I felt like a little kid at Christmas, I was so excited to go into Carlsbad Caverns. I woke up at 5:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. I showered, packed, read more about the caverns, washed bugs off the bike, read more about the caverns, and stalled until it was finally time to check out and drive up to the caverns.
I didn't have the time to hike down through the natural entrance. It's over a mile long and takes nearly an hour and a half to hike in. Instead, I just took the elevator down and took my time walking around the Big Cavern. I was in the very first group of the day to go down the elevators.
It's hard to describe how great it was to wander around this beautiful cave. I've never been here before, but I've looked at allot of pictures and read several other travel logs, and still I was completely un-prepared for how BIG it was.
Exiting the elevators I saw a very big room with some trinkets and water for sale. I thought to myself that they must have hollowed out this big space just for the"landing zone" and bathrooms and I figured the rest of the cave would be similar to other caves I've been in.
I looked around for a minute, then followed the signs toward the "Big Room". As I rounded the corner, I suddenly understood how silly I was for thinking they'd created that first room. The big room stretched out and away from me for hundreds of feet and the roof reached above me 30 or 40 feet above. The room was HUGE.
There was lighting spread here and there through the room. They'd positioned all of the lights so they were always blocked and you could only see the light reflected off of the walls or rock formations. It left the room in a constant state of twilight. Never really dark and never really bright, but light enough to safely move around and see the rock formations.
I came off the elevator with 8 other people and they quickly left me behind because I was gawking at everything.and taking pictures. Once the others walked off it became very quiet. All I could hear was dripping water all around me and occasionally the hum of a transformer for the lights. It was very quiet and I didn't see another soul for over an hour.
Before coming, I'd read several comments from people saying that it was cold in the caves and they recommended wearing a light jacket. So I did. And I sweated the whole time. I really wish I'd left my jacket on the bike. Especially near the end, you climb a small hill to get a beautiful view over a large section of the room and I had to take the jacket off for a while to cool down.
After nearly 2 hours I made it back to the elevators. I really wish I had the time to just turn around and do the whole thing backwards. I'm sure it would all look different going the other way. But I didn't have the time. Reluctantly I got back on the elevator for the 1 minute ride back to the surface.
I drank some water, finished off my mini donuts, and climbed on the bike. I had a little over 300 miles to go today and it was nearly 11:00. I stopped for pictures as I crossed into Texas, then stopped for gas and lunch in Van Horn Texas.
After Van Horn I was on Interstate 10, but I only stayed on I-10 for about 30 miles. When I planned this ride, I'd spotted a couple of roads that looked really good for riding. I was worried this morning that it would be so hot that I'd just want to get the ride over. But cloud cover has kept the temperatures down and I have allot of time to kill. So I turned south on highway 118 toward Ft Davis.
Highway 118 was as empty as Carlsbad Cavern was. There were no cars at all. I stopped for a few minutes to take a panoramic picture and didn't see a car in the 5 minutes I was stopped.
The road headed towards a few big hills (mountains in Texas) and climbed a thousand foot. The temperature dropped down to 72 degrees and felt wonderful. The road wound through the hills and trees. There weren't any hairpin turns, just nice sweeping turns through the hills. I was really glad I decided to ride the extra 50 miles down that detour.
Once I got back to I-10 I turned toward Ft Stockton cruised at 80 miles per hour all the way in.
John arrived 90 minutes later. Where I'd had one great experience after another all day, John had 1 tough ride. He pulled off the road to take a picture at the Texas border and got stuck in some soft sand. Digging the bike out left him hot and tired.
Looking for a place for dinner was pretty slim pickings. Among the 5 steak houses we spotted a little mexican cafe which was pretty good.
Tomorrow we'll head for Kerville and the Texas Hill country.
The Visitor center had the great 3d map of the cave
3d Model showing the visitor center and elevator
Entry way to the Big Room
My first picture using iPhone and the slow shutter app
Elevated view of the Big Room. Those rock formations behind me a couple hundred feet away
Visitor center sign
Welcome to Texas where even small roads are 75 mph
Highway 118
Highway 118
Texas highway 118 in USA
360 degree panorama of Carlsbad Caverns. I didn't shoot this, but it is beautiful.
Carsbad Caverns 3 in Carlsbad Caverns. New Mexico
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