Our trip to Carlsbad Caverns, Brantly Lake State Park, Bottomless Lakes State Parks and Capitan, New Mexico

We had planned on making this a two to four week trip staying at each of the above named state parks while we explored Carlsbad Caverns, and camping and kayaking.  However, the weather had turned cold so we decided to make a two day trip and treat ourselves to over night stays in motels.

I will feature the state parks and Capitan in the next post.

The trip to Carlsbad was by way of El Paso.  The Texas desert is flat and occupied by a forest of yucca plants.  Our route took us past the Guadalupe mountains.

This photo shows the highest peak of the Guadalupe Mountains, which stands at over 8200 feet.

From the parking lot of the caverns you can see how flat the desert is as you drive past the entrance to them.  I was surprised by this because I had imagined we would be driving more in the mountains.

This is Whites City, which is the entry way to the caverns.  The caverns are seven miles up a winding road.

The road up to the caverns is quite scenic.

There is ample parking and easy access to the caverns, even for the handicapped.  Kennels are provided for pets.  Leaving them in vehicles is prohibited because of the extreme temperatures in the summer.

The visitor's center has a load of information about the cave.  This is a cut away display of the cave so you can get an idea of what is ahead.  There are several tours one can take, guided and self- guided.  We chose the self-guided tour which took about two hours.

It is 170 feet to the bottom of the cave.  Fortunately, there is an elevator to the big room that we explored.  

This is the path that leads from the elevator to the big room.

Every view is just spectacular.  There lights strategically placed along the pathway, but some of the sights show up better with the camera flash.  I recommend taking a good spot light type flash light.

Stalactites "grow" down from the ceiling and stalagmites "grow" up from the floor.  This one was given the title of Lion's Tail.

These stalactites were not given a name, but were so beautiful I had to include them.

These stalagmites are in the Hall of Giants.

Every vacation deserves a touristy photo.  Unfortunately these were out of focus, but we were there.

This beautiful display of stalagmites is titled Temple of the Sun.

I love the beauty of this stalagmite.  Tourist are asked to refrain from touching anything, and food and drinks are forbidden, except for water.

This ladder was used by early explorers to the lower reaches of the cave.

This display refers to the 1924 expedition by Dr. Willis T. Lee.

We found this little tunnel along the path.  The pictures are from each end of the tunnel.

Crystal Spring Dome

The Rock of Ages, one of the most spectacular stalagmites in the caverns.

These stalactites are formed by water running down the wall, and are called draperies.

Dolls Theater containing "soda straws and small columns."

These are just a few of the many sites we saw in our tour of the big room of the cave.  I took about 200 photos.  They don't do justice to the beauty of the caverns.  One must see them for their selves.  We were told there had been 3000 visitors the week of Thanksgiving, so pick your visit time carefully.