October 10, 2017
Organized creatures that we are, our travels aren’t quite as random as we’d like. We tend to plan our routes around certain “must-see” landmarks. On this trip, Carlsbad Caverns was one of the places of interest we really wanted to see. It certainly didn’t disappoint.
We stayed at the Carlsbad RV Park which was on the road to the Caverns, about 20 miles away. We settled in, grabbed a pizza and got an early start the next day.
The road to the Caverns is pretty forgettable, until you turn into the Park. It’s a beautiful drive over several miles to get to the main building where there is a gift shop, restaurant, museum and the entrance to the caverns. We were given the option of either walking in through the “natural entrance” or taking an elevator down the roughly 800 feet to the main room of the caverns. We elected to walk.
The natural entrance is a large, steep hole in the ground with a zigzag walkway that is easily traversed, however we were not expecting it would take us around an hour and a half to get to the bottom. It was tiring but well worth it. On the way down we passed several other hardy souls going back up. Definitely hardier than us!
Once at the bottom we walked out into the “Great Room”, a gigantic cavern that is the primary focus. There is a trail that winds around and through the great room, and there was a sign telling us that the entire circumference would take us about another hour and a half. We were a little pooped and considering the hour, we decided to take the elevator back up and return the next day to tour the Great Room.
The next day we took the elevator back down and explored the Great Room. Very impressive! Pictures really don’t do justice to the size of the cavern.
We spent a couple hours there then decided to go to Sitting Bull Falls for the afternoon. Another nice drive to this out of the way park. We were there during the dry season so the falls were less than usual but still pretty, falling about 80 feet into a small, clear pond. It’s tucked back in a corner of the small park which has picnic facilities and would be a great place to picnic or just relax.
The next day we left Carlsbad for Las Cruces, New Mexico, We were now really into the desert, crossing through a couple mountain passes and down into the flatter, cactus strewn plain that we have always read about. We spent 3 days in Las Cruces, sightseeing, visiting the Old Town, getting ready for our final week on the road before beginning our winter in Yuma.