down to less than 45 minutes. 

Both Team Alpha's (parents), and Team Gamma's (girls) were set up next to each other. YoManBob's (Team Me!) however.... Let's just say that he

Second "oops!"

Our first stamps for Iron Butt badges!

First off, my apologies for the site being down for about 15 hours. Long story short, it's fixed.


Yesterday, we went to Mission Concepcion, one of the missions in San Antonio. We did not go to the River Walk because we've all been there before and, most importantly, it was HOT. Not a little hot. An oh-my-god-i'm-gonna-melt-in-my-tracks hot. We skipped the Alamo for the same reasons.


All things considered, it was a very enjoyable day. So, where's the second "oops!"? I got rear-ended. Yes, me. Yes, on my bike. How? Well, from the

Hi Texas! From CASA of SoLA

Remember the Alamo?

Actually, that's all we can do right now. Remember our last visit, that is. We haven't gone there yet.


Yesterday's ride was a rough one. It wasn't a matter of distance or traffic. The problem was that we slept poorly (anticipation nerves) and had much to do before we actually got on the road. A perfect recipe for being

And we're OFF!

Did you notice? I bet you didn't! Look left. See the countdown clock? No, it is no longer a count-down, but a count-up! This clock will be keeping track of our time on the road. Our target time is 35 days.


Another change is that I may not be posting as regularly as I have so far. Or, more accurately, I may have more photos than words - a relief to many -[- and the blog itself may not be as neatly set up, i.e., there may be typos, offset photos, etc. This is because wifi access will be sporadic, at best, so I will have to post mainly from my iPhone or iPad. If you notice a glaring error, please let me know. If it's a minor one, keep it a secret.

Indi-Mac Here...

After a long day of shopping for trip supplies, we are now ready for actually packing the van. That's what we are doing right now. I am very excited and tired... but mostly excited. Today, while shopping for other things, we got my boots. Very happy about that!! But not as happy as I was to get my pocket knife. My knife is silver, has a good weight to it, and has about a 3 and a half inch blade. Its pretty big for my first knife, but I am content with it. The first day I got it I wanted to practice opening and closing it. I did that so many times that now I have a callus formed on my thumb. And now it doesn't hurt my thumb. My boots fit well. Mr. D also gave me a sheath for it!! And us three girls get survival knives. So.. I will go. There is much more to be done and I'd like to be part of the packing and what not. So BYE!!!!!