We were in need of fuel, groceries, and a car wash, all of which can be found in Carlsbad, the town 30-minutes north of Whites City. This town is very busy with lots of traffic traveling through. There was a cloud burst while Tony was giving Usain a bath at the A & J Car Wash. In addition to the gas station, Walmart and the car wash, I got a treat from a HTeaO store. Darren B introduced me to these stores that have many flavors of tea on tap and things like fresh fruit to add in as well. We need these one of these in Prairie Trail. Anyone want to start a business???

After a busy morning of errands in Carlsbad, it was nice to come back and take a hike right from the campground. The Old Guano Road is hard to envision on this narrow trail, but at one time, horse-drawn wagons transported mined guano to Carlsbad to be shipped by rail to the California citrus groves. This trail connects the Whites City RV Park to the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center at 3.7-miles, which is shorter than driving the park road which is 7-miles from the entrance. The trail follows the ridge tops, and once the visitor center is in sight, it seems like a straight line to it. The hike is easy except for the climb up (and back down) from the edge of the campground. That part is a steep climb of about 575 feet in elevation gain (or loss) in a short distance. The hike has no shade, and would leave you exposed to stormy conditions. We were keeping an eye on some rain in the area. This was a nice 7+ mile hike round trip.