Ice Snow Wind and Cave

March 27, 10:15 p.m.

This was a very remarkable day for many different reasons compared with yesterday. Last night it snowed over this whole area, only a little but the temps were very low. The bike had ice on it this morning. The ride over the mountain going east was very difficult as there was snow and ice on the road, with light snow falling. We really got cold, I had the heated grips on full and it had almost no effect. When we got to Artesia we stopped just to warm up.

The ride on down to the Carlsbad Caverns was better but there was still lots of wind and the temps were now in the 35 range which was much better than earlier. The caverns were an amazing natural creation, like maybe Yosemite valley or Rainbow bridge. The very large rooms and labrynths go for miles. They only allow the public into about half of the explored areas. I really enjoyed seeing this National Park.

The ride from Carlsbad to Odessa was about 200 mi and windy. The landscape in west Texas is quite flat and the roads are quite straight. I have never seen so much oil equipment in my life. Wells and oil rigs dot the land for hundreds of square miles.

This day will be remembered mostly for the weather but also because we made it safely.