Day Eighteen (Eclipse Road Trip)

 Roswell, New Mexico 🠊 Albuquerque, New Mexico

We spent the night in Roswell, New Mexico, and woke up to aliens everywhere. We had a quick breakfast and explored the city. The amount of aliens around Roswell was awesome! Every business, light post, sign, and roadway had an alien, or alien-themed message. After seeing so many you ask yourself if they are actually real, or not. We parked the bus and walked around Roswell to really soak in the theme of the city and the magic of the area. Roswell is a hidden gem area that we are so glad we made time for.

Jeff and I both were loving the cactus around the area.

We walked through Roswell taking in all of the alien-themed buildings, statues, and overall cool vibe of the place. Skylar, being a Star Wars fan was loving all of it, too. We ended up having a snack while we were in Roswell and found the chamber of commerce/visitor center.

Roswell was one of the coolest places we've ever been to. We are so glad we were able to fit it into this trip in the bus. We grabbed some stickers while in Roswell and plan on adding them to the back of the bus collection we have started.

As we were leaving Roswell and headed towards El Paso, Texas, for the night, we saw this sign for the Civilian Conservation Corps. CCC is a work program, similar to Job Corps, for men at the age of 18 to enlist and help conserve public lands across the nation. It was established during The Great Depression and helped preserve and beautify places like Lake Arthur in New Mexico, as well as Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.

We made another detour and stopped at the Living Desert Zoo and Garden State Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was hot when we arrived, and barely any shade for us to park the bus in. We couldn't take the ducks, or Hardy in with us. We ended up leaving all of the fans running while we were exploring the area. The fans help cool the bus down and keep air circulating, but we are in need of a mini split a/c unit to really keep it cool. A battery bank and a mini split a/c are on the list of things to do once we get back to homebase.

The amount of cactus at this state park was incredible. Every turn we took there was a different cactus variety. We all loved every bit of it.

We saw a bobcat, horned owl on the first section of the walk-through. It was hot for us, so I know these animals were seeking shade. These are the main predators that are in the desert, so it was cool to see them up close and personal. I always have a special place in my heart for caged animals, but the good thing about these animals, they are rescued and rehabilitated. The horned owl loved watching me and even started talking to me. I asked him in English how his day was going and he responded back. But when Skylar asked him something, he didn't answer. I loved that he liked me enough to talk to me. I told him to stay strong and that I hoped to see him again soon. He came a little closer and hooted back to me what almost sounded like "bye bye." I wish him well.

Seeing Prickly Pear cactus at the state park made my day. It's my favorite cactus variety and I loved how healthy and thriving it was here. Prickly Pear cactus has so many wonderful benefits. It is above all one of the best plants on this planet for heart health.

Huge selenite deposits in the state park. Selenite crystals, which are gypsum, are beneficial to life, as well. They are great for purifying and create a positive energy. We stood here for awhile and touched the crystals in order to cleanse any bad auras we picked up along our trip. I'm not a crystals person, but selenite is a good crystal to have on our planet. It is used in a variety of things we use every day. Drywall, toothpaste, shampoos, and even things like jewelry.

Towards the end of the state park walk-through is the aviary. There were so many different birds flying around this aviary that it was hard to keep up with all of them darting around. All of the birds were active and chirping nonstop. Skylar and I have noise sensitivity and it was almost overwhelming, but the birds were beautiful. We made our way through as slowly as possible, and being up close and personal with all of them was such a magical experience. I was a bit afraid to go into the aviary at first, but I am glad I did.

Jeff made a run out the bus to make sure Hardy and the ducks were doing okay and to put some ice in their water dishes. It was getting hotter, so we hurried through the rest of the state park as quickly as we could.

The last few things on the walk-through were lots of cactus and this huge raven. The raven was talking nonstop to anyone that would listen. We stopped for a bit and it seemed like he was telling us a story, so we nodded along. Every time he broke in his "storytelling" we all said, "Oh, wow." Or, "That's interesting." The raven would nod his head and then start talking again. We told him thank you for the conversation and he nodded approvingly. Crows and ravens are among my top favorite birds. They are so incredibly smart and people don't give them the credit they truly deserve.

We got back on the road and headed towards El Paso, Texas. We had plans to spend the night in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but we had to go through El Paso first. We were hoping to make it there by nightfall.

The views along the way were incredible. This is parts of the United States that none of us had ever seen. We were in awe of how lucky we were to be able to take this trip in our bus. A trip we have had planned for well over four years. It was so awesome to be on the road and the feeling of being free. Jeff and I both were so happy to give this experience to Skylar, too.

 

We came up over a small hill and we finally saw the lights of El Paso, Texas. We were so happy to see that we made it when we did. We were hoping to be there before it got too dark and we arrived right at 9:00 p.m.

Once we got into El Paso, we were able to see the lights of Juarez, Mexico. It was beautiful seeing it for the first time. Everyone on both sides of the border just going about their lives. It was a wonderful feeling, and we hate that people can't see the beauty in it all without judgement.

We crossed the New Mexico State Line around 10:30 p.m., but Jeff pushed on to Albuquerque. The road construction in El Paso slowed down our time a bit and border patrol stopped us three times. Once in El Paso and they looked under the bus and around the bus. They also asked us what our business was to be in El Paso, Texas. The second time was north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. They asked how many was on board, if we had pets, and/or plants onboard. They used heat sensors and x-ray and knew we had ducks. The conversation was comical explaining that one, but border patrol was super nice to us and we gave them a good laugh. They looked tired, so we were glad we gave them a bit of a mental break from their job. The last time was a quick inspection of the bus and around the bus, but we didn't have to stop. It was a drive through inspection station near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Skylar and I went to sleep, but Jeff didn't get the bus parked and situated until around 3:00 a.m. He was exhausted, but we made great time with him doing that.