June 16, 2015
I woke up, once again, after torrential rains to sunrise in the mountains. There were still dark clouds on the horizon. Before I got out of my tent, I had a chorus of birds calling. One stood out. There was a vireo calling. In the campground, there was only one possible candidate, Plumbeous.
#376 Plumbeous Vireo
This would be the only bird I get today. The rest of the day will be sight-seeing and driving.
First sight to see is Carlsbad Caverns. I figured, why not, since I’m here. It’s only 40 miles away.
Words don’t do the caverns justice. It felt like a scene out of Journey to the Center of the Earth (which, it turns out, was filmed here).
From the Caverns, I heading on into El Paso. I just wanted a short rest, gas, and coffee. At some point along the trip, I noticed my car starting to wobble. I didn’t think much of it and drove on.
After consulting with a few friends, they all convinced me to head immediately to White Sands National Monument. So I did.
Once again, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.
From here, I headed on to the Chiricahua Mountains. I’ve been trying to bird this area correctly for a long time. I got in late that night as the sun was setting. Oh guess what, I had to drive through more storms. Again.
I met a friend here who would accompany me throughout my Arizona leg and help find some of the awesome birds I needed.