Carlsbad and Big Trucks

August 11

I drove further east in New Mexico to Carlsbad Caverns.  I arrived in the afternoon and walked 90% of the caverns for 2.5 hours.  I love sunrises and sunsets and seeing rain showers in the distance and night skies.  The phenomena of a cave and how it is formed over time is fascinating, but dark, cold places don't inspire my deepest feelings.  So I was more like, Holy Crap this place is just crazy, like fake-looking crazy.  Also impressive about Carlsbad Caverns is that it was discovered in the 1930s.  That is just so recent and I think of my Grandma who was alive and loved nature and maybe heard of this amazing discovery in New Mexico.

I left Carlsbad and began the final leg of the drive to Austin, TX.  There was no sign that indicated that I had entered into Texas.  But there was a long stretch of a single lane road, leading me to I-10 where I noticed, EVERY automobile was a huge truck.  Not just work trucks, but giant pick-up trucks.  I had never seen such a continuous succession of truck after truck after truck.  Out of 100 automobiles, I saw 4 cars.  I am still baffled by this.  I stopped at a gas station and there were 20 pumps and each one was in use with a giant pick-up truck.  I looked at the map and I was well into Texas.  Inside the gas station I found men and women that looked like the truck was probably the most expensive thing they owned and it may be nicer than their home.  I'm amazed by this very American sentiment.  These huge automobiles and the need to have them.  But I digress, and all I could think was, everything is bigger in Texas.  Very true.