Carlsbad Caverns is identified as a “subterranean marvel”
and that is an understatement. It
definitely warrants being recognized as one of twenty USA World Heritage Sites.
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| Left Hand Tunnel (professionally lit photo) It was dark when we toured |
Getting to the Visitor Center when it opened was worth the
effort -- I purchased the last ticket for the Left Hand Tunnel tour and it’s
only offered once a day.
Lit only by the 15 lanterns carried by each of us,
plus our ranger, we trekked 1/2 mile through an undeveloped section on unpaved
trails to see cave pools, ancient reef fossils, and unique formations.
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Survey #58 embedded into tunnel wall
  At one
point, we all blew out our candles and experienced total darkness. It was an
amazing moment--and my favorite one!
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Next, I toured the The Big Room--a self-guided tour (with audio)
that covered 1-1/4 miles. The lighting was done by theatre professionals – and
they did what they do WELL (as can be somewhat noted by my photos). I, and everyone else, kept taking photo
after photo. I was hopeful that a
few of my photos would capture some of the beauty of the formations. I was happy with these few.
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Chinese Theatre - one of my favorite
Column, stalactites and stalagmites |
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| So delicate |
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| Reminds me of jellyfish |
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| Great color and texture |
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Rock of Ages Column
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Rather than visit the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, I decided to check out Brantley Lake State Park for a campsite -- which is “first come, first serve.” I found a lovely site and hooked up 888. Put Mac’s hammock out and got him settled,
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Mac before I started to drive forward
I looked closer at the site and noted 888 would be more level if I pulled up a few feet – so I jumped into 888 and started driving forward – well Mac frantically started barking and jumped off his hammock (fortunately I had his leash hooked to the picnic table). Poor fellow thought I was leaving him….
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As I finished up these notes, the sun has set. There is a full moon with stars twinkling in a black sky – no other lights except inside RVs – I’ll sleep good tonight and won’t be getting up at 6 a.m. like this morning.
At one
point, we all blew out our candles and experienced total darkness. It was an
amazing moment--and my favorite one! 
Next, I toured the The Big Room--a self-guided tour (with audio)
that covered 1-1/4 miles. The lighting was done by theatre professionals – and
they did what they do WELL (as can be somewhat noted by my photos). I, and everyone else, kept taking photo
after photo. I was hopeful that a
few of my photos would capture some of the beauty of the formations. I was happy with these few.
