Today we awoke at 7am and had to leave by 8am to get to the canyon entrance in time to hike the 1.5 mile trail straight up to the Slaughter Canyon Cave entrance. It was a familiar hike (we did it yesterday…remember). The sky was a beautiful blue and we met several people along the way including a family of Spanish decent. They listened to me as I gave them our testimony and what the Lord was doing with us out here on the trail. We ended up praying together at the end of the tour.
It is very easy to strike up a conversation with some one when you have traveled 3000 miles. (our plates are a dead give away…New York). Once we reached the cave entrance, we talked about our trip so far while waiting for the ranger. Kyle and Virginia showed up on time and spent 15 min informing us of what to expect, then we started our 2 hour tour. 
The path was somewhat worn, and reminded me of trails through the ADK mountains. All rock. The light from the entrance reached deep into the cavern and is known as the “day-zone”. At one point you could look to the left and see nothing but darkness and to the right it was light, this is known as the “twilight zone”. Then on went all the flashlights/headlamps and into the “Dark-zone”. Our first stop was a 10 foot pile of bat guana. Bat guana was thought to be a very good fertilizer and was harvested for years in the 1930’s. It actually is the solid waste left behind by bats. Slaughter Canyon cave was noted to have a lot. They are the size of coarse sand and over the years has turned to a rock like substance. It did not smell at all. The miners had done some real damage to the cave up to this point. They actually brought in a front loader piece by piece then assembled it in the cave.
We then moved on to several really interesting formations on the floor of the canyon know as Rim Stone Dams. It looked like the great wall of China only in minature.
Our next major event was using a rope with knots to climb up a slippery slope where we saw a formation made famous in the early movie days. This formation has many names including the name Klansman. This name is its most famous and it is clear why by the picture.
We then entered a small ampitheater like area. Here was where the guide Kyle asked us all to turn out all the lights. We found out why its called the dark-zone. The sensation was unique. I held my hand right up to my nose and could almost feel that it was there but could not see it, not even in the least. We had a moment of silence so I prayed. He explains to us that this is the amount of light they used when these caves were discovered…one candle power. It was astounding that one could natigate these caverns with such little light. Then we all turned on our lights on a formation behind us…WOW! 
Truly spectacular.We then left the amphitheater like area and spent the rest of the tour winding back to the entrance. This was a very neat experience and I am glad we did it. I happened to get a picture of many in the expedition.
As we reflected on our way back to the campsite, everyone decided that this is on of the hot spots on our trip so far. We packed up and left Carlsbad later in the evening thinking we would end up at Alamogordo, NM.We drove on route 82 which is not a major highway. It was a beautiful drive, all we saw was desert and ranches. It truly was beautiful.
As we drove, we passed a cherry stand with a petting zoo and canned goods. It was the only sign of civilization on this road. As we passed something prompted me to turn around…we did. My wife was looking at all the pottery and canned foods, the kids were feeding the animals and off to the trout pond.
I was just nosing around when Ethan noticed a sign that read something like…”Nothing is impossible through Jesus Christ whom strengthens us”. I then asked the lady if she knew Jesus Christ as her savior. She responded saying they were born-again, bible believing, tongue talking Christians. Her name is Pam and his Tom. He is a rancher that is in the process of selling his ranch. They decided, since laws like NAFTA has made it impossible for them to continue in ranching, to work selling goods and providing services to passers by. They had the best cherries and cherry cider I have ever had. We talked about Jesus for hours and as we talked it seemed clear to me that a church service is what we all needed. Tom and Pam live very far from any real city and spend most of their time working the business. Tom offered to allow us to stay there the night. He told us we should see the Lincoln National Forest during the day. So we graciously accepted. Pam and Tom allowed us to connect our water hose and electric for A/C. After we helped them close, we all gathered in our motorhome and we worshipped, shared the word from Galatians on walking in the Spirit, then talked. At the end of our service, we broke bread and had communion. We ended the service in prayer. Tom was praying in tongues quietly. What a blessing! We truly were in Christ and felt refreshed in a dry and barren land. Thank you Lord!
As I went to bed this evening I reflected on the blessing we had at a cherry stand. Our family is much bigger as I always assumed but I am now living in it. We helped water a bit through witnessing and hopefully encouraged a busy family.
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