*New birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 3
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 1
Leaving Davis Mountains State Park, it was time to head northwest to Carlsbad, NM, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park (http://www.nps.gov/cave). Once at the Visitors’ Center, we chose to take the Natural Entrance route, which is a self-guided tour that descends 750 feet into the Earth fol
lowing a steep paved trail of switchbacks. This one-mile tour follows the traditional explorers’ route, and is suggested for people who have the time and are in good physical condition….sounds just like us! In the early days there were no elevators or paved trails, and the lighting was very primitive. Visitors entered and exited the same way…by wooden steps like these pictured at right.
Once inside the cave, it takes a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust to the lower light levels, and this picture on the left is looking back up at the natural entrance we had just entered. We rented audio phones for our tour, and at each designated signpost, we’d press the appropriate button and hear a reco
rding that would give us some history or tell us at what we were looking. The route did not seem as strenuous as the literature and rangers kept stressing, but Russ did say his knees started to get a little wobbly part way down, and I could definitely feel it in my thighs.
lowing a steep paved trail of switchbacks. This one-mile tour follows the traditional explorers’ route, and is suggested for people who have the time and are in good physical condition….sounds just like us! In the early days there were no elevators or paved trails, and the lighting was very primitive. Visitors entered and exited the same way…by wooden steps like these pictured at right.
Once inside the cave, it takes a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust to the lower light levels, and this picture on the left is looking back up at the natural entrance we had just entered. We rented audio phones for our tour, and at each designated signpost, we’d press the appropriate button and hear a reco
rding that would give us some history or tell us at what we were looking. The route did not seem as strenuous as the literature and rangers kept stressing, but Russ did say his knees started to get a little wobbly part way down, and I could definitely feel it in my thighs.
The bottom of our descent took us into the Big Room, where there is another one-mile self-guided tour, but this one is fairly level. The circular route takes you around the perimeter of this 8.2 acre natural limestone chamber past some of the most amazing sights. Carlsbad Caverns definitely exceeded our expectations!
The return back up to the visitor center is by elevator…thank goodness! We definitely would not have wanted to walk back up those 750 feet! While in the elevator, the ranger turned out the interior lights so you could really see the solid ro
ck through the little windows as you passed. Oh, and by the way, we each earned another Jr. Ranger badge while at the Caverns!
We did miss out on one attraction at Carlsbad however. From about Memorial Day till mid-Oct. the Caverns are home to hundreds of thousands of Mexican freetail bats, and at dusk all these bats leave the cave in one huge swarm looking for dinner (insects not people). We’ve heard it’s quite a sight to se
e. Shortly before dawn they return to the cave where they sleep hanging from the ceiling till the next morning. Guess we’ll have to try and catch this another time.
The 7-mile drive to and from the Caverns’ Visitor Center through a limestone canyon rising from the Chihuahuan Desert into the Guadalupe Mountains was beautiful, and the ocotillo cactus were in full bloom.
ck through the little windows as you passed. Oh, and by the way, we each earned another Jr. Ranger badge while at the Caverns!We did miss out on one attraction at Carlsbad however. From about Memorial Day till mid-Oct. the Caverns are home to hundreds of thousands of Mexican freetail bats, and at dusk all these bats leave the cave in one huge swarm looking for dinner (insects not people). We’ve heard it’s quite a sight to se
e. Shortly before dawn they return to the cave where they sleep hanging from the ceiling till the next morning. Guess we’ll have to try and catch this another time.The 7-mile drive to and from the Caverns’ Visitor Center through a limestone canyon rising from the Chihuahuan Desert into the Guadalupe Mountains was beautiful, and the ocotillo cactus were in full bloom.
The next day on our way out of town, we stopped at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park (www.nps.gov/gumo) mainly to get our National Parks Passport book stamped. On our drive there, in the distance we could see El Capitan with its top shrouded in cloud cover. It’s located at the southernmost end of the mountain range and is quite an impressive sight! It just amazes us that this desert, mountain area was once an ocean and that these are the remnants of an ancient marine fossil reef. 
No comments:
Post a Comment