Date of Trip: July 27th – August 4th, 2007
To Ellis
So, the plan was to leave for Ellis, Kansas late afternoon on Friday July 27th. We didn’t get out the door until around 7 PM. On the way to Ellis, we drove on the edge of a powerful thunderstorm. We arrived at 1:30 AM the next morning.
Ellis Arrival
Tired and ready for bed, we drove slowly down main street Ellis, Kansas. We were amazed by the Ellis Travel Plaza which featured an indoor play area through a large window. The Plaza sits on the edge of the lot where the “station” sat. My grandparents and aunt/uncle owned the “station”, a Mobile Gas Station, during my childhood.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
So at 1:30 AM, I opened up the envelope with the key for the Ellis home. There was no key there! We wrestled through the carpets, the car seats, the garbage, and everywhere else we could think of. At that point, I was wishing I had put the key on my key ring earlier.
Plan B: Ellis City Park
We headed down to Big Creek to check out the camping situation. At that time of night there were many RVs and tents with sleeping campers. We couldn’t be sure if there were any empty spots. The mosquitos were swarming us. We were tired. We had over an eight hour drive tomorrow. It was time for Plan C.
Plan C: Hotel in Hays, Kansas
So, we headed down the Highway to Hays, Kansas looking for a hotel at 1:30 AM. We were optimistic. Hays is a large city. Unless there was a big event going on, we should be able to find something. We stopped at the Fairfield Inn. We were told a Shriners’ convention was in town. No hotel rooms could be found until Abilene, KS which is 120 miles away. It was time for Plan D.
Plan D: Walmart Parking Lot: Hays, Kansas
At this point it was about 2:00 AM and we were getting desperate. We had read about boondocking in Walmart parking lots. About 10 RVs and pop up tents were already parked in the Hays Walmart parking lot. I had read on the web two philosophies of doing it. One theory was just do it and ask forgiveness if they kick you out. The other theory was to ask the manager. Since we really didn’t want to be kicked out after setting up, we decided to go in and ask. We talked to an employee who was very welcoming. She told us her manager keeps both doors open for campers, it is safe because the security cameras are on, and her trucker husband does it all the time. Without many choices at this point, we set up camp in the Walmart parking lot.
On our Way to Oklahoma City
The next morning we were gone by 8:00 AM. I had read that it is good etiquette to leave Walmart Parking lots early. So we did. We went in and bought a few items, including sunglass covers for my glasses. I looked pretty beat up with a mosquito bite that swelled part of my right eye shut. I was afraid to put on my contacts and I needed to see in the sun.
Visiting Norman, Oklahoma
A certain family member who is an alumni from the University of Oklahoma had a couple of items on his list to check off. So we did a whirlwind tour of the campus, had dinner at Goldie’s restaurant, and checked out the state of the house he lived in while going to college. Unfortunately, the house was run down with weeds growing in the gutters on the roof of the house. We didn’t even think to take a photo 
.
Hoteling in Oklahoma City
The original plan was to camp outside of Oklahoma City. But we decided we needed to sleep well. We had with another full day of driving to Austin. So we swam, slept, and ate breakfast at the Marriott Fairfield Inn near Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City.
Off to Austin, Texas
With all the driving excitement so far, I think we would all agree the drive between Oklahoma City and Austin was the hardest driving of the trip. On a Sunday, the traffic was non-stop all the way to Austin. We did drop off a Bookcrossing Book in Temple, Texas. To our excitement, a few days later we received news that our book had been caught. See the journal entry, for A Cry In the Night. This is our first bookcrossing release that has been caught!
Fun in Austin
We stayed in Austin for about three days and four nights. The best part of the stay was spending time with our relatives; Brother/Sister-In-Law (Uncle/Aunt), and Cousins. We had many fun and interesting chats. Also, we stayed in our Brother’s/Sister-In-Law’s beautiful new home which was a wonderful break from camping. We “helped” (as much as we help) with baby sitting our nephews/cousins. They are one year and three years old and growing fast! Swimming and being silly in the pool with our cousin was a highlight. Finally, our group broke into two and went to the movies to see “Ratatouille” and the “The Simpsons Movie”.
Food in Austin
Thanks for the yummy meals at home. Also, we were treated to some of the best food in Austin which included:
A Day Trip to San Antonio
Thanks to our Brother/Uncle for taking us on a tour of San Antonio, Texas. First, we stopped at the San Antonio Zoo to feed the fish and watch the bears and flamingos. Then, we drove downtown to visit the Alamo. Finally, we had lunch on the River Walk at Rita’s on the River. Entertainment during the drive included DVDs in the car, music, and conversation.
Trip to Carlsbad National Park in New Mexico
We left Austin around 7:40 AM and arrived in White’s City, New Mexico about 4:30 PM. After getting our bearings, we reserved a camping spot, ate dinner, and headed to Carlsbad National Park visitor center. Around 7:15 PM we arrived at the amphitheater to watch the bat flight show at the Natural Entrance to the Carlsbad Caverns Cave. The Park Ranger put on a very interesting talk about the bats. Then, about 7:58 PM, the bat detector went off. The crowd was silent. We watched approximately 300,000 Mexican Free Tail Bats fly out of the cave in circular tornado fashion. It was really amazing! No cameras were allowed because electronic gadgets interfere with the bat’s echolocation.
Camping
After returning from watching the bats, we were not very comfortable in the camping area in White’s City Resort. I will never think of the word “Resort” in quite the same way again. There was RVers in one section of the park but no campers in the tent part of the park. The bathrooms were run down, and it felt too secluded. So, we drove into the city of Carlsbad and spent our second night in a Walmart Parking Lot. At this point, we learned that we need to do a better job of researching campgrounds.
A Day of Caving
The rain started about 10 minutes before we finished packing up camp. We found breakfast at a gas station in Carlsbad, New Mexico and drove the 27 miles back to Carlsbad National Park. By 9:00 AM, we had our self guided tour radios and were heading into the cave. For the next four hours, we toured the Natural Entrance and Big Room. Carlsbad Caverns is known as one of the most highly decorated caves in the world. It was just beautiful! Dad had toured these caves as a youngster about 30 years ago and remembered several of the features. So, it was very exciting for him to see it again with his family.
Eating Lunch at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
The visitor center is being renovated at the park, so several temporary buildings were set up. We ate lunch in one of the temporary buildings. At the eating area, we released another book and registered it at Bookcrossing.com.
Heading for Home
At about 2 pm, we left Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This drive had very few gas stations or stopping places. After driving about 6 hours, we reached Vaughn, New Mexico. We needed to decide if we would continue on to Santa Fe and camp another night or head home. Rain clouds loomed in the distance. So we decided to head for home. We arrived home about 2:00 AM the next morning.
