Day 29: San Antonio to Austin

Started the day with a lovely walk along the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  What a fantastic outdoor space.  First of all, it is set below the sidewalk level of the busy city, so feels miles away.  Then it is full of art, from whimsical fish hung from the I-35 bridge where the Mexican free-tail bats hang out (could have skipped Carlsbad if I had known!) to fountains and music piped in along the trail.  There are restaurants and shops and wildlife and beautiful flowers.  I loved it!

I then had a great lunch at the Sandbar.  They fly in fresh fish each day and had 6 different types of fresh oysters.  I splurged and had a fantastic 3 course meal, including dessert-the key lime pie was fantastic!
Austin was only an hour or so drive north, so I arrived in time to relax at the hotel pool before heading out for dinner (not to rub it in, but it's 88 degrees here at 9 pm at night!).  Listened to the Pine Beetles, an Irish folk band, at Patsy's Cowboy Cafe.  Fun times!

Day 28: San Antonio

Visited the Alamo and heard a great historical discussion of the factors leading up to the battle at the Alamo.  Yes, it is smaller than you would think, but full of history!
Then rented a bike and rode in 90 degree heat to see 2 other missions:

Mission San Jose

Mission Concepcion

Only able to ride about 12 miles or so (way too hot!), so I then visited the Spanish Governor's Palace and Fernando Cathedral (just missed a visit by the Bishop, cops everywhere!).  Then headed out to the McNay Art Museum, where I saw lots of impressionist and medieval art.  This is yet another example of a local art-loving citizen who started a museum.  Reminded me of the Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston.  Here is the courtyard:

The skies darkened, so I didn't hit the Riverwalk yet, had dinner at "Cheesy Jane's"=great burger with fritos (yes, fritos) underneath the burger.  Yum!

Riverwalk will have to wait until tomorrow, still have to check out the Sandbar Restaurant.  It's a very highly rated seafood restaurant, which sounds a little weird in Texas, but they fly in fresh seafood every day, so I'll give you a full report tomorrow.

Day 27: Texas

Left New Mexico for Texas; yippee ki yay!
After a few hours, got tired of Interstate 10 and hit the country roads.  Explored the Texas Hill Country:

Made a nice change from all the desert I've driven through.  Tried to find the Devil's Sinkhole but he had hidden it too well!  So, found Lost Maple State Park (these maples are relics of the last glacial period and thus "lost") instead.  Saw my first glimpse of fall color as I hiked the East Trail:

Then drove into Bandera, known as the Cowboy Capital of the World because of all the cattle drives that have come through here throughout the years.  Had a respectable barbecue dinner in Busbee's BBQ.
Then arrived in San Antonio, after driving almost 500 miles.  Will explore all that this small Texan city has to offer tomorrow (and take a break from driving) and then head to Austin on Friday.

Day 26: Carlsbad Caverns

Left Alamogordo, NM, after visiting the NM Space History Museum.  Another surprising local treasure trove of space artifacts.  With all of these rockets scattered around the West, who needs the Smithsonian?

I then headed to Carlsbad Caverns:

 I arrived too late to take the hike down from the Natural opening into the caverns, so I took the elevator down to the Big Room; somewhat disappointed.  I then realized that I probably had time to hike up the trail, so there I went, despite the sign:

Exhausted, but triumphant, because of my strong knees, I then took the elevator back down and took my time exploring the vast caverns.  Thankfully, my earlier tour of Kartchner caverns gave me the background knowledge to understand all the cave formations.

Then it was time for Bat Flight!  At sunset, hundreds of thousands of bats took wing and put on quite a show.  I was so glad to be able to see this in person, after having heard about it for years, since my undergraduate days doing bat research at BU.

Another fantastic day and I haven't even hit Texas yet!

Day 25: Southern New Mexico

Drove through from southern Arizona to New Mexico, passing by a few roadside attractions.  First I stopped by The Thing in southern Arizona, drawn in by the many billboards:

Not sure what it is, but I only paid a dollar to see it!

I then stopped by to see the Running Indian in New Mexico:

After so many pit stops to absorb the local culture, I finally made it to White Sands National Park.  Unbelievable!  275 square miles of glittering white gypsum sands, surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert, the largest desert in North America.  Had an informative sunset stroll, led by Ranger Julia, who shared her passion for the flora and flauna of this unusual desert.

And yes, that is not snow surrounding me, it's unbelievably white sand!

Day 24: Bisbee, Arizona

Stopped in Tombstone and spied some vestiges of the wild, wild West:

And then traveled on to Bisbee, Arizona, where we visited a copper mine located just a few miles from the border with Mexico.  We donned our raincoats, miners' helmets, and light packs and climbed aboard the mine train that took us into the mine:

Our guide had worked in a copper mine for 21 years and regaled us with many stories of the dangers and adventures of working in the mines.  I have a new appreciation of the hard work involved in this form of mining, especially after seeing the open pit mine, located right next door to the Queen Mine.  What devastation to the environment!

Passed through another border checkpoint and saw a van full of Mexican workers being searched as they tried to come into this country.  Not sure whether they were legal or not, but certainly a very different day-to-day experience than that which I experience back in Hopkinton.

Day 23: Tucson, Arizona

Spent the day exploring the fantastic caves at Kartchner Caverns State Park, near Benson, Arizona.  Very informative guided tour into a live cave; with developing stalactites & stalagmites, including one of the world's longest "soda straws", at 21 feet long!  Gave me a new appreciation for caves, caving and park rangers!
Then dinner in Tubac, a charming village full of art & history, just a few miles from Mexico.  Went through a border check point and was very appreciative for our American-looking faces!