Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad, New Mexico - Partly cloudy skies, high 74F low 47F

Gained an hour when we passed this sign

Left Wally World around 8:00 this morning to get our 150 miles in for the day.  We were happy to cross into New Mexico and gain another hour. Because it was so early we drove directly to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and took the self-guided tour.

Entering the town of Carlsbad

We rode the elevator down the 75-story descent.  Carlsbad Caverns is the nation's deepest limestone cave (1,597 feet).  The Big Room Route is circular and takes approximately an hour.  We saw the Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages and Painted Grotto.  The Big Room is 8.2 acres.  We learned the difference between stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, draperies, flowstone, columns, lily pads, cave pearls, popcorn and helectites.

Imagine what exploring these caves would have been like before they installed lighting and walkways

We choose not to ride the elevator back instead we walked the one-mile route leading back to the natural entrance.  They describe this route as descending 750 feet into the Earth following steep and narrow trails through a tall and spacious trunk passage called the Main Corridor.  If we didn't take this route, we would have missed the Bat Cave, Devil's Spring, Green Lake Overlook, the Boneyard and the 200,000 ton boulder called Iceberg Rock that fell from the cave ceiling thousands of years ago.  The walk was definitely uphill and steep but it was great exercise and we were the only ones going in that direction except for a young couple from Alberta.

The large one on the right is a column - the others are stalagmites

Stalactites - this one looks like a sharks mouth

Jim White didn't discover the cavern but he explored it and was eager to share the natural wonder with others.  In 1915, he displayed black and white pictures in the town of Carlsbad.  They created a sensation and people clamored to see the cave.  White took them on tours that began with a 170-foot descent in a bucket once used to haul bat guano (manure) from the cave.  In 1930, Congress created Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Bat Cave - summer home of hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats

Tonight we're staying at the campground closest to the Caverns, White's City Campground.  We paid the exorbitant price of $36 for one night and that included a Good Sam's Discount (that's the most we've every paid).  They would not honor our Good Sam's free night stay coupon.  Oh well!

Natural entrance - Happy because we survived the 750 foot climb up

P.S. see, my Walmart haircut looks pretty good LOL