20-something

We're twenty something, with nothing to lose
And we like what we say, but not what we do
And we live in a crowd, and its breaking my heart
We're twenty something, worlds apart

These are everlasting glory days
Young or old, we'll always feel this way

-- Dala, "Twenty-something"


Sometimes, I think I forget we are only 20-something, a time when words weigh more than action, and becomes an excuse for unfulfilled promises. There are still plenty of time and opportunities ahead, there is no need to feel trapped in one place. As I bare this in mind, I'm beginning to rethink my path in life, decisions that need to be made for next year, rural or urban? NM or elsewhere? USA or Canada? Fling or relationship?

Highlight of my December

A run through of this past Friday (12.5.08) - Saturday 12.6.08), stay focused, it gets interesting:

Friday 12/5 - took the day off work because I have professional development in town. Since I'm gone, I let the kids practice standardized test questions. June says, "You are mean." I agreed. She lets her kids read current science news and answer questions, much more interesting and less brutal.

7:00AM - woke up, dressed in 2 minutes, went to school to pick up printing paper and a sample unit exam for my paper due today.

8:15AM - have a feeling that my certificate for completion for this None for the Road course is in the mail, went to post office, and it was there!!! NM requires all people under 25 to take a self-taught course in order to get your license. You pay for these courses, and you have to rent a video from the library, answer questions, get stamp from library, and mail everything back to get a certificate. I got the package in August, and got my certificate today. Incredible, the effort that goes into getting a NM license.

8:23AM - left for Gallup where my conference for MESA (the nerd club I run after school) is

9:25AM - arrive in Gallup, pull a friend out of work for 5 minutes, get Casper settled in her house with other dogs

9:45AM - arrive at conference site, already 15 minutes late

9:45-2PM - MESA advisor meeting with "working" lunch, we all got xmas gifts and what not. Yay for extracurricular activities! At the end of the meeting, we heard about a real lock-down at a school in Grants, an hour away from Gallup, because a kid was driving up and down town carrying an automatic and want to strike. What's wrong with kids these days?

2:10PM - 2:20PM - Motor vehicle department - got my new NM license!! My address on there is the TFA office because that's my only real physical address that I can prove. June comments, "What a sad life we lead..." This has been the fastest MVD experience ever!!! Granted, it's my 4th time there for the same reasons.

2:40 - 3:40PM - joined a group of cramming teachers in a coffee shop and crammed for my 50 page project due at 5PM for University of NM education department. Feels like university all over again, cramming at last minute. I was so stressed out today that the trademark motion of the day was pulling out my hairs...

3:45 - 4:30PM - meeting with my program director at TFA office for our co-investigation where we discuss my teaching and his observation, my students' progress and how I could improve... Finally, after seeing that I kept glancing at the clock, he says, "Why don't you finish up your paper, print and go to class?"

4:30- 5:00 PM - proofreading my paper, get more frustrated and give up at the end

5:00 - 5:05 PM - printing printing printing. Office machine can't print double-sided... I printed a book. Stapled all students work together and ran out for my class

5:15 - 8:10 PM - again, 15 minutes late, story of my life. Everyone makes their presentation about their project. Mine sucked but at least I finished. Our professor was a middle school teacher as well, and made a comment to the whole class, "In my experience, the hardest grade to teach and reach to is... 8th grade." Someone else tried to defend their grade level, and then she says, "Well, try teaching 8th graders." That made me feel pretty good.

Last 30 minutes of class, she shared the news that several faculty members in this department, including her, may or may not be coming back next year because with the difficulty economy, deans of colleges and university are cutting back funds and want to cut out personnel and invest more money into distance learning such as videos, cameras and websites... We all lamented for her. They are not the best professor we've ever had, but definitely beat a powerpoint and cyber classrooms.

8:15-8:28PM check on Casper, she has made friends with other dogs. Whew...

8:30-9:45PM Hung out with Sarah, my friend who's getting married in April in Kentucky, at Coal Street Pub, which was packed that night! Awesome hamburger...

10:00-12:11AM - Movie "Twilight" - now I want to read the book, still love teen romance movies...

Saturday 12/6:

12:30-12:50AM - arrive back at my friend's place, she's not there, I got the bed to myself, sweet!

12:50-5:50AM - sleep... zzzz

5:50-6:15AM - wake up, brush up, and head out to Red Rock State Park for annual Gallup Balloon Fiesta

6:30 - 7:00 AM - walking aimless around the field, trying to figure out what to do about volunteering at the rally, especially since the volunteer coordinators didn't show up. Finally, decided that since everything's so disorganized, I'll just go up to a balloon pilot and offer my service. One person introduces me to another group and on and on, I have a group to work with! Eilene is the pilot for their hot air balloon called Dreamcatcher, and Jeff is the crew chief. I'm one of two crew member...

7:00-8:00AM - setting up the balloon. Man, those things are heavy and gigantous!! Even our balloon, which is only 54,000 cubic feet, is massive.

8:10-9:40AM - 1.5 hr in the air with Eilene, I can't believe I'm off the ground 1000 feet, floating away from gravity, and relying on a giant bubble. It was breathtaking and I can't believe that turn of events led me up here among the clouds!!!

9:45 - 10:30AM - Packing up the balloon. Man... that was massive and still completely incredible!!!

10:30 - 12:30PM - hanging out at Tailgate Grazing party where all the balloon parties set up camp ground with their trailers, setting out food, drinks for everyone to taste. You just walk around and eat everyone's food even if you don't know them. Apparently, tradition normally calls for at least couple of days of celebration, this is already pretty sweet though. Also had a "First timer induction ceremony" where we had to kneel down on mats, hear the pledge for hot air ballooners, do a hand-free chug of champagne while someone poured water on our heads. I even got a certificate to prove I've rode the hot air balloon for the first time.

Rest of the day lays in lethargy because of a lack of sleep and a drain of energy. Still, I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS ON A HOT AIR BALLOON, MET THESE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE, AND HAD AWESOME AMAZING HOME-MADE FOOD!!! The best part: THEY WERE ALL FREE!! Except for the parking fee... It was DEFINITELY THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY EARLY DECEMBER!!

Another Scorpio Year

"I used to always think I had to have a reason to record my observations of the day, or even my emotions, but now I think simply being alive is more than enough reason. Unshackled!" -- Douglas Couplans, "Microserfs" 1993.

5 and 1/2 months since Zack and I halfway crossed America with Casper the friendly dog, I have not blogged since. Only moments of inspiration like this fire me up for another entry. I look to my aunt, an avid blogger, as an example, hoping one day to mount to a collection as great, personal, and immense as hers.

Unlike years before, today has been the most ordinary day for a birthday, even though I received a sweet sweet phone first thing when I woke up from Yangyang across the globe. Then later, in the morning, Bridget and Marissa sang Happy Birthday to "Ms. Tang" after they led the students through the pledge (both in English and Navajo), and throughout breakfast in the cafeteria, students continuously yelled out, "Happy Birthday Ms. Tang!" "How old are you now?" I would smile and respond, "34... 78... 82... 16... 18... take a guess!"

Students still acted the same in class, some acting strange and unwilling to do work, while others stubbornly turning away from me because I failed to respond within 2 seconds of their question... I sighed and went home for lunch despite today is special Thanksgiving dinner in the cafeteria during lunch hour with students and parents. I wanted some quiet and my own cooking away from turkey and pumpkin pie.

Too much grading to do at the moment, instead of giving myself a birthday treat, I stayed after school until almost 5PM to grade, then hobbled back on a sore calf muscle so I can take Casper for a run on the mesa. We ran towards a fire blossom sunset in the distance, and by the time we reached home, it was nearly dark. She's beat, and I am too.

Had our weekly "The Office" Thursday night at Sarah and Anne's place. Sarah even made brownies and ice cream and wine just for me! While I lounged about like other Thursday evenings, my eyes were starting to shut due to fatigue. When I returned home, while folding laundry, it occurred to me just how tired I was from the day and from the week.

Earlier in the week, I had an emotional and memorable conversation with a parent, the end of which was me crying my eyes out and jokingly pleading to her to not tell her son about this scene. As it turns out, my new attitude this year that this is simply a job, rather than a responsibility to serve, has caused my sarcasm and behavior in the classroom to cross certain lines and deeply hurt some students.

The whole string of events have forced me to re-evaluate myself not just as a teacher but as a person. Is it because I really don't care? About anything?

As I sit here close to bed time, I ponder this question... in a melancholy mood. Perhaps it is true that as you get older, birthdays and days in general have less and less of a meaning, but it is what you make of it each day.

One thing I know I am glad about, is that this year of rat is almost year, my nemesis year is almost done... can't wait for it to be done and all bad luck can be out!

Summer Road Trip 2008 Part VI - Hamptons and the home stretch

We left Staten Island (Thank you Ben for your hospitality!) the following morning and headed for the coast. One thing I need to point out: people on the east coast drive like maniac - we almost got into an accident on the highway! The way we figure is this: In the south, speed limit is set very high at 70 or 80mph, so everyone is pretty much going more or less around the same speed. But here, the speed limit is only 60 - now you have people going at 45 mph and some at 80. Perhaps the solution is to raise speed limit, lift the ban on drugs and underage drinking, then everyone will be happy in a much more extreme and lawless world because we'd have our own sense of safety and law.

The Hamptons are beautiful. Casper is overwhelmed by all the greenery this whole way. I think she likes it much more compared to the barren desert we have.

A stop in a quiet park in downtown Southampton. As we walk towards Main Street, people begin to dress just like the way we imagined they'd be dressed in the Hamptons.

The Hamptons are actually situated right next to the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, which I was told, "You are welcome, but the Pilgrim you brought is not." Wow.

Cooper Beach at the Southampton, 4th nicest beach in the country. Because we had a dog, the beach does not allow pets, we had to move far away from the main crowd. It was as if we owned the beach. The water was nothing compared with the water from Charleston. Definitely below 10 degrees! It was so cold that after staying in the water for more than 30 seconds, I thought we were going to die from hypothermia.

We lazily spent almost two hours sunbathing, only to rush to make it on time for our 4PM ferry reservation that will take us straight to Zack's home in Connecticut across the Long Island Sound. Somehow, the GPS told us that the shortest way is to take two additional ferries across two smaller sounds in order to get to the larger ferry. Little did we know that the path we chose took us an hour and half to travel 20 miles. The good news is that we changed the reservation, caught two more ferries (for someone who's never been on a ferry in a car, it was very exciting), and able to make it on time with 5 minutes to spare (last car on the ferry! If we missed this one, then we would have to wait until 7PM!). Whew! First thing, a cold beer to soothe our fatigue and thirst.

Casper's first time on the boat and smell of fresh sea air. She's such a wonderful dog for this whole trip - no car sick, no seasick, just lots of naps.

To match the theme of water, we visited a few bars in Essex, CT. In one of the bars, they were having seafare night where a band would be singing dirty sailor songs. It was a riot.

As the trip winds down - 15 states, 1 destination, and 3 surviving passengers who have managed not to tear each other's hair out (dog included).

I lazily spent one week in Montreal, meeting up with friends, shopping with my aunt. On my last night in Montreal, Kate whopped up a full course home-made Indian cuisine for a party of 9 because when I asked her for some good restaurant suggestions, she said, why don't I cook? That way, it would be BYOW as well. More trouble to you Kate, thank you so much, for making my last night there so memorable and for one of the best Indian food ever.

Summer Road Trip 2008 Part V - Dance the Charleston

After 4-5 hours of driving from Marietta/Atlanta, GA, we arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, mainly to see the beaches and visit Zack's high school buddy. Folly Beach welcomes drunken parties and pets. I wish Casper had a funner time with the water because I do want to see her swimming ability.

The water is incredibly warm, something around 80 degree F. Being at beaches like this in such warm water reminds me of the summer spent in Barbados.

Beach houses line the shore.

The glamorous downtown Charleston - department stores, restaurants, with the University of South Carolina nestled in there somewhere.

The lovely people we stayed with and hung out with. Pete, Zack's crazy and entertaining high school friend who will never stop posing was our stop for Charleston. It's amazing that this whole trip, we were able to get in touch with various people and have lodging in all but two nights on the road. Feels our network is definitely expanding as we grow older.

The restaurant offers one of the best cheese biscuits I have ever had, and I don't even like biscuits! Their pepper cheese is also one of the southern favorites.

Night has fallen on Charleston as we meandered through the streets and stumbled onto Marion Square in downtown, the place for the current arts festival.

This building is right in the middle of USC campus. It is actually a very famous building - the set for the movie Patriot with Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger (RIP). Very recognizable and very ancient. It now houses the student government and art props (?).

Charleston played a significant role in the Civil War, namely the start of the war. At the nearby Fort Sumter, the first shot of gunfire rang out and thus began the war.

Somehow, North Carolina never occurred to me as being part of the South, but South Carolina definitely is. Typical architecture, vegetations, atmosphere, and people.



All the residential houses around campus is gorgeous, exactly the kind of southern beauty that I admired - long sleek wooden stairs, eerie glare that highlights the size of the structures, and large windows on all 4 sides, allowing plenty of light in. This is the kind of house talked about in "Gone With the Wind".


We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow. We are set on going from Charleston to Staten Island, which is a 14 hour drive, passing through Virginia, DC, and almost every original 13 state on the east coast. Crazy. What's crazier is that we went to to bed at 3:30 that morning after a college night out on the town. We woke up at 6:30, hit the road and got F--- out of town.

Summer Road Trip 2008 Part IV - Little Europe - New Orleans

Houston to New Orleans was a 8 hour drive. We emerged from the suffocating humidity of Houston and dove straight into the Bayous of Southern Louisiana.

Luckily, I have plenty of connections in New Orleans thanks to Teach For America. We arrived at Erin's house; after several beers went out to explore the town.

Beautiful New Orleans architecture in the French Quarter. Many people claim this is the French influenced style, but in fact, this is more Spanish influence than French because of the short Spanish occupation somewhere in history before US acquired the state. I'm simply dying to sit on the balcony of these houses and act like I'm from there.

The tourism recovered fairly well post-Katrina. Many people thought the hurricane swept through downtown New Orleans, clearing every weed in its way; however, in reality, most of the main tourist areas such as the French Quarter was less affected compared to parts that are closer to the levee. Today, the town is still flourishing in its unique fashion, atmosphere, and parties.

More awesome houses that I wish I lived in. Sometimes I wonder where do I want to live? In a sleek, modern apartment right above Time Square in NYC or an old-fashioned houses with Spanish balcony, a petunia garden outside, full of history and stories?

Downtown busy Canal Street. We had our heart set on riding the trolley to uptown where we would've ate some famous jambalaya, but the target restaurant required reservation, which we didn't have, and was booked for the night.

We continued to aimlessly walk around and trying to figure out the activities for the rest of the night.

All over the street, there are street jazz bands playing lively music for the pedestrians. In front of the band, there are often dancers swinging a towel in their hand - they are known as second line dancers because the first line is the band itself. I loved it, the atmosphere and how everyone was drunken in the live music.

This is not the Ursuline Convent, which is one of the more famous historic sites in New Orleans, but apparently, the only thing that this St. Louis Cathedral lost during the hurricane was several of Jesus' fingers. Incredible.

We didn't end up finding a famous restaurant, but instead was stuck with Bubba Gump Co. franchise. However, the food turned out to be quite delicious, also things at least one of us never had before, not to mention some tasty local brews.

The best part of the whole experience was our interaction with our waitress, a single mother of a gifted 3rd-grader. With so many teachers at the table (Erin, Christian, and myself), she expressed her admiration, frustration with the school system, and concern whether or not her daughter is receiving the best she could. Luckily, The GNO crowd is always prepared as Erin dictated and Christian wrote, they gave her several KIPP academy contact info that she could use. She was all eager and in the end gave almost everyone a hug as we left the restaurant. I thought the night was so productive because at least the exchange gave someone access to things that may possibly change their life.


Sipping on Pat O'Brien's hurricane drinks (lots of rum and cherry juice) purchased off of Bourbon St, sitting next to Mississippi River, feeling the light river breeze against our faces, is a wonderful relief against the heat of the day.

Summer Road Trip 2008 Part III - Texas Pride

After a night's rest in a dirty and loud campground (family summer road trip; note to self: came away from small children), we drove from White's City, NM to Orla, TX, a deserted ghost town. It was 40 miles that we shared with only 4 other cars and one lost cow, until we arrived in Pecos, TX, whose friendly grocery store services and huge sandwiches swept me away. We went through Fort Stockton, Sonora, and Ozona, passing through a giant mysterious wild fire in the distance. We stopped at a parking area to eat fruit and a large watermelon - oh, the simple pleasures in life.

Finally, we arrive at our destination for the day, another typical suburbia American, New Braunfel, TX, where we spent the night out on the town, while leaving Casper in a rather roomy bathroom where she tore the place APART during those 3 hours we were gone.

Where did we go? Gruene is an off-the-map historic town within New Braunfel. Gruene Hall is a legendary locale that was the beginning glory for many of today's country singers. As we walked through the area, just as we'd heard about Texas, there were old, gray-bearded men sitting in the bar, drinking beer all day long, waiting for the concert to start.

Gruene is a quaint, flower-ridden beautiful town on the green, adorned by architecture such as this beautiful Bed and Breakfast - very "Gone With the Wind" type.

Dinner at Gristgrill right behind Gruene Hall. Zack got a typical American burger, while I was trying to be originally, and went for a Queso, described as "the locals' favorite summer appetizer", thinking it was shorthand for quesadilla (which ODDLY, was also on the menu).

Moments later, Zack's burger arrives along with a bowl of cheese dip. He gingerly poured the dip on his burger after seeking my excellent southwestern cuisine expertise ("You put the cheese on your burger of course!")

When the waitress returned again with the chips, I asked, "Where is the queso?" Her eyes bulged, "Umm... this is your queso. What did you think queso was? You are from New Mexico and you don't know what queso was???" Whoa whoa, I've never even heard of it in any New Mexican restaurants (although, anyone who ever bought dips and tortilla chips for a party ought to know what it is since they come in jars).

She walked away shaking heads at our touristy stupidity. When she returned again, she felt obliged to tell us, "I had to tell this story to my manager, and his response was 'Yankees!'" I tried to cover up my New Mexican trail by explaining that I'm actually from China. "Oh right, and when the rest of the staff and I go out tonight, I'll tell them 'She didn't even speak English!'"

Finally, when the bill came, I handed the credit card over, "This is how we Yankees pay the bill up North - allow the ladies."

All in good spirit, we laughed the evening off and had a great time at Gruene Hall listening to Two Tons of Steel ("Two Tons!") and playing horseshoe with a Houston family.

Following morning, we aimed to hit 3 major Texan cities in one day: San Antonio, Austin, and Houston (revisit the horrendous humidity that I spent 5 weeks last summer during the Houston Institute).

First stop, head south towards San Antonio, namely to visit the Alamo.

Historic plaza in downtown San Antonio. Ancient architectures dazzled with store fronts, restaurants, and Guinness Book of Record Museum. The extravagance displayed by these museums reminded me of that year when we went to Orlando, a place that had the biggest everything in the world (e.g. Biggest Planet Hollywood, Biggest Rain Forest Cafe etc). In general, we concluded that if a place doesn't have much to offer, then it will need these museums to cover its shortcomings.

In addition to the Spurs, San Antonio had one major thing to offer - the Alamo, where the famous battle of 1836 against the Mexican took place, and Texas became an independent state of its own. But it was not until almost 9 years later that it was finally annexed and became a part of America.

Here, we sensed a strong Texan, if not a national, pride. "Please be respectful inside the Alamo where men who have fought their country lain" (or something like it). The audio tour guide waved it off, "People think it's sacred or something."

Everyone who walks through the complex scrutinize the architecture, the writings and imagine the final moments for the soldiers who chose to fight until death rather than surrender to the Mexicans.

The Alamo was originally a mission built by the Spanish (San Antonio de Valero mission) in the 1700s. Later it was abandoned until 200 Texans (Tejanos) led by Colonel William B. Travis and legendary figure Davy Crockett fought behind this bulwark against Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his troops of 3000. Santa Anna had a Napoleonic complex and was set on conquering and retrieving Texas.

Faced with an overwhelming number of offensive, the men knew they were doomed, but no one was willing to give up. Travis wrote a letter addressed to the people of America:

"I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna ... ... I have answered
the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat."

Even though he pleaded for reinforcement (only 30 randomly assorted volunteer men from the nearby town of Gonzales came, the youngest being only 15), help never came. He was prepared for the worst:

"I am determined to sustain myself as long as
possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country ----- Victory or Death."

Of course the story came from the American/Texan perspective, with massive patriotism and nationalism. It was nevertheless a powerful experience. Zack never felt so proud as an American in Texas. So proud that we had to take a picture with the Sheriff.

Two hours after we left San Antonio, we arrived at Austin. My initial impression of Austin was last summer when we stumbled upon a drunken, frat party scene as the backdrop for its nightlife. Needless to say, I was not impressed but annoyed. This time around, I was able to fully appreciate what the city has to offer, and I can honestly say that it is a city that I can see myself living in (But never Texas!). The restaurant was extremely pet friendly, even offered us a bowl of water for Casper.

Every day, every night, we hit one major city. After several hours or so, we are ready to hit the road and get out of this town - such is the life on the road, strangers to a new town, look around and check out the scene, leave judgments and footprints and off somewhere else. We are vagabonds.

Last major Texan city - Houston:

We stayed with Zack's acquaintance Janet, a lovely, friendly, welcoming Texas woman who opened her door to us and made us completely comfortable.

Night out at El Tiempo, the best Tex-Mex restaurant I've ever been with the best soft tacos and briskets I've ever had!

Finally, we ended up in Wild West, a cheesy country club (a "fake country club" according to Zack) with a large piece of dancing floor where people moved around to line dancing and Texas two-steps. This is definitely a side of Houston I did not experience last summer. Certainly changes my perspective that Houston has nothing to offer except humidity and Moody Towers.

Summer Road Trip 2008 Part II - White Sands and Carlsbad

World's largest gypsum dunes - White Sands National Park - 275 square miles of white safari, situated in the Tularosa Basin, became this way today due to its unique ecology, dry climate and strong winds.



Water from the mountains (Organ Mountains?) flowed down, carrying dissolved minerals, and into the Tularosa plain. Over time, the minerals morphed into this beautiful snow desert.

The sand dunes are still constantly changing - pushing and pulling as they move inches every year. The sand and alkaline soil allows few enduring vegetations to survive, from cyanobacteria and fungi (the basic nutrient for many larger plants here), to grand cottonwood trees (their roots extend many feet below the sand to avoid erosion).

The moving dunes overwhelm most organisms, but these few plants that sustain here have acquire certain adaptations:

- Yucca plants keep their leaves above the sand but extend their roots far into the ground. They rapidly grow in a desperate race to keep their leaves above ground.
- Rosemary mint's growth rate surpasses the rate of moving dunes by using its leaves and roots to keep the sand together beneath them, thus providing a stable surface for other plants as well.

















The sandy "beach" is mainly inhabited by nocturnal animals and insects:
- bleached earless lizards
- Apache pocket mice
- In general, these organisms have white pigments and since there is no water in this area (as you enter the park, there is a sign that says, "From this point on, there is no more water"), their moisture comes from their food alone. The dramatic temperature change in the desert allows the moisture to be retained.

Daytime creatures:
- Screaming tourists burning under the hot southwestern sun, soaking in the UVA and UVB with absolutely no place to take shade - a cancerous disaster waiting to happen years down the road.

One final note about this area: it was previously occupied by ancient Puebloan people and Mesclero Apache Indians.

En route to Carlsbad, we passed through Route 82 from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft, NM. Talk about isolation.

WELCOME to Carlsbad Cavern National Park!


In 1898, a young, brave soul called Jim White (NOT related to Charles White, who founded White's City just outside Carlsbad; they were just mutual friends) entered the caves via rope ladder and equipped with only one flashlight. At the age of 16, he became the first explorer of the caves (though not the first discoverer, but the only with the courage to enter into the deep dark unknown).

As we ride the elevator down 750 feet below surface, we begin to experience the wonder and thrill that was once felt by its initial explorers.




250 million years ago, New Mexico and its surrounding areas were submerged under water. It was the relaxing and breezy sea coast that today's vacationists long for.

While they were underwater, trilobites, insects and algae die and many of their exoskeletons deposit in the water, forming a reef.

Over time, the calcium bicarbonate within these deposits react with sulfuric acid (from hydrogen sulfide gas from deep oil wells and hydrothermal vents in the ocean) in a chemical equation that yields carbon dioxide, water and gypsum (same stuff as we saw in the White Sands).

About 60 million years ago, these deposits cracked and formed caves underneath the ground, which by now has dried and became the Chihuahua Desert as it's known today, along with beautiful structures such as these draperies and popcorn stalagmites.

Common formations observed in the caves:

- Stalactites - water containing calcium bicarb slowly drips from the ceiling, forming cones hanging downwards
- Stalagmites - same gypsum water rapidly drips, forming larger, inverted cones on the ground
- Popcorn stalagmites and stalactites - moisture from a calcium bicarb soaked air
- Draperies - large stalactites formed from slanted cave ceiling
- Columns - one scenario suggests that as shown in this picture, they can be formed when stalactites and stalagmites continuously grow and eventually join together
- Soda straws - millions of spiky sharp rockcicles hanging from the ceiling, reminiscent of an Indian Jones movie or a fantasy movie were protagonists are often changed as they run from falling needles.


These are the soda straws.

In general, the gypsum world is monotonously colored with mere white and beige as they their main palette. Yet, there are others:

- Orange comes from iron oxide
- Black comes from manganese
- Green can either come from corroding copper coin (many tourists can treat ground lake as a wishing well) or from green algae in the cave (the light inside is adjusted at a wavelength to promote algae growth)






Some interesting stories and people encountered in this short trip:

- Are Texans generally loud and obnoxious? That was our initial prejudice as we passed by a group of rambunctious southerners who ignored the sacred silence cherished by the cavern gods. Zack couldn't help but ask where they were from. Turned out they were from California and Utah but came into town to bury their father of 88 years in Texas. Certainly debunked our bias.
- While sitting outdoors waiting for the bat flight, we sat across from a couple. A woman, once was a kindergarten teacher who turned author and photographer after a brain surgery, who spat out "Dude" in between every other word, very typically Californian. The old man stuck to his heavy German-accented English. We shared stories and they told us of the beautiful and little known Prescott Valley.
- Casper was certainly attracting lots of attention - everyone was trying to guess her breed, and yet no one is quite right. I suppose people off the rez don't see a whole lot of rez dogs. A family stopped by to pat the dog. They were from Orange, TX, the last town on the eastern border of the state before entering Louisiana. We will certainly think of them as we pass through the area.
- Velvet Saloon, the only bar in town attached to the Velvet Garter, the only restaurant in town that closes at 8:30PM. As I order some food, I sat in the bar waiting for my pickup (Zack sped away to pitch the tent as the sun slowly dipped beneath the horizon). I had my first New Mexican beer, brewed in Roswell, not surprisingly, is called "Alien". Chatted up with the bartender, who's only been in the "city" for 7 weeks from Michigan. When asked how do you like it, she shrugged, "Not yet used to this..." "Isolation," I finished her sentence because I know exactly how she feels

Travelers tend to write travel blogs, on places they visit, experiences they have, things they do - wouldn't be cool to write a book just about the people one encounters on trips and in life? What are their stories? Why would someone abandoned metropolis and go into a small tourist attraction town in the middle of nowhere? What is the draw?

As Zack puts it, "The world is beautiful anywhere you go, you know, the wide open plains etc, but the people you meet complete and is the only thing that defines each place and experience."

Bat guano was first discovered as a great energy source between 1920 and 1933. The caves is home to several species of bats, namely the Mexican roosterhead bat, which comes out at night for the bat flight showing. They make several trips back and forth, eating several million pounds of mosquitoes every night.

They used to travel in the thousands, with human activity and global warming, their numbers have dwindled down to the hundred. We shook our heads as we watched the scattering creatures flapped away pathetically, in awe of what has become of perhaps one of the most amazing phenomenon in the southwest.

Human activity not only has put a toll on the local animal species, but also to the cave itself. In 2000, hanging formations broke and blocked the entrance way of the cave due to hundreds of tourists stomping through the day before. Shows that stalactites do break, long time ago it was mostly due to earthquakes, but since this land is now stable, the sole reason has become human intervention. What about all the lint and skin cells left by each individual. Add that to half a million tourists every year, and you have a very large mothball desecrating the magnificent structures that perhaps our precedents will not see the full effect.