Off the Mother Road, Carlsbad Caverns, NM

In 1898 a 16-year-old cowboy, Jim White, discovered Carlsbad Caverns after he thought he saw some smoke or a tornado in the distance.  What he found was a colony of bats exiting a cave at sunset to feed on swarming insects. He also unearthed the world’s largest underground chambers.

The evening flight of 400,000 bats and the glistening limestone formations prompted Calvin Coolidge to proclaim the caverns a national monument in order to protect it. Will Rogers called the caverns “the Grand Canyon with a roof on it.”

We really did not plan enough time to spend in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Normally a visitor walks downward an equivalent of 80 stories to view all the levels of the cavern then takes an elevator back up. When we got there, we learned the elevator was out of commission. If we walked 80 stories straight down and then walked 80 stories back up, the complete hike would take over 4 hours.  We still had a long drive ahead of us to Fort Stockton, TX, so we compromised and did a little over half of the hike.

An amphitheater sits at the entrance to the cave.  Visitors sit here to observe the nightly bat exodus.

We were warned that the trail is steep & strenuous. People coming up from the caves struggled to breath.  Young dads holding their kids were about to collapse.  Many heavy set people were hyperventilating.  We are used to walking uphill, so we gave it a shot.

Jill, at the mouth of the beast, met an older lady park ranger panting on her ascent from the bottom of the cavern. The ranger said that the elevator had been down over 4 months and she had lost so much weight by climbing the trail that her pants were too loose to keep up.

The descent was steep, winding and seemingly endless.  The cavern is a consistent 56 degrees all year, but the humidity level is high.  You are looking at the “Devil’s Den” near the entrance.

Stalactite meets stalagmite in this section.

Some of the formations, like this one called “Veiled Statue,” look like Greek gods.

“Witches Finger” is illuminated for a spooky effect.

After descending about 60% of the way, we looked at the time and decided we would have to save complete exploration of this massive cavern for another visit. We regrettably turned around and began our trek back the way we came.

After some climbing we began to see daylight illuminating the cavern’s walls. We had no problem with the ascent because we took our time and stopped periodically to take pictures and read the posted write-ups. We never experienced anaerobic breathing.

Here the cavern entrance is becoming visible.

Our eyes slowly adjusted to the daylight after being in darkness for so long.

Rocks, cacti and flowers make for a colorful landscape.

Pete, standing with bushes bursting with spring color.

Outside of the park is White City, located near infamous Roswell, the supposed site of alien abductions.

Standing guard in front of the Cactus Cafe, an alien kept his eyes on us.

Pete chill-axing with his new found foreign friends.

As we entered Texas Hill Country, we were welcomed by many stands of Blue Bonnets on the roadside.

Completing the first leg our our road trip, we will be at Brian’s this evening.  After our Austin visit, we will resume our road trip on Route 66.