Carlsbad Spelunking

Okay, so this next stop is of Stacey's selection and notice that I totally support her!!  Our whole reason to come to New Mexico, the ,"Land of Enchantment", was to go to Carlsbad Cavern National Park.  If you'r wondering what spelunking means it is a German word for: the hobby or practice of exploring caves.  That's exactly what Team Breitmann did!  Although Carlsbad Caverns are not the largest caverns in the world, that distinction goes to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, they are know for their diverse beauty and unique formations found only here.  It was nearly impossible to capture the beauty of these caverns on camera.  You gotta see them in person to get a feel for not only the beauty but the scale of the rooms inside.  Enjoy what pictures I took.

Mom, these caverns better be worth it because the drive from SW Texas into Southern New Mexico has yielded nothing but flat scrub land broken up only by the sight of oil drilling rigs! And you said the place Dad took us was the birth place of Satan!  

This a photo of a 1924 copy of a National Geographic Magazine detailing a National Geographic led expedition to map the Carlsbad Caverns.  It truly is a "natural wonder of the First Magnitude". In 1923, as a result of many unimaginable rumors of the beauty of the caverns,  the Department of the Interior sent Inspector Robert Holley to see for himself.  Originally a skeptic, Holley wrote in his final report back to Washington, D.C.; "I am wholly conscious of the feebleness of my efforts to convey in words the deep conflicting emotions, the feeling of fear and awe, and the desire for an inspired understanding of the Divine Creator's work which presents to the human eye such a complex aggregate of natural wonders!"  Amen to that Inspector Holley!  Team Breitmann agrees.

Me, Heidi & Hailey at the natural entrance to the caverns.  While Native Americans had know of it's existence, it wasn't until the 1800's that white settlers discovered them. They were drawn to them by viewing bats emerging from the ground at dusk.   

A little different perspective to give you an idea of the scale of the entrance. We descended down to over 750 feet below the surface.  It was quite a hike.  The total trek took us 2.5 hours.  Luckily for us,  in the 1930s an elevator shaft was install reaching to the furthest depths of the cave.  We took advantage of this upon our exit!  Without it, would have been another hour or so to climb back out.

I did mention bats, right?! Well, the cave is a sanctuary for hundreds upon thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats (also known as Brazilian free-tailed bats).  During the day they crowd together on the ceiling of the Bat Cave...no not the marvel comics kind...it is a passageway near the natural entrance of the cavern.  At nightfall, the bats leave the cave in gigantic swarms and return before the sun rises. They will eat half their body weight during the evening.  We had hoped to come back at night to witness this spectacle but, the rangers said that the bat colony had not yet returned from their winter grounds in Mexico.  They will return when the insects return and during the current drought it will be awhile until that happens.  Some fun bat facts:  The saying; "blind as a bat" is false.  Bats have excellent eyesight as well as having the ability to use echo-location to find their prey. Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly. Bat guano (e.g. bat poo) is an excellent fertilizer and was extensively mined and shipped to California for use in the citrus industry.  Mmmm....pass me another orange! The following are pictures that I took inside the caverns.   

The "Big Room" in the caverns is over 14 football fields in length!  Interesting that one section forms a cross.  How cool is that!

Upon exiting the cave, Hailey shows you how much there isn't to see on the topside!  You'd never guess the other world we had just journeyed into just below our feet...750 feet below!  When it rains up here it takes 8 months for that rain drop to travel down into the caverns.  We witnessed it "raining" drip by drip inside.  While up here it was 82 degrees and very little humidity, down under it was a constant 53 degrees with 90 percent humidity. Well, it was a nice visit but, no offense I would not want to live in Carlsbad.  What an amazing wonder that if you never stopped to explore you'd never know.  Hmm, isn't that just like life sometimes.  The cover on this book certainly does not indicate the beauty within!  It's off to the Great State of Arizona, where we plan to visit the Lowell Observatory and the town of Sedona, among other unknowns to us!  'Till the next ramblings!