From Texas to Utah

Rubin, his brother Trevor, and I survived a driving trip from Texas to Utah around the first of August. Once again I trusted Rubin way too much with the travel plans. He assured me that I would have the entire backseat of the car to relax in for the whole ride. I guess it's been a while since I've seen the Mini Cooper. I spent the better part of four days crammed in a space the size of a shoe box. Luckily, Trevor was nice enough to let me use his pillows to sleep on.

First we went to a Six Flags park, where the heat was so intense I blacked out during some of the rides. Good times.

Next we went to Carlsbad Caverns. This was my favorite part of the trip. We spent the whole day wandering around on the clearly-marked paths of the cave. The National Park Service's self-described goal is to have minimum impact on the natural cave formations. In an unrelated note, they had a restaurant, gift shop, and restrooms deep inside the cave. Hey, wait a minute...



Rubin and I having a romantic lunch in Carlsbad Caverns. The bat droppings were a nice touch.

That evening we waited in the amphitheater for the Bat Flight. This is where the bats all leave the cave at twilight to go feed. The ranger instructed everyone to be completely silent and keep all electronic devices put away so as not to frighten the bats. The rangers were pretty hardcore about this rule -- one lady was even "escorted" out because she wouldn't turn off her iPad!

Rubin, Trevor, and I waiting for the bat flight outside of the cave.

Then we had to make a quick trip to Roswell, New Mexico, to visit the alien museum. What a quirky little town Roswell is! Every store has aliens painted on the windows! For example, the furniture shop has pictures of aliens sitting on couches and the Mexican restuarant has pictures of aliens in somberos! It's a good time down there in Roswell!
 

At first, I was afraid of the aliens in Roswell.

But they're not so bad once you get to know them.

Well, the drive was long and hot and uncomfortable, but I can still say I had a good time on my trip with Rubin and Trevor. Hopefully Trevor has recovered from being subjected to a play by play (by moi) of the novel Edenbrooke, a nineteenth-century romance where Marianne Daventry falls for the dashing Philip Wyndham.