Carlsbad Smells Bad

This morning Livi had to say goodbye to her "Abba cookie." We picked up some breakfast burritos from Anita's diner and got on the road. The majority of today's drive was flat, dry grassland with small bushes and cacti and every so often a ghost town. There were an amazing number of abandoned and dilapidated homes along the way - doubtless a reflection of the economy and the harsh conditions. We were in a hurry to make it to the caverns before they closed so we pressed through the 6 hour drive with only a 6 minute stop at a rest point to change Livi's bum (lest it should burst). Catherine opted to stay in the car and change Livi on our cooler after seeing the sign "watch for rattlesnakes" as we turned off. Dan, however, ventured out in search of his prey but returned to the vehicle disappointed.

various cacti along the road to the caverns

Our goal was to make it to the Carlsbad caverns in time to take a tour. We were there with tickets in hand 15 minutes before closing time. The Carlsbad Caverns are located in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico. If you have seen the Planet Earth series put out by BBC, you might remember the shots of millions of bats swirling out of huge underground caves full of enormous stalactites and stalagmites. That's where we went today! Entering at the mouth of the "bat cave" (see first picture) to the complex network of "rooms" below , we hiked down 754 feet into the aptly named big room - after passing through a series of other rooms first.

If you are prone to claustrophobia you may still enjoy this "Natural Wonder in the First Order" - National Geographic, circa 1924. Although you occasionally need to duck to get through channels between the rooms, the rooms themselves are sprawling. The big room itself is the size of 14 football fields. In all we walked briskly for 2 hours, never visiting the same point twice. The ceiling often disappears into blackness hundreds of feet above. There are small lakes and pools and the rooms are decorated with the most spectacular calcium deposits. Massive pillars, stalagmites, stalactites, drapes - it looked like a ballroom decorated in crystal and pearls. Upon entering the caves, they ask you to keep your voices down to a whisper and the effect is haunting. Silent, darkened, ancient halls. Livi thankfully kept her voice to a quiet snore - except at the end when we had to explain to her that she had to whisper "Twinkle, twinkle" in the big tunnels.

notice Dan and Livi (in backpack) at lower left of picture...it still doesn't do it justice, but this place is massive!

A disappointment was that we were not able to witness the bat exodus as these migrated to Mexico two weeks ago for the winter. We enjoyed another homey meal at a local diner/buffet and ran around Wal-Mart with Livia - one of her favourite activities. We, once again, plan to spend the next little while plotting our course as we have no idea where we're going tomorrow. So goodnight.

PS - Carlsbad smells bad because it is a petroleum refining town. We are pleasantly surprised by our hotel - despite the reviews.