October 22, 2008

Wednesday 22~~~ We were on the road by 8:30 this morning headed for the Guadalupe Mountain National Park. The drive was beautiful and we are still commenting on how different this state is compared to what we thought it would look like. So much brush and trees and hills. We expected flat bare land with cactus and no hills. The mountains were so pretty with the early morning sun shining on them. (pictures) Our next stop was the Carlsbad Canyons in New Mexico. We took the self guided tour, there was dim lights all over the cavern, you ride an elevator 700 feet to the floor of the cavern. The cave was created drop by drop of water with nature and the chemistry of the soil and gases from the air and billions and billions of drops of water, the cave formations have taken place. Starting back 1000 years ago when the American Indians entered the entrance of the cave and left drawings on the cave walls near the entrance. In the 1800's settlers discovered the cavern, discovered by the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of bats rising up out of the natural entrance in the evening. Tours began over the years and in 1923 word of the cave reached Washington DC and the next year it was proclaimed a National Monument and in 1930 it became a National Park. The cave was beautiful to see and it was warmer in the cave than it was outside where the wind was blowing about 30 miles and hour with a wind chill to go with it. We were glad we drove out of our way to see it. From here we drove to Fabens, TX. to the Cattleman's Steak House for the best steak dinner we have ever eaten. It is a large ranch that raises their own Beef, ages it, and prepares and supplies the steaks in the restaurant. They sell hamburger and steak tips for $1.50 a pound and it is 90% lean meat. We filled our camper freezer with it. They also have RV parking so that after dinner you can just walk to your RV and stay for the night. The camping is free and as guests you can tour and enjoy the grounds and animals. They have one electrical outlet on a pole by one space and if you get there first, you get it. It is only 15 amp, but it was enough to run the TV. Some friends of ours told us about it and this is the 3rd place they have recommended and all 3 were great. Several movies have been filmed on this property, one was "Courage Under Fire, a war one with Meg Ryan, The movie set left all the war props from the movie,(jeeps, artillery) and all the stuff they use in movies. On Saturday night they have trucks with cover wagon tops and they take their dinner guest for rides to see the movie set. Another movie is "Saving Jessica Lynch" and "Extreme Prejudice" and probably about 5 more. They have all kinds of walking paths with all kinds of animals and everything is so neat and clean. The best part is it is all free, just have a great dinner and enjoy the rest. There is a path to the lake and there is all kinds of seating benches to sit and watch the geese and wild life. We wish we had more time to just enjoy the beauty and serenity of the ranch. If you go to Fabens, Texas, be sure and go there, you won't be disappointed.