Roswell 2K Road Trip - June 26, 2009

June 26, 2009

I plan visit Katie's bench in the morning and then travel to Carlsbad Caverns & watch the nightly Bat Flight. Fortunately, my plans stayed pretty close to schedule, flat tire and an unscheduled side trip added in.

First was a trip to Wal-Mart to have the flat repaired. While there I talked to the garden shop about plants, etc. I was talking to some of the Associates in the Auto Shop about Angelisa and one thing led to another. We talked about Katie & R2K and then one of the ladies mentioned she knew of a child in Roswell that passed away from cancer and had a headstone of a VW Beetle. That led into a discussion about Give Kids the World and children with cancer.

I then arranged to meet the Park Department Supervisor at Katie's Bench and talk about freshening it up. They have been repairing the pond and have it almost ready to fill. The area is much better than 5 years ago. He pretty much said I could do anything I wanted in her corner and his staff said they would much it Monday. They showed me some plants that would do well in the area and gave me some tips on Nurseries & what to use. I returned to Wal-Mart to look at stones and plants again, but also couldn't stop thinking of this young girl who passed away with a love of beetles. I asked for her name, bought a "toy bug (old)", some Nickelodeon cars, flowers, vase, marbles & a card. We then went by a nursery and bought some Flagstone, but he really didn't think he had any plants suitable for so much shade.

We then headed for the cemetery and found her grave with some help of one of the staff. I didn't know how old she was going to be, she was born just 2 years after Katie and died a year younger at 16. I was expecting a younger child based on the description I was given, so I omitted the Nickelodeon cars and left everything else. The headstone is amazing.

Next we headed for Carlsbad, arriving about 5 minutes before the closed the natural entrance. Donald was a bit hyper, but he had a really good day. He enjoyed the caverns, we took about 2 hours to tour them and ran into the Eastern caravan towards the end. After the caverns, we wonders a nature path, had dinner and then waited for the Bat Flight. The Ranger gave a good talk and the Bats eventually flew around 8:12. I don't recall it lasting long last time, but tonight they seem to never stop coming and we eventually left around 9PM.

All in all; a good day, although not R2K related.

The shirt of the day was from R2K 2001