Carlsbad KOA & Carlsbad Caverns National Park

We pulled into Carlsbad KOA at dusk. I quickly set up the camper as the kids took Ruby to the dog park. With just the 3 of us, we were able to take down our homemade bunk beds which makes it possible to set up our dinette with less fuss. It was 8:30 at night when I got to start making some dinner! Thank goodness for simple meals like mac n' cheese with broccoli!

 The next day was HOT! The kids moods are all over the place, so we decided on a day of not much activity! It was nice to swim and catch up on some road schooling!

The desert reeked havoc on my skin. So in Colorado I bought some lotion (Eucerin) and started slathering it on my body a couple of times a day. In Carlsbad I somehow fried myself after just 40 minutes at the pool. That evening when I went to put on my lotion I realized a warning on the bottle saying to avoid sun exposure as the lotion increases your risk of sunburn for up to 7 days! If you hear news reports of a giant lobster walking around NM, it’s just me!!

 For lunch I heated up the leftover mac and cheese and added ground beef and grated zucchini and carrots. The kids loved it :)

 There are dozens of bunnies everywhere in this campground! They drive Ruby mad!

 On Thursday we headed to Carlsbad Caverns (about an hour from the KOA). It was amazing how different they were from Lehman Caves! It was like comparing Mall of America to a convenience store! We were grateful that we had seen Lehman caves first and had gone on the guided tour there to learn all about how the limestone caves are formed and about all of the different cave structures. We spotted all of the structures, except the super rare shields. But, we did find Lion's Tale (6th picture) which we hadn't seen before. All of the structures were much more grand! The Avenue of the giants and cave pools were awesome. Our pictures don't really do the cave justice. We jammed through the 1.6 mile loop of the Great Room and the kids were able to complete their Junior Ranger booklets. We were in a rush because the kennels there were a flop. When we first arrived we checked Ruby in. The attendant told me that I would have to lift Ruby into the top row of kennels because the bottom ones were all full. Lifting a 65 pound fidgeting dog is not easy. When I got her up there I asked the attendant if the crates were secured to the wall. She said they weren't! I said well, that won't work, as soon as she moves she is going to knock the entire stack of crates over. She acted like I was being difficult! We ended up putting Ruby back in the camper and really rushed our visit. While it's great to have Ruby with us, it definitely adds a whole other layer of logistics to everything!

 Taking the Junior Ranger Oath :)