Passing through Roswell, NM without picking up any alien hitch-hikers, we moved south along down the road to Carlsbad Caverns, just 20 miles south of Carlsbad, NM.
Even though our family had traveled to SE NM to see Carlsbad Caverns 50 years ago, the experience is now entirely different and even more awe inspiring. "Back in the day", the only access to the enormous cavern was via a 750 ft. vertical descent on switchbacking paved paths, lead by a Park Ranger.
Nowadays, there are choices of 2 self-guided tours, 4 "upright" ranger lead walks and 2 "wild-caving" (read belly crawl, tight squeezes, drop-offs-guaranteed to get dirty) excursions, to take you into the deep dark.
Due to our arrival time, we really only had time for the "Big Room" self-guided tour over a winding trail of 1.25 miles around the perimeter of the cavity. But being the end of the day, we had the Room almost entirely to ourselves.
The room is HUGE, measured at 8.2 acres in size, so roughly 6.2 football fields would fit into the Big Room!
The Big Room is the largest single cave chamber (by volume) in North America.
Visiting such an unusual space, which evolved over tens of thousands of years, is very humbling, but quite magnificent!
Barbara & Paul
Okay, I'm going to put my adventure shoes on now. I've been in New Mexico for over 20 years and have not been to Carlsbad Caverns (or Roswell, for that matter). The photos are beautiful, and you've clearly shown that this is a must-see. Thanks for sharing and keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely a must see in NM. It's especially nice to get to Carlsbad when it's hot, because the Caverns are about 60 degrees year-round with great humidity for dryness!
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