Carlsbad Caverns

This week was a pretty low-key week. Kent went to work every day, while I stayed home. Last Saturday (June 14th) I went to my Aquarium training. It was a fun day and I got to learn a lot about marine animals and I even got to touch a Bamboo Shark! Unfortunately, with the number of volunteers and the short amount of time we have left in Albuquerque, it looks like I won't actually get to volunteer there. :( But I'm glad I got to go through the training. It was very cool!
Last Sunday, we found a nice little spot near the airport to sit and watch the planes. While we were sitting there, a little spider crawled in through the window. As we were driving away, the little guy decided to drop down right in front of my face and land next to my leg before scurrying under my seat!  Needless to say, I have been a very tentative and paranoid passenger this week! (Still no sighting of the creepster, but there was a tiny spider on my arm yesterday, so nightmares of a baby spider nest are looming.)

This WEEKEND was much more exciting! On Friday, our newest baby nephew, Maxwell, was born! And Jordan and Sarah became parents! Huzzah! We can hardly wait to meet the precious little guy!

Anyway, enough of what we are MISSING! Here is what we did this weekend!

We got to visit our THIRD National Park this trip: Carlsbad Caverns! We were able to walk down through the Natural Entrance and after my first glimpse into the cave and throughout our entire self-guided tour, I was blown away.

Natural Entrance

It is amazing down there and pictures cannot even come close to doing it justice. It far exceeded my wildest expectations! We were in awe the whole time. It's a very strange feeling to walk through the 90-degree desert landscape, into an opening in the earth that takes you to a cool, dark underground palace...complete with sparkly walls! :) It is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

On the trek into the cave

Witches Finger (and Kent's finger) :)

Cave-wall majesty

Hall of Giants

What a mysterious cave

Cave-floor magnificence

On our way to Carlsbad, we drove through Roswell and we had to stop for some alien sightings (and also food). (Kent refused to pose with the aliens...I think he does not believe!)