Carlsbad Caverns, NM

We spent the majority of the day driving to and enjoying Carlsbad Caverns which is about 30 mi. SW of the city of Carlsbad-then up a narrow winding 7 mile road up into the Guadalupe Mtns. Much to Hank's frustration they were paving that road and we had to wait about 15 min. in a line of cars, buses and large RV's to go up the mountain. The entrance to the caverns is in a small valley in the midst of the mountains. The top left photo shows the huge dark gaping entrance and to get down into the caverns-nearly 1,000 ft deep we walked down paved walkways which were incredibly steep. The right photo shows some of the rock just as we entered that huge gaping hole in the ground. We were warned that it was a very strenuous walk and that there is an elevator which would take us down into the caverns in a minute and that anyone with heart problems, leg problems, etc. should do that. Every evening at dusk millions of bats fly out of the mouth of the cave and I guess it must be quite a spectacle. (There is seating just above the opening where we could have gone to watch the exodus, but we were just too tired to make the trip back up there tonight.) I have a serious problem with heights and was a bit nervous at the beginning of the descent. However, once we got past the light from the opening, the lighting was kept "cave-like" and if I couldn't see a huge drop off the side of the walkway it was fine with me. Prior to our entering the cave we had rented audio gadgets which gave us commentary at various points-50 of them-along the way-so our tour was self-guided. We met a lady going about our speed who was by herself and asked if she could walk with us-she is from Port St Lucie, FL and her husband was meeting her at the bottom of the descent. Had a good time sharing experiences along the way. We saw all kinds of stalagmites and tites, and flowstone, and drapery, and soda straw formations-and water pools so clear it was unbelievable. Most of the formations were made 200 million years ago, but in some areas some of the formations are being added to as water seeps through rock and down through the layers of whatever is in its path mixes with minerals which give the formations some color. Eventually we made it down to what is called the "Big Room"-takes and hour and a half to walk all the way around it-incredible sights. There is even a snack bar, restrooms and gift shop outside the big room-750' below the surface of the ground! We had some nourishment then did the walk around the perimeter of the room-more incredible formations. And this room is 100' high in places! Very hard to be able to describe it! The temperature in the caverns remains at 56 degrees year 'round and we had been warned to bring sweater or jacket and glad we did. When we finally came up -via the elevator-out of the caverns the outside temperature was nearly 100 with a hot wind blowing. Of course we had to explore to bookstore and gift shop and purchased a DVD so any of our readers will be able to get an idea of what we experienced!

Eventually made our way back to our campground just south of Carlsbad City-fixed some supper then did a week's worth of wash. We live such an exciting life, right? Not quite sure from where the next piece of the blog will be sent from as we're not sure exactly where we're headed tomorrow!