I rose early (one of the benefits of sleeping in the truck!) and got right to it. I had to fit in both the Guadalupe Mountains AND Carlsbad Caverns in one day. Luckily they are only 30 miles apart. I wanted to climb Guadalupe Peak which is the highest point in Texas but i realized that is a whole day trip so i settled for a shorter but still rewarding hike.
These photos are at the parking lot where i slept.
A better picture of the sign when lit.
I took the Smith Spring Trail. It was only a couple miles and went right up out of the desert to a beautiful lush oasis with springs. Very beautiful and perfect for my tight schedule.
The Guadalupe Mountains are a chain that runs all the way into New Mexico. Carlbad Caverns actually is a part of them.
Pretty cool signs as i was leaving Texas.
Bummer! No New Mexico sign! I take those pics just to show when i entered another state, so i had to take a picture of my atlas for this marker.
Whites City is not too far over the border. It is essentially a tourist staging area for visitors to Carlsbad Caverns.
Aaaah! The famous Carlsbad Caverns. I was in Carlsbad, NM in the 80s but never made it here. The landscape is nothing special, but what was to come made it onto my list of "Best OH MY GOD" experiences!
There was a drought in these parts even for the desert. Someone set a fire and charred many acres. Added with a colder than usual winter, the rangers were unsure if some of the plant life would recover.
This ocotillo looked perfectly happy :)
The amphitheater where i watched hundreds of thousands of bats exit the cave in search of their nocturnal feast. It was truly exhilarating to see so many bats. I sat there for almost an hour in awe.
The natural entrance to the caverns. It is possible to take an elevator down. I chose to take the long way down and the elevator back up!
Slowly walking down to the entrance.
Looking in the entrance now. No still shots after this. My camera is not good at dark pics, but i did take video tape of the whole journey. Probably an hour of it.
If you want to see more you have to go to Youtube.
This is painting in the visitor's center. The elevator back up goes into it.
No comments:
Post a Comment