Carlsbad Caverns NP

                                                             

Beauty and Wonder; Above and Below

High ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus, and desert wildlife—treasures above the ground in the Chihuahuan Desert. Hidden beneath the surface are more than 119 caves—formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone leaving behind caverns of all sizes.

2 Oct 2014
We decided to take the long way into the cave via the Natural Entrance. This adds a 1.3 mile walk into the cave to get to the Great room. You see so much more going this way and it was well worth the extra walking. Once to the Great room another 1.2 mile trails awaits you or you can cut this down by taking a few shortcuts. We decided to do the entire loop. What this cave lacks in color it more than makes up for in the amazing amount of formations to see.We were not done after all this walking as we wanted to see the bat flight later in the evening. We took the elevator out and went to see the bat flight and was not disappointed 400,000 bats flying out of the cave to feed was just amazing. Sorry no pictures as it not allowed anymore to have any electronics on during the flight. We really enjoyed this Gem of the Park service.

NPS website

Our 46th NPS Unit and 7th National Park