ROAD TRIP - @ Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Not much to post for this leg. The wife and youngin's are at the caves and I am in the Monsterhome catching up on business, work and such.

This is not picturesque country by any means. It is mostly flat, flat and then flat again, covered by a mixture of cacti, prairie grass and rocks. I can't imagine why any settler stopped here to stay a century and half ago.

There is a substantial amount of business at hand though. The oil and gas industry seems prosperous. The oil and gas industry is active with lots of rigs being tended to by the roughnecks. I imagine this is only possible because the environmentalists do not see some controlling or sentimental value in the vast, flat expenses of New Mexico and Texas. Nah, they'd rather inflict their "hall monitor BS" and mismanage our forests first, turning them into tinder boxes and then, burnt out wastelands.

I hiked up to the old castle and cell phone towers above White's City for my morning sojourn. Like I said, flat, flat and more flat.

The history of White's City, Jim White and the Carlsbad Caverns can be found here:

Jim White
Cavern Pictures
Psrk Info

White's City is a mix of mostly dilapidated old Hotels, a semi occupied store complex and the RV park. Many buildings are uninhabitable and on the last leg.

The old Pueblo Inn waiting for the bulldozer

RV PARK REVIEW: WHITE'S CITY

The RV Park is the most convienient park to the caverns by a long mile. The nearest competitor is a good 12 miles up the road into Carlsbad and is likely as questionable as this one.

Until recently, the park has seen some bad days, falling into the same despair as the Pueblo Inn. About 2 years ago, new owners took over and started fixing things up. There is now 50 amp service and a good amount of the park plumbing has been replaced. The showers and bathrooms are looking better with new tile but all in all, the place has a ways to go.

I did not try the free WiFi service as the park sits under the shadows of both an AT&T and Verizon Wireless towers. AT&T offered 2G access and Verizon, offered 3G with superb service and speed.

I rate the park a 5 of 10 and that is mostly based on the effort of the new owners to get things a bit better.

More info on the park can be found here:

Carlsbad, RV Park Reviews

The next leg takes up into the Texas Panhandle with a stop in Amarillo.