Day 3 - Caverns of Sonora - Old Mesilla, New Mexico

Today was a long travel day - we drove 425 miles today!  This was an uneventful day of driving - there isn't much in west Texas to brag about!  I did see an interesting mural on a bridge overpass which I will post below, and then of course we got to add another sticker to our "where we have been" map!  The Turtle has never been to New Mexico!  Arrived in Old Mesilla at approximately 4 P.M.  We did get caught in road work going through El Paso and that was about a thirty minute delay.......

Old Mesilla is a suburb south of Las Cuces.  It is very similar to Old Town Santa Fe, New Mexico, but on a much smaller scale.  We are in a very nice RV Park and we are the smallest unit here!  There must be at least 100 motorhomes here!  Ah, the sweet smell of $$$$$$$$.

We will post pictures of Old Mesilla tomorrow.  We are planning to go there for lunch and picture taking!

Bridge Art on I-10 heading to New Meico

Welcome "Speedy" to New Mexico!!!

(Do you see him?)

Day 2 - Caverns of Sonora

We awoke this day to a beautiful sunrise and 46 degree temperatures!  The guinea hens and peacocks didn't seem to mind the crisp morning air!  We ate a causal breakfast, and left for the cavern tour at

10 AM.  The tour took two hours and 15 minutes, and we walked a total of two miles - mostly on a steep grade!  The temperature in the caverns was 72 degrees, the humidity was 98 percent!  We have visited the Carlsbad Caverns, but the Caverns of Sonora are quite different.  The entrance and the "rooms" at Carlsbad Caverns are much bigger than the ones in the Caverns of Sonora.  The pathways are narrower as well, and it was very difficult to not touch anything!  The number one rule emphasised repeatedly by the tour guide is not to touch anything while on the tour!  No walls, no formations, nothing! It is now a state felony if you do!  This is because there has been extensive damage to caves in the state of Texas by unappreciative visitors in the past.  Touching the formations cause them to cease growing......after already growing for thousands of years!  There are many names for all the various formations - I can't remember all of them, but some of them were rather cute and very appropriate for the formation i.e:  Drinking Straws, Ice Cream Sundae, Popcorn, Fish Tails, Butterfly, etc.  To learn more about the Caverns of Sonora, go to www.cavernsofsonora.com.  It is a truly magnificent experience, but probably not one we will repeat any time soon due to the physical endurance involved and the fact that we aren't getting any younger!
After the tour of the Caverns, we drove into Sonora for lunch and to see what the town had to offer.  Sonora is a quaint little town and we took a few pictures of the courthouse, old jail, main street and of course the First Methodist Church............For more information on Sonora, go to
 www.sonoratx-chamber.com.

Our home state certainly has some wonderful hidden treasurers!

Do you see Speedy (Our Turtle Mascot) ?

Cave Entrance

Fish Tail

Popcorn

Bacon

Christmas Tree Forest

Applesauce

Christmas Trees

Chandelier

Ice Cream Sundae

Courthouse - Sonora

Old Jail House - Yes the building is leaning!

First United Methodist Church - Sonora

Our Campsite - Caverns of Sonora

Day 1 - Port Lavaca to Caverns of Sonora

We departed Port Lavaca around 8:30 AM,and arrived at the Caverns of Sonora at 3:30 PM.  The ride itself was uneventful with the exception of the awesome wildflowers on the roadside!  They are truly awesome this year, especially between Cuero and San Antonio!  The driver wouldn't stop for pictures, so the pictures I have posted truly don't do the flowers justice!  They were breathtaking!  We traveled approximately 350 miles this day, and spent the night enjoying the antics of the guinea hens and peacocks that roamed the RV Campground freely!  Unfortunately there was no wi-fi or phone service in the area we were camping, so we didn't get to post as promised. The dogs are great travelers and really enjoy the long walks, friendly attention of strangers and of course dinner and snack time! Thanks to all our followers for being patient with us .........hopefully from this point on we won't have any technical difficulties!

Wildflowers along the way!