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Roswell to Carlsbad

We awoke to sunshine this morning. Our destination today was Carlsbad Caverns, in southern New Mexico. The main entrance to the caves is home to thousands of small bats, and I had always longed to witness their mass exodus at dusk.

Our drive time was short—only 2 ½ hours. The route from Roswell to Carlsbad was on a smooth wide 4-lane road.

Leaving Roswell, we traveled for miles along a flat expanse of land, with golden grass stretched out into the distance.

The homes were spaced far apart.

This café was for sale, but the prospect did not tempt us:

We passed this roadside memorial, with a colorful cross:

We then entered a small farmland area, where the lush green of the crops almost shocked our senses, compared to the previous miles of dryness.

As we entered the town of Artesia, we passed by a large oil refinery.

On the side of a dilapidated small white building in Artesia, someone had spray-painted the words, “Pray Good”.

Amen.

Nearby was Maddux Monument Co., which offered gravestones for sale.

Outside of town, we passed the cemetery for large storage containers.

A large body of water stretched out to our left--Lake McMillan. In the distance, we could see the dam that created the lake.

We rattled our way through the town of Carlsbad, which seemed to stretch on and on.

Ben’s comment: “Big town, bad roads.” The road through town looked like it had suffered years of abuse from the tires of big rigs. While there was a new truck bypass route around the town, the damage suffered by the roads had never been repaired.

The old city hall:

Carlsbad Caverns is about 35 minutes south of Carlsbad. The road between the caves and town was being widened from 2 lanes to 4.

The dump trucks were huge (although not as gigantic as those we had seen in the Kennecott Copper Mines):

The entrance to the caverns is at the top of a mesa. We wound our way upward.

Carlsbad Caverns has over 100 limestone caves, with an amazing array of formations. It has been designated as a National Monument, National Park, and a World Heritage Site.

We had made reservations for the “King’s Palace” tour, which covers several large caverns; the tour was an hour and a half long, and I thought that time frame was just about right for Sebastian’s attention span. We had read that the temperature in the caves is quite chilly, so we brought our jackets. Good thing—it was indeed cold; Sebastian probably could have used two jackets.

We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns about an hour before our tour started. I had read about the 70-year old underground cafeteria at Carlsbad Caverns, and I was excited to have lunch there. We rode the elevator 750 feet down into the earth. I have to admit that was a bit disappointed to find that the café has been remodeled and no longer serves any hot food, and only a limited supply of cold items. However, the ambiance was the key; we were in a very dark cave under the earth, which made the meal extra-special.

Genevieve in the café (taken with a photo flash):

Sebastian (taken without a photo flash):

Our tour was led by a ranger named Bo.

Bo was born and raised in Carlsbad, and had grown up thinking of the nearby caves as simply “that big hole in the ground.” He had returned to work here as an adult and learned to see the caverns with “new eyes.” Now he was sharing his love for the caverns with visitors on a daily basis.

We wandered a mile through four chambers that were not accessible to the public except through a tour: the King’s Palace, the Papoose Room, the Queen’s Palace, and the Green Lake Room.

We descended down to 830 feet below the surface, the deepest part of the caverns that are open to the public.

The caverns were much larger and grandiose than the intimate chambers we had experienced at Lehman Caves a few weeks ago. However, bigger is not necessarily “better.” Both cave systems were phenomenal in their own way.

We saw stalactites, stalagmites, drapery, columns, soda straws, rock flows, and other stunning combinations. Here are some photos:

Here are two photos looking up at the ceiling:

Genevieve led the way:

Some “cave popcorn” up close:

This rock formation was called the “Bashful Elephant” (the lumps on the right give you a view of an elephant from the rear, with the back legs and tail):

The Green Lake:

The park service has installed lights around certain formations, so we didn’t need a flashlight. In the Queen’s Palace, Bo conducted a black-out, where he turned the lights out and immersed us in utter blackness.

We really enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about the history of the caves here and their unique formations.

Genevieve and Sebastian worked very hard and completed all of their Jr. Ranger requirements.

They were sworn in as Jr. Rangers by Leigh and Ranger Emily.

As we left the caverns this afternoon, we could see rain in the distance:

We returned to the caverns near dusk to see the bats. The sky near our campground, which was 20 minutes away:

As we drove toward the caves, the clouds darkened. However, rays of sun were breaking through.

When we arrived at the caverns, the skies looked very grim.

We rushed down the path to get to the cave entrance. The bats were not expected to come out for another 45 minutes, but we didn’t want to miss them in case they flew out early.

However, we took time to admire this centipede that we found on the path:

We found good seats so that we could watch the bats fly out of the cave entrance:

However, after 15 minutes, a ranger announced that there was lightening within a 1 to 3 mile range of the cave entrance, which required everyone to evacuate immediately. (In the past, someone had been struck and killed by lightning in the parking lot, so park officials were very cautious.)

We reluctantly left:

Ben happened to catch a photo of some of the lightening in the distance, down near the horizon.

While I was disappointed in not getting to see the bats, I learned a lot during our visit here. The caverns were enormous and the formations were exquisite. I know that I will enjoy another visit in the not-too-distant future. And I hope that the skies will be clear on that day.

<< Day 15: Alamagordo to Roswell | Day 17: Carlsbad to San Antonio, Texas >>

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