April 5 - 7: Carlsbad Caverns & Deming, New Mexico

 
Tuesday, April 5th - Down into the Cave

Such an exciting day as we drove about an hour to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It was a hot day here in Carlsbad, but from our experience last year in Mammoth Cave, KY, we knew it would be much cooler down in the caverns - average temp around 56 degrees. We remembered to bring our lighted LL Bean hats, but mine must have been left on at some point and the batteries were dead. Don gave me his hat, I think just to boost my confidence.

My confidence did need boosting, as at the Visitor Center the Ranger on duty spooked me. I inquired about the self-guided tours, especially about descending down into the bowels of the cave via The Natural Entrance. The Ranger was firm when he cautioned about the ruggedness of this hike ---- "If you have bad knees, hips, feet, are old, gray haired, feeble, forgetful, drink Ensure, etc., DO NOT take this trail." Okay, I exaggerate a little in what he said, but warnings about them having to carry people out and people dying on the trail, did get my attention. Don, crestfallen, said, "Linda, it's up to you if you want to hike down or take the elevator." He was in a no-win situation. I took a few minutes to think about the Ranger's dire warnings. Having read that The Natural Entrance trail was the way to go and  realizing that I don't have bad knees or hips,  plus hating to miss a golden opportunity to experience the best, down we went ........

I'm so glad that I got my courage back, as hiking down the paved switchback trail through the huge mouth of the cave was such a wondrous experience. The Natural Entrance is known for 400,000  swooping and swirling free-tail bats pouring out of the mouth at sunset, but the bats had yet to return from wintering in Mexico. A few had returned, but there were no bats in sight. I think the hike down might have been more unnerving for Don, as he hates heights and we walked down a long, long way - descending about 850 feet. I think he did not look down. At Mammoth Cave we were only down about 350 feet and that was descending via long, narrow trails, where you didn't look down into a huge, gaping hole.

Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave vary in that Carlsbad is a wet cave and Mammoth is a dry cave. Carlsbad has cave decorations - the stalactites and stalagmites, plus columns, draperies, soda straws, popcorn and helictites (?). Mammoth had a lot of cool history. Both caves are so very different, that it is hard to say which is better or which we liked more. Maybe our "oh" and "ah" factor was higher here in Carlsbad, as the decorations are colorful and simply breathtaking in their beauty.

Mites and Tites

It took us about an hour to get to the bottom, as we had audio tour wands that had us stopping at certain points along the trail. I love learning as much as I can about where we are, so the wands were perfect narrators for the story and geological formations of the Caverns. The clue to remembering the difference between stalactites and stalagmites is that the stalactites hang on TIGHT to the ceilings and the stalagmites MIGHT someday reach the ceiling. The hike down was somewhat strenuous on the knees and hips, so the Ranger was correct to warn folks with those conditions to take the elevator. For us, I'm so glad I made the right decision to go down the Natural Entrance Trail.

When we reached the bottom, there were more self-guided trails. There's also a lunch room and bathrooms. Amazing! We took the Big Room loop around the base of the cavern, another hour plus of hiking. The size of the Big Room is 8.2 acres, a little bigger than 6 football fields. They have named certain sections of the cave - the Bottomless Pit, Rock of Ages, Painted Grotto and Giant Dome. Actually, you "stroll" along this loop, as the attraction factor of the decorations is so "wow" that you don't want to miss a thing.

See the two lions' tails?

We left the cave via the elevator, as they no longer allow you to hike out due to the crowds of people touring the cavern. I think they don't want to haul more of us old-timers up and out. It would be challenging to climb back up that 850 foot drop. Touring here in early April, the crowd factor was a moot point. We had that up close and personal feeling hiking down and wandering around, as there were few folks in the cave with us on this day. Really, really nice time of year to be here.

A couple last comments, as we find ourselves so thrilled with nature's natural wonders here in the US. Man makes many impressive things, but there is no way Disney could have made Carlsbad Caverns on this scale and with the millions/billions of years it took to create such phenomenal beauty. To stand back and absorb what you are seeing fills one with a sense of wonder and religious awe. How did God create so many varied and perfect places here in our United States of America? The climate, animals, flowers, trees, bushes, mountains, rivers, tumbleweeds, cactus, roadrunners, elk, etc., all fit and match the area we are in so perfectly. How, how, how did He do this? Mindbogglingly.


Wednesday, April 6th - Living Desert State Park Zoo

 We tried hard to get out early this morning, as we were told by locals that we must go to the Living Desert State Park Zoo, about 15 minutes down the road from our campground. To see the animals in action, the cooler part of the morning is the time to be there. Arriving around 11:00 did not quite meet the goal. We had a fun walk around this cute desert zoo, but as the day went on, it got hotter and hotter. We dragged our way through the botanical cactus gardens and watched the animals snoozing in the shade. The prairie dogs were my favorites, as they were frolicking about teasing each other, digging in their holes and just having a happy, good time. Javelinas were new to me and a zoo caretaker was kind enough to call one out, Lina, from her hole to show off for us.

Lina is cute behind a fence, but hate to run into her in the wild.  They have mean looking sharp tusks.

After the zoo, we headed into Carlsbad for a great Mexican lunch at Mi Casitas. As we left our waitress handed us a piece of banana cake wrapped up for later, as she knew we had been drooling over the thought of dessert, but were too full to partake. How nice.

Returning to the campground, we did our laundry and then headed to the pool. The wind was wild and the pool a tad chilly (Don didn't go in).  Jumping in the hot tub in 90 degree weather after being chilled in the pool, with the wind keeping me comfy, I was in heaven. Bunnies were running everywhere and Don was fully entertained.

Thursday, April 7th - White Sands National Monument & Rock Hound State Park, Deming, New Mexico

We left Carlsbad at 9:15 and traveled 294 miles today. This was a shorter day, but a stop at White Sands National Monument delayed our arrival at our overnight campground destination.

This is the thing and most seasoned travelers probably already know this - If something is declared a "National Monument," that is because there is really something SPECTACULAR there. That said, we have now learned to STOP if we are near a National Monument, as there is real surprise waiting for us.

White Sands National Monument is 275 square miles of gypsum dune fields. You are driving along and the white mountains of sand just pop up out of nowhere. The wind was still wild, so I was a little concerned that we would be stung by the sand if we got out of the car. The sand is almost like talcum powder, so this was not a problem. We walked out on this short boardwalk in the dunes and found ourselves captivated by the scenery of all this diamond shimmering sand. The dunes move constantly and the park roads are plowed to keep them cleared. I really wanted a small bag full of sand (some of you know how I LOVE sand), but it is illegal to take any and I behaved.

The grumpies were setting in as we finally found our way to Rock Hound State Park in Deming, NM, after the GPS took us an hour out of our way. We're driving and driving over flatland heading toward a huge mountain, with signs on the open range advising us to be alert to cattle crossing the road. The campground was at the base of this colorful mountain and the setting was beyond perfect. Our site had a sunset view, which we took full advantage of after setting up camp and taking a short mountain hike. Coyote scat was everywhere on the mountain trail and we hoped to later hear them singing. Everything was so beautiful that I begged Don to let us stay one more day at this enchanting campground, but his hard heart said Tucson was calling him on.

Front row seating for watching the sunset.