We woke up, tucked into the RAV4’s ample cargo space, as the bright sun over Carlsbad baked the car’s glossy, albeit dusty, black paint. Despite having cracked the windows and magneted the no-see-um netting to the outside of the car, we were beginning to bake, and knew our day had begun.
.
Carlsbad, New Mexico, apart from its spectacular caves, was one of the most boring stops of our adventure thus far, but the Living Desert State Park and Zoo was surprisingly more interesting and entertaining than we had originally anticipated. We ended up spending a solid morning wandering among various reconstructed “habitats” for bald eagles, roadrunners, elk, bison, prairie dogs, bobcats, and a pair of mountain lions that seemed too familiar. They acted exactly like the two ferocious felines we left in Charleston to guard the castle, and we were weary of them and their knowingly innocent looks.
.
We also visited the reptile house where the Western Diamondback rattlesnake exhibit was disappointingly empty. I was hoping that we could get a good and up close look at one behind glass as to better identify them in the field when we aren’t scaring them into every crack and crevice with our all-powerful snake sticks!
.
‘Snake Stick’ is a technical term used by outdoor professionals to identify large tree branches, hiking poles, machetes, entire trees used in the warding off of any and all wildlife within a 5-mile radius by repeatedly banging it onto rocks, trees, other people along the path making a loud enough racket to warn animals that humans are around and that we are terrified of seeing, hearing, smelling you. So go away. Thanks. (More on Snake Sticks to come in the entry on the Gila Wilderness.)
.
After our brief encounter with a few lizards, one or two snakes, a frog, and a tarantula (obviously not a reptile), we continued on down the paved zoo paths, peering into empty exhibits, at a lot of sleeping animals trying to eek out an existence in the desert of New Mexico, and over a bridge where we finally got a good look at a rattler on the ground below.
.
We were very excited about our first snake encounter, choosing to ignore the fact that it was not in the so-called “wild,” and we peered over the rather low bridge railings at the snake for long enough to start to wonder about the security of the exhibit. I mean, he was several feet below us, but there wasn’t exactly glass between his venomous fangs and our exposed ankles. Come to think of it, there wasn’t really a fence either, or slick-faced walls that even most people can’t climb up and over. So after a few more seconds of pondering, followed directly by brisk walking in the opposite direction, we came to the conclusion that this was a wild beast, a snake invader, a free-loader of the worst degree! He was actually lying in wait for the innocent and adorable animals of the Living Desert State Park Zoo to step into his kill zone.
.
Had I had my snake stick…which I wouldn’t actually find until the future, if we pretend that I am writing this the night after we actually visited the zoo… I would have taught him to get in the path of The Canavan! I would have tapped my snake stick vigorously all over the path, and bridge, and nearby rocks to let him know that I meant business. And by business I mean that I was going to march over and tell the nearest park ranger, which is precisely what I did anyway. You get a freebie this time evil snake, but you won’t be so lucky the next time!
.
*Note: There is only one single picture for this Living Desert Zoo entry because I (Katie) was in charge of the camera for all the animal pictures. Well, instead of pictures, I managed to fill up an entire memory card with adorable videos of cuddly animals being cute, hilarious, and even just plain sleeping. This is the only picture I took. I have been stripped of my camera privileges when in the presence of any and all animals.
