On Tuesday, we visited the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens which is part of the New Mexico State Parks. It is a 1.3 mile self-guided walking tour through a variety of habitats found in the Chihuahuan Desert. There were several species of birds in the aviary, reptiles, mule deer, bison, elk, mountain lions, wolves, prairie dogs and a black bear named Maggie. All the animals were part of a rescue program for injured or orphaned wildlife. At the end of the walk was a greenhouse containing several hundred varieties of cacti.
On Thursday, we drove down to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This time of the year is the off-season and there were not many visitors. We opted to walk down the natural entrance (about a mile). The path is steep, but well maintained with hand rails the entire distance. Once at the bottom, we walked the Big Room tour which was another mile. Since we were last at the Caverns (~10 years ago), I think they have changed the route. We saw some new formations and did not see formations that we remembered from our previous trip. No pictures, forgot the camera *&$$#!@. Here is a park link to some of their photos.
We plan to leave on Monday, September 29th and make our way into Texas.
