Carlsbad Caverns

Guadalupe Mountains is less than an hour away from Carlsbad Caverns National Park, so we took the opportunity to hike on over there. The family we met the day before at Guadalupe also went that day, and we ended up seeing them again at the restaurant at the Visitor's Center.

Bill's feet have been acting up, swelling up and causing him much pain, so he was hesitating about taking the natural entrance hike. It's a mile and a half(ish), and descends 750 feet, which really gave him pause. He thought that perhaps we could take the elevator down and then hike up, but I was totally against the 20% grade going UP. In the end, we did make the hike down, and we were really happy we did. Tired and in a bit of pain, but happy. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Just Inside

Natural Entrance

The beginning of the entrance is just a back and forth switchback, tight curves, steep descent. They ask that everyone use their soft voices, as even your normal voice carries for a quarter mile in there. We did indeed notice that. Not from our own kids, but from the adults who were well behind us. Grrr.... But once we got in and away from most others, it was a very peaceful and beautiful experience. It took us about three hours underground, and we felt like we were booking.

Speleothems

We've gone in several caves this year, this is the first time I've heard the term, "speleothem." It's the generic term for all the geological features: stalactites, stalagmites, drapery, soda straws, columns, pearls, etc... Carlsbad's got 'em. We weren't there for the bats, which was a shame, but the caverns were marvelous on their own.

Carlsbad Wildlife

We did get to see some wildlife at Carlsbad, though. On our way in, we spied five barbary goats. Very impressive.