Spelunking Today

Above, inside one cave. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today was rather, uh, interesting.

I was called this afternoon from the mechanic's shop in Gallup saying that the Jeep was ready. They found the carburetor loose and it needed new points, condenser and spark plugs.

Nandoh took me down and I got the Jeep and began driving it home on Historic Route 66. At about milepost 30 (near the entrance to the Fort Wingate Army Depot), the Jeep started bucking. I pulled over to the entrance to the Depot. I gave it a rest for a few minutes and then drove back to the mechanic's shop. Before doing so, I called them and they were expecting me.

At about a mile and a half from the mechanic's, the Jeep gave out and I had to get it towed in the rest of the way. Nandoh arrived just after the tow truck and we followed the tow truck in.

So, we headed out after dropping off the Jeep. Nandoh and I were talking about interesting places for Jeeping and hiking and we decided to check out some caves in Cibola National Forest just south of the communities of Coolidge and Continental Divide.

We stopped on a hilltop and enjoyed the view of forests and wide meadows of cattle. We then headed to the caves and hiked down to explore them. I haven't gone caving (or spelunking) since I was a kid. It was an enjoyable activity and I was surprised how well the old body tolerated the hiking and climbing. I should sleep well tonight. This was great exercise.

We kidded each other about rattlesnakes during the hike, but we saw none (thank goodness).

Here's some photos of our spelunking: