Deep Under New Mexico – Carlsbad Caverns

 

 New Mexico full moon.

Our time in Texas is over (Honest!). We left Davis Mountain on Monday, 5/20, and made our way to The Ranch Escapee Co-Op Park near Lakewood, New Mexico. We have enjoyed staying at several of the Escapee Co-Ops, so we were interested in trying out a new one. Each park is different and offers a range of amenities at a reasonable cost. Since summers are brutal here, many of the residents had already taken off for cooler climes. That worked out well for us, because we were able to rent a co-op spot and have hook-ups during our stay.

SKP Ranch - an Escapee RV Club co-op.

The Ranch House, happy hour is 4pm every evening!

One of the co-op spaces. 

Our plan was to use this location as a base to visit Carlsbad National Park. Carole and Bob were also interested in doing a day trip to Guadalupe National Park just across the border in Texas. Rog and I were there in 2017 and we hiked to the top – it’s likely to be the only mountain I ever summit. Lol.

March 2017, I did climb a mountain!
The highest peak in Texas (which isn't saying much, Lol).

Visiting Carlsbad National Park now requires a timed entry ticket. The fee is nominal ($1), but it helps control the flow of visitors through the caverns. We chose a 12:30pm start time on Tuesday, 5/21. We arrived early to enjoy the visitor’s center and, of course, the gift shop. 😊

The scale model of the caverns is my favorite.
Check out the visitor center on the shelf,
the acrylic tube represents the elevator that descends 750 feet.

We opted to hike down into the caverns through the natural entrance. This is my absolute favorite way to access the caves. It’s a steep 1.25-mile downhill hike with switchbacks revealing stunning formations around every turn. One of my favorite features on the trek down is Iceberg Rock, a single 200,000-ton boulder than fell from the cave ceiling thousands of years ago.

Decending through the natural entrance.

Looking back at the entrance from the cavern.

Whale Mouth formation.

Bob and Carole walk under Iceberg Rock.

Lion's Tail formations.

The hike down to the cave floor is just half the fun. From there, we walked another 1.25-mile loop around and through the 8.2-acre Big Room. This self-guided tour passes many of the caverns most famous features including the Rock of Ages (which I swear, looks like a dragon!), Mirror Lake, Crystal Spring Dome and many more. 

Giant Domes.

The ceiling was covered in thousands of stalactites.

Looking straight up.
Warp Factor 10 Scotty!

Rock of Ages.
I prefer to call him, Puff. 😄

In 1921, Jim White a local rancher used a ladder of wood slats and
bailing wire to descend into the unexplored caverns. 

Mirror Lake.

The Crystal Spring Dome, detail on the right.

The large columns and domes are amazing, but some of the most intricate and beautiful features are much smaller. The Doll Theater and tiny pool fingers are fascinating. We spent a good four hours strolling the underground maze before taking the elevator topside.

The Doll's Theater.

Tiny pool fingers formed under the ledges above pools of water.

A waterfall in stone.

This look likes an Elvish tree to me.

Which would make this an Elvish forest,
maybe something from Tolkien's Middle Earth?

Carole captured these amazing details.

I'm seeing a face. Do you see a face?
Creepy.

Thursday, 5/23, was a travel day. We passed through Roswell, famous for its obsession with all things extraterrestrial. In the summer of 1947, a rancher discovered unidentifiable debris in his sheep pasture outside the town. Although officials from the local Air Force base asserted that it was a crashed weather balloon, many people believed it was the remains of a flying saucer. Today, the town hosts an annual UFO festival in July that draws thousands of visitors. Many of the businesses in town have a lot of fun with the “little green men”.  

A (not so) little green man in Roswell.

We were intrigued by these huge (18 feet tall!) ranchers in an apparent standoff across Hwy 285 a few miles south of Vaugh, NM.  One points an accusatory finger at the other, who has adopted a “What, me?” stance. Poised in the middle of nowhere, “Cowboy Ruckus” is the work of artist John Cerney and depicts ranchers and brothers Mark and Mike Marley. A little (or maybe, very big 😊) sibling rivalry.

Cowboy Ruckus on Hwy 285.

We had one night reserved at Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas, NM. It was a miserable, windy drive and continued to blow hard the whole evening. Regardless of the wind, Riley still managed several dips in the lake. Lol.

Despite the winds, Riley made it into the water. Surprised? Lol.

We are excited about our next stop. Remember when I said Guadalupe Mountain would probably be the only one I’d ever summit? Well, about that. Come along for incredible mountain vistas at over 14,000 feet! (And yes, I cheated!)