Off To White Sands, One Of The Most Amazing Places On Earth!!!

Hey Gang,

Well I must say that I was sad to leave Albuquerque, but left there very confident that I would be back again and I will definitely continue to look for work there as well! The climate is amazing and the people are very nice! After heading out though, I was not done with New Mexico quite yet! I headed off to White Sands where I spent some time at the White Sands Missile Range where they set off the first Nuclear bomb and conducted tests deep in the desert! At the site I had to pass through security and unfortunately, the museum and offices were already closed but that didn't stop me from viewing some of the most prolific firepower in our nation's history! It was great getting personal with some of the firepower that has kept our nation safe and freedom alive! As I'm sure you'll see in some of my Facebook pictures, they were quite a sight! I learned a lot and got some history lessons and let my imagination run wild with what that first atomic blast must have been and felt like for those early researchers!

Along this journey, I also took in a Meteor site where the first documented and proven meteor came to earth thousands of years ago and created a two and half mile in diameter hole in the earth's surface! It was another one of those very energetic and powerful sights that was a very spiritual and out of this world experience for me! It was absolutely beautiful and very awe-inspiring! I took some good time to truly let it soak in and then headed again on my way! If you want to see some of what I experienced, definitely check out some of my photos! I would highly recommend this to anyone on a road trip or just passing through!

After some of these amazing experiences, I continued further and on to the actual town of White Sands where I drove out to these endless sand dunes out in the middle of no where that seemed to roll on and on into the horizon! I pulled "Yarissa" over, threw on some flip-flops and ventured out into this very odd oasis! As soon as I did, I knew I was in some place special! Now I will state that I am a very spiritual person rather then any one specific religion and respectful of each and everyone of your beliefs... This was one of the most SPIRITUAL and MOVING places I've ever been in my life! I instantly had this IMMENSE joy and positivity about me! I couldn't even begin to explain what I felt but this singular moment in a trip filled with moments and memories...I will never forget! I can honestly say, it changed me! If you ever get to New Mexico and you don't go to White Sands, I might just call you crazy! You can even rent a sled and go sledding down the dunes! For someone like myself who has been sledding ever since before he could walk in Alaska, I decided to pass and spend more time exploring, taking photos that don't even come close to the experience and just soaking it all in!

After some good time spent, I headed out again and this time it was off to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico! When I arrived, I discovered that though it was mid afternoon, that it wouldn't be possible to take full advantage of the caves before dark so I decided to stay in the local town that had a General Store, Restaurant, Hotel, and a few other mini-conveniences! It was interesting! I got a room and tried...Mostly UN-Successfully to update pictures/videos/blogs and just hung out before having some good home-cooked (If you can believe it!?) Chicken Fried Steak dish! I did however get to play some old-fashioned "Cruisin' USA" in their MINI-Arcade before heading off to bed with sweet dreams of Caverns to come in my head!!!

Morning after, I woke with a stir and jumped up ready to explore Caves! Something I have never had the honor of doing in my past! I headed about 7 miles East (I really don't know which direction but thought I would guess! You know ME! On a regular basis, I have no idea where I am especially on this road trip besides the State I happen to currently reside in!) Anyways, I digress! The drive up to the mouth of the Caverns was beautiful, I saw just about every kind of Desert Wildlife and Plant Life along the way and when I came up over the hill, the view was spectacular! I headed in and was able to grab a wand that allowed you to punch in #'s along the path and it would recite great facts about the tour! It turned out to be only $4 and was well worth its weight in gold!

I know I have been OVER-stating this but if you haven't guessed... I am a person that lives life and takes in each experience often from the eyes of someone much younger then myself! Say 6 years old or so... Many of you already know this if you have experienced my photography in person! Regardless and MOST definitely respectful of your own beliefs... I live my life to LOVE and to LEARN all that I can in this truly remarkable opportunity we are given! I am very lucky to be alive due to a number of events and circumstances in this life, some that I was born with! You can ask me about these in person if you feel so inclined! I almost could have died 10 years ago this June and am OH SO thankful for every day that I am given! WOW...TANGENT... Anyways, this Cave experience was another one of those moments in time that I will never forget! I learned so much about caves and how they are formed to local history and the discovery of this National treasure! It was another experienced, chalked up against many others to define this journey of mine!

The Caves, featured everything from "THE BIG ROOM" which was one of the largest discovered in the world that extends for goodness knows how long! Its presence was truly "BIG!" Besides that there was a "Whale's Mouth" that looks exactly like it was named and a "Chandelier" that again is exactly as named! There is a "BOTTOMLESS PIT" which was named many years ago before we could accurately map coordinates and though quite deep and large it still is only a couple hundred feet deep! SCARY!!!

After hours of trekking, I took an elevator at least 750 feet deep up to the surface and continued on my journey to San Antonio, TX! This whole experience to date has been life-changing! So many new relationships formed, so many experiences had, once in a life time NO DOUBT!!!

Till Next Time, This Is The Mack Signing Out!!!