Carlsbad Caverns - What a "Batty" place!

**SIDE NOTE TO START: Well hello again!! Now that we're back in Seattle and our trip is done (sadface) I'll have time to sit down and write. My goal is to pop out a blog post every other day. No promises... but I'll add extra pictures because I love you and you're all awesome! Enjoy!!**

After sweating our butts off in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Carlsbad, New Mexico, we woke up early and raced out to Carlsbad Caverns National Park before the Visitors Center opened. This National Park works a bit differently as it's really just the caves. There aren't many trails above ground to hike on and really... I'm not sure you'd want to. The environment is hostile with malicious looking cacti and terrain littered with steep drops, cracks in the earth and loose, dry soil and rocks giving way at any moment make the way perilous. Throw poisonous snakes, scorpions and tarantulas into the mix and I think I'm good on the not walking around part!

Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, White City, New Mexico, US

The story goes that in 1896 Jim White, a ranch hand in the town of Lone Tree, which would eventually become Carlsbad, saw what he thought was black smoke rising from the earth at dusk one evening. As a curious 16 year old he made his way out to where the "smoke" had been coming from. What he found was a hole in the earth and that smoke? Bats. Mexican free-tailed bats to be precise. Around 750,000 of them currently call the caves home during the summer months. That's a lot of bats! There are actually 17 species of bats that live in the park but the Mexican free-tailed bats are the most populous. Jim White found a giant opening to a massive cave system which he was determined to explore. He went back to town to find others to join him but no one would go. So... he went alone. Armed with some rope, a homemade wire ladder and a lantern he explored the cave. He discovered vast rooms and incredible limestone formations all by the light of his one... small... lantern. He would continue to explore the caverns till his death on April 26, 1946, long after it had become a National Park.

Down the rabbit hole we go!!! Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA

There are currently two ways to enter the caverns. One way to enter is through the mouth of the cave that Jim White found in 1896. You'll then walk down a mile of steep, twisting, turning trail to the bottom. You'll pass the parts of the caverns the bats now reside in but won't be able to get in there as those rooms are off limits to protect the bats. The second way is to take the elevator from the Visitors Center. As our tour started soon after opening we had no choice but to take the quick way down. The original elevators from 1932 take you down 750 feet to the underground cafe, lunch room and restrooms. The caverns, like most caves around the world, stay around the same temperature year round. At a very pleasant 56°f (or 13.3°C) I'd recommend bringing along a light jacket or sweater to wear, along with good walking shoes and water. Food and drink (other than water) is not permitted in the caves outside the lunchroom area.

The super cool, 80's vibe Lunchroom and Cafeteria Room. 750 ft underground. Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

The adorable tiny lanterns on each table in the lunchroom at Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

We were fortunate enough to arrive at the park on a Sunday. We were determined to do at least one guided tour and lucked out with getting on the first tour of the day! We HIGHLY recommend doing a tour while you're there. They're super cheap ($8 per adult!!) and definitely added to our experience of the caves. All of the more strenuous tours were already booked (and besides we didn't have the right spelunking equipment...) so we settled on the wildly popular King's Palace Tour. This tour runs about an hour and a half long and runs pretty often through the summer and takes you into parts of the caverns unaccessible to the regular public. Our tour guide was awesome and had great stories about the founding of the caverns, the geological history and pointed out some amazing formations along the way. The caverns are now lit up beautifully to highlight the incredible stalagmites and stalactites, curtains, towers and other unimaginable rock forms. He did the classic "turn off the lights" so we could see how truly dark it is down there and you really could not see your hand in front of your face. In this room, the Queen's Chamber, Jim White's own lantern went out while he was exploring. It took him over a half hour to find his lantern again, which he had left in the center of the room so he could explore without getting lost, and only had three matches left to light it with. He got it lit on his third and final match... *Whew* We remained quiet for a few minutes to enjoy the solitude of the caves. The water dripping through the cracks, slowly forming mounds of rocks, or eroding away million year old stone. It was wonderful. Pictures truly don't do it justice.

Yeah I got to hold the Guides lantern and led the group of about 30 people down the path into the King's Palace while he took tickets and locked the gate behind us. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

bahahaa Loving this! Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

Kings Palace, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

Stalagmites, Stalactites, Soda Straws, Columns and Popcorn formations!
See the people in the right corner of the pic for scale.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

Geoff checking out the Kings Palace portion of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

Crystal clear water mirrors the formations above. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

A sweeping view from floor to ceiling inside Carlsbad Caverns.

Our Park Ranger/Guide and two caving enthusiasts give a bit of scale to the magnitude of the caverns.
Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

Look up. Look way, way up. Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

A detailed view of one of my favorite rooms on the Kings Palace Tour. Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

After the tour we were free to explore the rest of the caverns miles of walkways. We spent a few hours exploring the Big Room or Hall of Giants. The mile long trail takes you in and around the massive room covering 357,469 sq feet. The ceiling, at the highest point, towers 255 feet above your head. This room, or chamber, is the 5th largest in the US and currently the 28th largest in the world! We wandered past the Rock of Ages (which Geoff named the monster instead...) and huge spires that looked like giants had been building muddy sandcastles along the seashore. We were able to see Jim White's wire ladder he had used to explore the caves alone... (and after seeing it that guy deserves a medal! Sketchy!!) There were crystal clear pools and delicate arches.

In case you couldn't remember which were stalagmites or stalactites!!
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, USA

Jim White's original homemade wire ladder he used to explore the caves. He even led National Geographic expeditions up and down this ladder. That is one scary, deep, dark hole... No Thank You!!
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA

Drippy Column. Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

You may want to click on this to open it up and explore a bit more by zooming in.
A Panorama of the Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

You can see where a pool of water used to be where these formations are flat on top. The source feeding this pool has since gone dry. Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

Geoff checking our this giant spire in the Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

In the middle of the chamber you could see a rope dangling from the a hole in the ceiling. This rope holds significant history in the caving community and is still used today. This hole in the center of the chamber taunted many caving experts for years. They had a suspicion that another chamber rested above the Big Room but were unable to get to it. They couldn't climb the walls and there was no way they could fashion a 200 foot ladder. Slingshots, line-throwing guns, bow and arrow, even hot air balloons and jet packs were all considered. They didn't want to risk ruining the delicate formations in the cave and remained stumped on how they would reach the top. They settled on a simple, but genius idea. Helium balloons. They tied a lightweight para-cord, with a balsa wood hook attached to it, to a bunch of balloons hoping to snag the hook and line around a formation known as the Three Monkeys. It took dozens of tries and on the 4th night they finally hooked it! And in October of 1982, after securing the line, they ascended into what is now known as the Balloon Ballroom above the Big Room. This Helium Balloon technique is still used today in caves around the world, including further exploration in Carlsbad Caverns!

Can you see the rope in this picture? It leads up into the Balloon Ballroom.
This rope was set here using the Helium Balloon technique which was used for the first time to set this exact rope!
Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

A wider view of a small portion of the Big Room, complete with rope. Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

Some fancy Curtains or Draperies coming out of the ceiling in the Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

Truly other worldly down here. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM, USA

Some tree-like Curtains or Draperies coming out of the wall in Carlsbad Caverns, NM, USA

One of the many ethereal "white rooms" which are coated in gypsum dust! Sooo Pretty!
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA

After spending a good chunk of the day underground we decided it was time to head out. As much as we wanted to stick around to see the bats in the evening, we had places to go, people to see and roller coasters to ride. We now found ourselves on a bit of a schedule as Geoff had to fly home soon to take his Advanced Fire Fighting course and we had already bought his ticket out of Nashville...

After a quick stop for some slushies at Sonic we hit the horrendously bumpy highway and headed for our next stop: Texas.

Till next time: Fair winds my friends!

Marsha and Geoff.