Southbound Canucks: Carlsbad Caverns

Now this was exciting. Carlsbad Caverns is one of twenty World Heritage sites. Pretty special places!

We arrived at the Carlsbad Caverns at 9:30 AM, paid our admission, and proceeded down the path into the cavern. It took an hour just to get to the bottom of the entrance on the winding paved path with stainless steel handrails all the way. It left us wondering how the first adventurous cowboy got down here. He didn't have a paved path nor today's lighting, and the cave floor is strewn with boulders and so many path options, he must have really struggled. But he also must have been very very excited about his discovery. More on this later.

The path down opened into the Big Room. It is constantly 56 degrees down here so we are glad we came prepared with jackets. The 1 mile tour took about an hour to walk around the circuitous route back to the starting point. We were held in awe gaping at the stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites growing off the floor. Some were joined and created columns, floor to ceiling. In one part of the chamber the ceiling stretches up 250 feet. This place is really larger than you imagine and there are other sections we haven't seen yet or will have the time to see today. After touring the Big Room, it was time for lunch which meant going back to the surface...about 800 feet. Walk up? No way. We took the elevator up. We not dumb.

After lunch, we headed back down (on the elevator this time) for a 2:00 PM tour of the King's Palace. This is a tour of a large "room" lower than the Big Room, along with a guide, who explains the geology of the cave and it's history. At one point, he points out some stalactites that are broken off. He explains that years ago people would take "souvenirs" back with them, not appreciating the long term consequences. The park authority closed off most of the cavern to the general public except by supervised tours to preserve the splendor for everyone to enjoy today and the future.

Each of the formations were named by the discoverer of the caves, Jim White. In 1898, this 16 year old cowboy found the entrance after seeing smoke rising in the distance one evening. Upon closer inspection, he found that the smoke was really a cloud of bats leaving the cave to feed at night. He made a ladder of sticks wire and rope and descended into the unknown, telling nobody of his discovery until later. His only light was a home-made candle lantern and matches. He would later offer to show the cave to others with little success until one person took a series of photos between 1912 and 1915. As word spread, the cave became a National Monument in 1923. In the years between, the cave was operated as a mining venture for bat guano fertilizer and Jim White served as foreman.

Learn more about Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

It wasn't until 4 pm when we returned to the surface to see the sunshine again, leaving with great memories of a wonderful natural underground paradise.