Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad was a juxtaposition in many ways.  Peaceful moments and natural beauty one minute, sulfur fumes, gas rigs and roaring trucks the next.  Despite the incongruity of the place, it provided one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  At first, I would have said the Carlsbad Caverns would be the highlight of this trip, but instead it was one of the residents of the cave that proved to be the top experience.

Amy’s lingering injury kept her out of commission again…we love to hike and explore and planned many of the activities on this road trip around outdoor excursions.  She spent the afternoon driving through the highland desert.  It was a wet and cloudy day, but given that she wouldn’t be hiking, the drive was probably an ideal way to have some fun while the girls and I went into the cavern.

I was both sad and excited for the day.  On one hand, Amy couldn’t join us for the trek down into and through the Big Room in the cavern.  I know how frustrating this experience has been for her and that she was feeling down about what this would mean for the trip.  On the other, I would get to see a truly amazing place and learn about the caverns with Mack and Quinn.  I have spent a lot of time over the last several years working full time and finishing my master’s degrees.  Consequently I haven’t had much time where just the girls and I do something together, so a moment like this was priceless.

The girls and I spent a little time exploring the museum in the visitors center.  It was a great way to learn about how the caverns were formed and how to identify specific features we would see below.  The cavern is a very reasonable $10 for adults and is free for children under 16.   If you get there early enough you can enter
through the natural entrance.  This winding path descends 750 feet below the surface and is likely considered a fairly strenuous effort for the average person.  For the less adventurous (or late arrivers like ourselves) there is an elevator that descends the distance in a matter of minutes.

Entering the cave is truly a one of a kind experience.  There is an earthy smell, the temperatures are a balmy 55° F, the lighting (by design and by nature) is dim and there is a strange silence.  It is like you are stepping out of time into a scene from Journey to the Center of the Earth.  Perhaps even more awe-inspiring was that it had the
same effect on the kids.  They were sticklers for the rules, keeping their hands far from the formations, their voices down to a whisper and stuck close to me through nearly the entire cavern.

We wound our way through massive stalagmites and ducked under dangerous looking stalactites.  Marveled at the “cave popcorn” that covered many of the walls and formations.   The girls were so enthralled by what we were seeing, that they even requested to listen to the audio tour I purchased (a mere $5).  In an effort to help them remember some of what they learned, I asked them to identify two interesting facts about the caverns to share with Amy.

Photographing in the caverns was a real challenge.  The lighting in was designed by a professional set lighting specialist to

increase the dramatic effect of the formations.  It allows you to appreciate the beauty of the room while maintaining some perspective of what it would be like for a caver who was exploring with little more than a headlamp or lantern and some rope.  However, the dim light and wide open expanses creates a nearly impossible situation for photography.  Photos are either blurry or the exposure is totally out of whack.  If you have a tripod, you would likely be able to take much better pictures than I was.

The most amazing event of all was actually one we couldn’t even photograph.  The cave is home to some 400,000 Mexican free-tailed bats.  A small amphitheater sits at the top of the natural entrance to the cavern and allows you to sit to watch the bats exit for the night.  The park service hosts a ranger lead Q&A session to answer any questions you have about the bats, their habitat and their history with respect to the caverns.  In fact, it was actually the bats that lead Jim White to the discovery of the caverns.

For those with kids, this can prove to be a challenging operation.  You cannot use any electronic devices, cannot stand and generally must be as quiet as possible.  The wait for the bats to start exiting the cave can be anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours.  There are even some horror stories about the bats not exiting the cave at all.  They are poor fliers and won’t exit if the conditions aren’t relatively calm or if you arrive toward the end of the season (sometime in October), you may be the lucky group that is waiting the day after the bats have begun migrating south for the winter.

After an hour of Q&A, our kids were starting to get more than a little restless and more than a little hungry.  I watched in fear as the clouds started gathering again and wondered if this would be one of those nights.  Amy and I kept exchanging glances, knowing that the clock was ticking.  As we were just about to reach the end of our rope and slink out of the amphitheater, the rustling wind started to emirate from the mouth of the cavern.  Seconds later the bats were flooding out and swirling up into the sky.  A smoky line began to extend far off into the darkening horizon as we watched in stunned silence.  I am not sure I can even do this event justice.  The sheer number of bats is overwhelming and it can take 2-3 hours for all the bats to exit for the night.  As the fog rolled over the highlands, we slowly gathered up our things and watched the bats trail past us on our walk back to the car.

Despite all the setbacks, the poor sleeping conditions and the horrendous weather, Carlsbad Caverns was a great destination for us.  I wouldn’t recommend spending much more than a day or two in the area, but even if you only saw the bat flight it would be an event you may never witness again.

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