2012/06 Western USA trip - Carlsbad Caverns |
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Thursday June 21st
We were off to Carlsbad Caverns, a longer drive than you might expect as they aren’t in Carlsbad. They are actually in the Guadaloupe Mountains near White’s City, named after the original discoverer.
We were pleased to find that our park pass got us all free entrance to the caves. We opted to walk down through the natural entrance 
rather than take the quick route down via the elevator. This is where tens of thousands of bats emerge each summer evening. The specks in the picture here are swallows.
The pathway down is well done, with no steps, rails everywhere, and enough guidance lights to not need a torch, though I wouldn’t go 700 feet underground without one.
The walk down goes through one enormous cavern after another, and spends a fair time just skirting the Iceberg Rock. This fell from the 
ceiling at some point but we’re assured that this doesn’t happen often. I have just a few pictures here from the way down, as those in the Big Room are much more impressive.
After about an hour we came out at the main floor. When I say it took a couple of hours to tour the Big Room, you’ll get an idea of the size. In places, the ceiling was 250 feet above our heads. The stalactites and stalagmites are similarly massive, some of them more like buildings. All of the big ones have names like the "Klansman" but I don't remember which iis which, so all I have are the pictures.
The interesting bits are tastefully well-illuminated, with none of the false colours that some commercial caves have.
The temperature was a comfortable 13C (mid 50s F), heavenly compared to the 40 plus up above.
The cave restaurant served burgers and fries back in the 1980s, until it was found that they were just as bad for caves as for people. On our last visit in 2006 the only food allowed was microwaved, awful stuff. Now the place was completely closed, so we 
took the elevator back up and ate at the surface. We discovered a new drink, cherry cider, and understood quickly why this is still a secret to the rest of the world. Reminded me of cough mixture.