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Published: March 1st 2007
Road to Carlsbad Caverns
The road to Carlsbad Caverns is over my right shoulder. 2-19-07
I got going the next morning around 10:00 feeling well rested and close to being over the cold. I was headed for Carlsbad Caverns and had read something about the park not letting anyone down into the cave after 2:00. I felt a little rushed and consequently hurried. Once I got out of Texas however, the time zone changed and I was sure to make it there before 2:00. I made it there around 1:00 . To get there you drive through this tourist town called White City. It was obvious not the touristy time for this area as several of the motels appeared closed. I drove up into the mountains as directed by the signs. I really had no expectations, but for whatever reason this seemed a little different than expected? The Guadalupe Mountains can be seen for a long distance as you approach the range, but they kind of just look like a ridge. You can see the southern ridge as your driving to it and this is where Guadalupe National Park is located, where I planned to stay that night. Carlsbad Caverns is actually about 30 miles north of the southern end of this mountain range.
Guadalupe Mountains
You can see this mountain range from about 100 miles away as the terrain is flat as you approach it. I decided to purchase a $9 ticket, which entitled me to walk through the cave from the natural entrance. There was a ranger led group also going into the cave and they got to go into sections of the cave, where more tourist can’t go, but that cost $20 so I decided against it. Maybe next time. The natural entrance is where the bats fly out of the cave. The bats are there between March and October so there were no bats at this time of year. The bats winter in Mexico and I can’t blame them for that! They say when the bats leave the cave they exit for a ½ hour to 2 hours before they have all gotten out of there. The bats fly south and eat insects all night and then come back during the day. Originally when Jim White discovered this cave he did so by thinking there was a fire there, as all the bats looked like a plume of smoke. The cave for awhile was mined for the Guano which was used as a fertilizer. Jim also gave tours of the cave as he was really the only one who knew there
Land of Enchantment
Having seen this state now I would have to agree! way around the cave. They now have walk ways all around the cave. It can be a little rigorous however, as there are some pretty steep walkways and some areas are pretty narrow. It can be done by most anyone however, and most of the area is accessible by wheelchair. There is an elevator that drops you down 750 ft. into the cave unless your like me and choose to take the natural entrance.
How does one describe the cave? It really must be seen. I just walked around with my jaw open most of the time. I walked 2 miles of trail as this is the most that the general public can walk. It truly is amazing. I ran into one park ranger and he showed me a rock outcropping on the ceiling of the room we were in, and he said that is about 180 ft. above the floor of the cave and climbers came in and floated helium balloons to the roof surface, which carried a parachute cord which swung over the rock outcropping. This enabled the climbers to pull a rope over the outcropping and a very nervous climber shimmied up the rope to investigate
Carlsbad Caverns are in that Range!
Carlsbad Caverns are in there. I wasn't expecting the Caverns to be in a mountain range like this. I thought there would be lots of mountains around not just a range. the potential cave at the outcropping. I don’t remember how far in the opening went, but the story of how these climbers got up there was incredible and crazy to me.
I am not sure what else to say about the cave,but incredible. Everyone needs to see this remarkable place as photos just don't do it.
After that amazing adventure I drove to Guadalupe National Park where I camped. The winds were really howling down there and at times I thought my truck might come off the ground. I suspect the gust were as much as 50 mph. They said the winds are normally strong, and went on to say these winds were more than normal. They said a cold front was moving through. I slept good for a few hours and then kind of tossed and turned for the rest of the night.
2-20-07
I got up around 7 in the morning as I wanted to get a quick hike in before leaving. I had to be out of the campsite before 11 or I would be charged another day. I hiked Devils Hall. The scenery was great and I tried to imagine what it must
have been like for the westerners who tried to make their way through this stuff in a lot harsher circumstances than I had it. The path helped a lot. Just think what they had to encounter walking through this grass and over the rocks etc. As I got down in the wash of the stream the scenery only improved. The rock formations back behind the mountain were phenomenal. I kept walking and saw a deer behind some trees. It kind of looked like a whitetail, but it’s ears were huge. I figured it must be a mule deer. It’s fur looked a little mangy, but I am not sure if that is typical or not. Maybe it is just having a bad fur day? As I walked further the scenery kept improving. Earlier in the day another hiker said to make sure I hike to the sign that says end of trail. I am glad he told me that as I might have stopped earlier. The total length of the hike was about 4 miles roundtrip.
I got back to my campsite at 10:30 and jumped in my truck and headed out. I drove to Carlsbad in hopes of
Carlsbad Caverns Complex
Part of the Complex as I couldn't get it all in. The biggest building the visitor center I did not get. Sorry poor photography, I know. getting some cheap gas, but the prices there were high too so I only filled it up ½ way. I had lunch at the Happy Restaurant. As I left I told them to have a good day and be happy! They laughed at that as they have several signs on the wall that state the same. I saw some huge cattle operations on my way to Roswell, which is always a little disturbing to me on a couple levels. One level is it doesn’t seem very humane to me. I guess we do it to pigs, why not cattle? These operations are big business, which goes against my family farm advocacy. Allthough these days the Family farm might be a thing of the past. Call me Mr. Nostalgia! Once I got to Roswell the gas prices improved, but were still more than I expected to pay. What are you going to do walk? I went ahead and filled up the rest of the way. They had a UFO store in the heart of Roswell and I took a couple pics and continued on. As I drove west from Roswell the scenery kept improving. I was pleasantly surprised to see the
Get the point?
You can take an elevator the 750 ft. to the bottom of the cave or you can walk in which is another mile of walking. These signs definitely cut to the chase. The walk is all down hill as you take the elevator back up. It's not that bad! Alpine looking scenery. In the mountainous area, there was snow on the north face of the mountains. I saw lots of horses and some cattle in this area. In Capitan I saw where that town claims to be the founder of Smokey the Bear. They had lots of Smokey stuff. I stopped at the towns library as they advertised free wifi. I checked my email and asked them about a place to camp. The place I planned to camp at was closed for the Winter, and they suggested Valley of Fires. It was a good thing I asked. I pulled into Valley of the Fires around 5:40 pm. Pretty good timing as that gave me time to get supper going before dark. It amazes me how many more stars you can see in the sky in New Mexico. At Guadalupe it was amazing as well. The only other place that compares to this is Canada. I wish I knew more about astronomy so I could truly enjoy it. I do enjoy the sure number of stars. You just can’t see them that well in the metropolitan areas anymore.
2/21/07
I got up around 8 to discover ice on the
More signs.
More signs were seen as you approached the walking entrance to the cave. inside of the camper shell . I had slept a little restless trying to stay warm knowing that it was extremely cold out. I suspected it was the coldest night yet. I asked the host and he said it was 29 deg. at 6:00 am. I told him I thought it was in the 20’s, but I would have guessed mid 20’s. I am getting decent at knowing the temperature as my sleeping bag is rated for 20 deg meaning in my experience you can sleep up to 40 deg comfortably. Lower than that you need to wear long underwear and thermal socks down to mid 30’s. Below that will need to wrap wool blanket around and roll up into a mummy to get the mummy bag effect. I suspect this will get me satisfactorily into the mid 20’s. Below that I will probably need to hop in the truck and fire it up or buy a different bag. Anyway, the take home message is it was cold, but as soon as that sun came up things thawed out very quickly.
I talked to the site host for awhile about the critters running around this area. He said there
Bat Cave
All the bats go south for the Winter so no bats in February, but in the Summer thousands and thousands of bats come out of this cave and it takes between 30 minutes and 2 hours for that to happen. Then they come back in before daylight. I would like to see it someday. are lots of rattlesnakes. He said he had one strike at him last year. He said he had his ATV running and couldn’t here the rattles therefore he had no warning. There are lots of hiding spots in that lava. He said this time of year however it is too cold for them. I asked if they were protected and he said definitely not and he usually kills them. He said he had permission to even use a gun if need be. He said they have rattlesnake roundups in this area. He said whoever gets the most poundage wins. He said those guys are crazy checking under rocks for those snakes.
I walked around and learned the area around the campsite once had a lava flow. North of there you can see one of the lava flow locations. There are thought to be two others as well. These are not volcanoes just locations where the lava exited the earth from down below. It is a wild area to see. Lots of black rock and it is very definitive were it flowed. There’s grass and stuff growing in the crevices around it. This is a very harsh environment and it
Bat Flight Viewing Area
You can sit here and watch the bats do their thing. is amazing anything grows there. In addition to the rattlers it interest me to know roadrunners run around these parts as well as tarantula spiders and golden eagles can be spotted flying. I didn’t see any of them, but I understand they are quite common at the right time of year. Again I was awestruck that this place existed in the US. I had no idea.
From there I went to the Three River plytheographs. Most places on this trip exceeded my expectations, while this was a little bit of a let down. I suspect if I knew more about the markings it my interest me more, but as far as I knew teenage Indian gang members may have done these to mark their territory. Who knows? Actually the archaeologist have lots of questions too. Maybe it is just graffiti. The vista from these high spots, however were moving. To the northeast you can see the lava flow and to the southwest the White Sands. Truly a remarkable view.
I was getting hungry so I headed towards Alamogorda for lunch. Before getting there I sampled some pistachios as they are farmed in this area. The pistachio tree gets
Shhhhhhhh
You can watch, but be quiet! to be about 15 ft in height and are grown all around the shop I stopped at. They also grow grapes there. I had no idea. I tried several different seasonings on the pistachios and decided not to buy any of them. They were good and extremely fresh, but I am just not a big fan of that nut and didn’t want to drag them around for family members. I guess I am a little selfish in that regard.
I then moved down the road for lunch. I stopped at a bar across from the Zoo in Alamogorda. They sell an Alien Amber Ale that is really good. I didn’t know that aliens were so big here. I knew about Roswell, but not about the aliens here. I decided to have a beer and ordered Nachos and a jalapeno corn bread. The meal was so so, but the beer was great.
Around 1:30 I headed for the White Sands National Monument. I had been looking forward to that all day. I got there around 2:00 and watched a short video of the dunes. In a nut sell the waters wash off the mountains with the dissolved ingredients to
Abyss
It's time to begin the decent! make gypsum. The water pools in one area and then evaporates in the summer. The precipitate is the gypsum and the material is then blown all over the place from the prevailing southwest winds. It’s pretty cool. If you were blindfolded and dropped off here you would never guess you were in New Mexico. I hiked about 6 miles along the Alkaline Flat Trail. The trail itself is only 4.6 miles, but since it was still wet I could not get where you typically park resulting in a longer hike. I made it in about 1:30 minutes, which was a very fast pace. I hurried because the park ranger said I didn’t have time to do it, but I think he knew I was going to do it anyway.
I got done there around 5 and decided to mosey on down the road to find a campsite. I had my eyes set on Rock Hound State Park near Deming. It was a pretty good drive. I was truly amazed when I first saw Las Cruces. You come over this one mountain range only to find a low lying flat area. I am used to the Rockies where it stays
Watch your Head
Some bending over required! rocky. Out here there appear to be more mountain ranges with low lying valleys. Again Wow! I love the terrain of southern New Mexico. It’s nothing I had ever seen before. Probably the closest thing is Montana.
I got on Route 10 and reached a check point. I was wondering for a second if I took a wrong turn and was crossing over the boarder into Mexico. Surely not. It was just a checkpoint within New Mexico. Seemed a little odd to me. They asked me a couple questions and let me proceed.
I made it to the campsite around 7:30 only to find it extremely full. I asked some folks if they knew of any campsites and they said there is one next to them. I was extremely thankful for them notifying me of that. I hurriedly took a shower as I felt dirty from the sand dunes and fixed some supper. Again like last night the stars of New Mexico are phenomenal. This site however had some light pollution from nearby Deming, but it is still a lot better than Carlyle. When I first bought my boat I thought star gazing on Carlyle Lake would be
awesome, but there is a lot of light pollution out there. As I look up at the sky I wonder how many people know how awesome the sky is or do they not even notice. Mother Nature is a beautiful women!
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Jack
non-member comment
Still with you
Very interesting state. What were the temps day/night. I think your descriptions and photos really yell a story. What's your irst stop in CA? San Diego is a huge sailing area, so is Newport Beach make it a point to get there.