Carlsbad Caverns

This was one of the many photos I took of Carlsbad Caverns when we were there. I learned a lot about taking photos in a cave but by that time most of the tour was finished. Carlsbad makes all other caves look like mere holes in the ground. We've been to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, Wind and Jewel Caves in South Dakota, and others as well, but none of them even come close to Carlsbad. Our walk through the cave was nearly three miles and some of the rooms are huge. The Big Room is nearly a mile around and the size of five football fields. The formations are magnificent and varied and the cave leaves one feeling awed.

We are in the city of Carlsbad tonight. After driving up from Big Bend National Park on Friday we encountered freezing temperatures in lower New Mexico (there was ice on the cacti) and spent the rest of that day at the caverns, a great place to shelter from the cold and rain. Yesterday we drove back into Texas and spent the day hiking the McKittrick Canyon trail in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We were there overnight and this morning and went on to Lincoln National Forest and Sitting Bull Falls today. We decided after living rough for the past week to get a motel tonight and will spend a quiet day tomorrow before continuing our travels.

J. Gafarot, Christiane ♥.•*¨`*•✿, Marco F. Delminho, LutzP and 32 other people have particularly liked this photo

20 comments - The latest ones

Malik Raoulda ^club

Belle et impressionnante capture.... Bon Dimanche.

4 years ago.

Janet Brien ^club

Oh Ron, this is just so very beautiful and must be appreciated at full size to see the wonderful details. You guys are so lucky...I have always wanted to visit this cave system--as I mentioned to your wife as well--and we will certainly be going. It is the cave modeled after the ongoing story my dad would tell us kids about the crazy adventurers, Tom, Dick and Harry! :)

I enjoyed reading your travel details...about Carlsbad, HOLY COW! 3 MILES of caverns to go through?! THAT'S AMAZING!!! How impressive...and no, I've never been to a cave that large before but I have had the unique opportunity to see a couple of incredibly special ones...

When we went to Belize, we got to go to a place we should not have been able to go to...it is called the Cave of the Sepulcre and should only be open to researchers. This cave is incredibly delicate and full of age-old pottery and even human remains...the beauty of the cave's formations is incredible too. The reason nobody should be allowed there is because it's not possible to keep from stepping on delicate parts of the cave where you must walk through...the damage has been terrible wherever people cannot stay on the narrow path through the cave. Steve and I were very mindful but still we put our feet in the wrong place sometimes. People that weren't even paying attention...I was in shock...we feel terrible that it's open to be toured and wonder what a disaster it must look like now... If you want to see, here's a G-Search...any of th elinks will show you pictures and lots of info too. Cave of the Sepulcre

The other place we went to was scuba diving in a freshwater/seawater lava tube cave called a cenote. The tubes open up into chambers which have holes in the ceiling from roots coming down...the light shines through like something out of a Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. Birds and bats fly in and out and the only way to see these magical places is by swimming through these tubes with headlamps for your light and holding on to ropes affixed along the way. The silt in the tubes must not be disturbed or it will create a complete blackout. Only divers who are capable of calm, relaxed motions and a total confidence to do this dive are allowed to go. It was a huge feather in my cap that I was a good enough diver to go, :) Steve is an instructor so of course he was no problem. I always thought I'd never EVER be able to handle diving into an underwater cave...and in fact, these places are DEADLY (cave mappers die in these places and the risk is something they must deal with every day), but where these guided tours are given, they are extremely careful to make it an experience which visitors can enjoy safely. It was an experience I will never forget, the closest thing to a real magical place that I've ever witnessed. At one point, one of the chambers we came up in was one without any holes in it. Our guide told us to turn off our lamps and be totally silent...so for a couple of moments we experienced this place that was totally dark, with just the tiny swishings of water from our bodies, and it was just amazing...so few people in the whole world have been to a place like that and I feel so incredibly privileged to have be such a lucky soul. :) Cenote Diving

You are on my mind all the time, naturally, and I'm glad all is going well! Steve's done with the RV's coffee bar installation and is now working on the drawers for my bed...it's taken quite a bit of time because he needed to find a blend of stains that would be a good match for the color in the trailer. He's finally got it and we're really happy with the color. Tomorrow he's planning on assembling the wood he cut today! :)

I've got another batch of finished rocks and ZOWIE! They are amazing! I'll be taking pictures in the next few days and hope to have a presentation ready sometime after that! I can't wait to show off all of my favorite beauties. And meanwhile, there are many more coming along...and I keep on finding more rocks for tumbling...lololol...too many rocks, not enough time to tumble them all! :D

Anyway, I'm falling asleep here...I was hoping to get back to reading The Pushcart War but I'm too sleepy! :D It's a great book so far...those bad truck drivers are enacting their plan to get the pushcarts out of New York...very naughty of them! I look forward to learning what happens! :D

4 years ago. Edited 4 years ago.

RHH ^club has replied to Janet Brien ^club

The three miles of cave that are open to visitors are only a small part of the explored area which is now around thirty miles. A park ranger told us that three very small women rangers had gotten through to a new area recently and added about three miles to the area explored.

4 years ago.