Tuesday morning we left Lordsburg, drove through New Mexico and into Texas to El Paso, then veered northeast and headed back into New Mexico to visit the Carlsbad Caverns. Once we moved up north a little, New Mexico got very green and pretty.
I’ve always wanted to see the Carlsbad Caverns, but I was blown away by how far they exceeded my expectations. The hardest part of putting this page together was limiting myself to a reasonable number of photos so the page size wouldn’t get out of hand.
Here’s the seating area where you can come to watch gazillions of bats swarm from the mouth of the cavern at dusk:
We didn’t have time to stay for the Bat Exodus, but next time I definitely plan on seeing that.
On a sidenote, they have a fund-raising thingie there where you can “Adopt Your Very Own Bat!” You get a certificate and you can name your bat and everything. Elizabeth was *frantic* to Adopt Her Very Own Bat, and I’m all for the noble cause, but this just wasn’t an expense I wanted to deal with right then. She kept bringing it up though, and wouldn’t let it drop. Finally the lightbulb went on over my head, and I explained to her that even if she did Adopt Her Very Own Bat, she wouldn’t get to bring it home with her; it would go on living in the cave with its brethren. Elizabeth received this news with disbelief, then bemused exasperation. Then she lost all interest in adopting her very own bat. When you’re nine years old sometimes the ways of grups don’t make any sense at all.
Moving on…it’s a strange feeling, climbing down into a big gaping hole in the earth. Much suspense was felt!
Luke brought along his canteen, just in case we got lost down there.
And then the wonder:
…And a chuckle or two to break up the awe. I particularly like The Giant Boob:
The sheer size of these caverns is incredible. They just go on and on.
All in all, a very satisfying day.
After we left Carlsbad we continued east and back into Texas, stopping for the night in a dismal little town called Lamesa. The less said of that place the better. But at least we had our memories of the Caverns to sweeten our dreams!
An Invincible Summer 
that really good !
thats really a place to visit!
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Absolutely! I totally recommend it to anyone who enjoys natural wonders and/or spelunking. One caveat though–it’s a fairly steep mile-and-a-half hike from the natural entrance down to the main part of the cavern. People who have difficulties with relatively strenuous physical exertion can (and probably should) take the elevator down instead. They’ll still get to see most of the really impressive formations, with less risk of injury.
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That looks spectacular. I’d love to see the bats coming out of the cave!
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