Respect Your Mother Earth

The irresistible keyhole cave in Palo Duro Canyon.

I took a little open air tour of Santa Fe to get my bearings. It was a good way to see the sights, even if I do look like a tourist riding on this vehicle that looks like it used to shuttle people back and forth from the parking lot to the Astrodome and back again. Truth is I am a tourist and so are most of the folks staring and trying to act cool. All I've got to say to them is, "Get over it!"

So, back to my story.

Meanwhile back at Palo Duro Canyon and the keyhole cave . . . .



I heard sirens and stopped to check it out. Someone had gone up into the cave and slipped. I parked the truck in one of the areas for pulling over and taking in the scenic views. Two ambulances and at least four patrol cars later the work of getting this guy down out of the cave began. He had to be gurneyed out. It didn't look like fun. When they brought him down he was strapped in and had a neck brace on. He wasn't doing much talking.

I'll tell you it made me think twice about taking off all by my lonely. This guy had been lucky in a way. There were folks with him and they were able to signal for help, otherwise he would have been S. O. L.

It is not a bad thing to know your limits. I talked to some of the EMS guys. They said that they have to go get people out of places like this cave on a pretty regular basis. I don't plan on being one of those folks. They said one of the worst spots in the park for accidents is called The Devil's Slide. Now that ought to give you a clue, huh?

It's good to respect your Mother Earth.