Carlsbad Cavern

I was living in Bastrop, Texas and as a family we decided to drive back to Utah to see family and to ride the Slick Rock Trail in Moab, Utah. Well since we were driving we thought of places we could stop along the way. Now Texas is a huge state from east to west on I-10 one can drive for almost nine hundred miles and not leave the state. We planned on taking the I-10 out of Texas and that meant driving south towards San Antonio. We started out early one morning driving towards San Antonio on the back roads that took us towards San Marcos and Kyle. We knew these roads well because that is the way we went to get to the Stake Center or to the Temple. Now San Antonio sits about one third of the way through the state of Texas along the I-10 corridor. So we had a long way to drive. We decided that we were going to drive all day and get to Carlsbad, New Mexico and go through the Carlsbad Caverns the following day. The drive is long and after San Antonio there really aren't any big cities or anything to see along the way. There are hills, fields, sage brush, rocks, small stunted trees, and a lot of nothing else to look at. It is peaceful except for the constant hum of the traffic going both directions, the ever present semis pulling their loads across the state, and the threat of boredom at every straight line. The I-10 is so straight that sometimes it seems it would be easier to get a bar and brace the wheel then take a nap. One positive abut this stretch of road is that the speed limit is eighty so there is little worry of getting pulled over for speeding although there is the occasional car that comes speeding by doing ninety or more. We didn't follow the I-10 all the way into El Paso instead we took a small two lane road north some time after Fort Stockton. We went North for a while then west again and so on until we got to Carlsbad, New mexico. Once in Carlsbad we went looking for a place to stay for the night. Originally we were going to camp here but when we saw that the camping areas were on the other side of town away from the cavern we decided to get a hotel room with a pool. We went swimming that night and relaxed a bit before going to bed for the night. Carlsbad is higher in elevation than we expected and the weather was chilly. We did not bring long pants or jackets and we were told that the Carlsbad Cavern can be a little chilly. So we got up early the next morning and went to the local Walmart to get warmer clothing. The drive up to Carlsbad cavern is a gradual climb all the way to the top of a large plateau. It takes about thirty minutes to get to the visitor center and the start of the Cavern. Once at the visitor center we had to decide which trail we wanted to take. We decided on going right into the main entrance and taking the long way down. I wasn't paying much attention but found out later that there is an elevator that takes people right down into the main area of Carlsbad Cavern. We were part of the first group of the morning on the main trail. We went down and enjoyed the leisure pace that we set. Where the trail begins going into the mouth of the cave it is very steep so the trail is built with a lot of switchbacks and as one travels deeper into the cave the opening begins to get smaller and smaller and the light provided by the opening diminishes. As it gets darker there are lights placed along the trail to help the navigation but not enough to make it overbearing. Once at the bottom of the main entrance the trail travels along a small ridge that is probably the only time that the trail doesn't feel like it is going down. As one looks further back along this ridge there is a small sign that says back in the dark, "this part of the cave continues for a long way but is not accessible by tourists" or something to that effect. The reason it is inaccessible is because back in the dark, a darkness that can almost be felt bulging from the wide opening, is where the bats live. They say there are so many bats that the guano they produce is many feet deep on the cave floor. I hear it is quite a sight to see them as they leave the cave each night but we did not stay for the show. The trail continues down what seemed an endless trail. I was starting to get a little worried as I needed to find a bathroom and there was no where to go along the trail. There are many stalagtites and stalagmites that have grown into amazing shapes and colors. The trail is smooth and one can get right up next to these geological structures and take pictures. Just as I was getting desperate for a bathroom the trail comes to a room, or what I would call a room hundreds of feet deep in a cave. There, in this room, was a concession stand, gift shop and bathrooms. We all went and then took the shorter trail around this huge almost completely open room full of rocks and water and color. It is amazing to see what water can do to transfer minerals from one place to another. We had a great time down in Carlsbad Cavern and I was worried that we were going to have to take the same trail back up again when Maggie mentioned the elevators that I didn't know existed. We took the elevator.