Sunday December 26th

Another great day thanks to our National Parks System.

Having had previous photographic experience inside a cave, I apologize in advance for anything seen here that may look like a colonoscopy.

Having said that, it never ceases to amaze us how beautiful and interesting a hole in the ground can be.  We opted for the self guided tour ($6.00) which included a wand-like listening device.  At each station you enter the corresponding number on the keypad for a brief explanation of your surroundings.  Carlsbad Caverns National Park is more famous for it's nightly bat flights during the non-winter months.  Unfortunately, we didn't know that bats migrate south around October.

Even with the disappointment of missing the bats, the caverns more than made up for it.  Entering the cave through the natural opening involves about a mile walk, mostly down hill, along a winding paved path.  Every turn brought another eye popping view.  Stalactites hanging from the ceiling, stalagmites sprouting from the floor, popcorn formations, water pools, and huge boulders.  That first mile gets you to the rest area and half way point of the tour, and takes about 90 minutes to complete.

The second half of the tour is more of a level walk and about another mile and a half.  This portion takes you into the "Big Room" which is just that.  It is enormous!  About the size of 4 football fields long and about 20 stories high.  There are 50 information stations on the tour offering a wealth of information about this cavern, including it's history from the time Jim White first entered it in 1898 at the age of 16.

If you ever get to this part of the country, this is a MUST SEE!  Even the road to the park is a great desert ride. 

WARNING!  DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT, take the scenic loop near the visitor center unless you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  Granted, the road does offer you some stunning desert vistas.  However; we made the mistake of taking the Smart car down the 9 mile dirt road that, about half way in, turned into a loose gravel road.  The kind of gravel that was like driving in deep snow.  Then it turned into a rock covered goat path with loose stones the size of softballs for the road bed.  It was about this time that the Ranger vehicle pulled up behind us and followed us to the end.  We were averaging about 6 miles an hour as we bounced along, which meant he was behind us in his giant wheeled urban assault vehicle for more than 40 minutes and, I assume, laughing his ass off the entire time.