Carlsbad Caverns

As summer began to wind down we realized there were a couple things we wanted to do but hadn't done yet.  One of those was a visit to Carlsbad Caverns.  We had heard from the locals that is was a cool thing to do and we had actually seen a National Geographic special that highlighted some of the neat formations that could be found there and only there.  The following is a photodocumentary of our visit there.

 There was a result of the wildfires that went through Arizona and southern New Mexico over the summer.  I thought these looked cool.

 The drive wasn't too bad, we stopped in Roswell on the way there and ate at a freaky McDonald's.  We slept at a hotel in Carlsbad, got up early and headed out to the Caverns.

 Heading down...

 The formations were so cool and the Caverns were so massive.

 Outrageous!  We also took the opportunity to try out our new camera and see how well it could do in low-light conditions...

 Cute kids!

 The formations in the distance are called "Frustrated Lovers".  People used to think they were touching and labeled them as some sort of kissing formation but turns out that they are actually separated by a very slim margin (according to the tour guide, a ranger slid a paper between them to prove his point)

 These look like some sort of pita chip to me...

 The Caverns are around 57 degrees year round, it felt quite chilly in there.  This picture reminds me of how cool is was in there for some reason.

 This is a cool formation that they call the "Witches Broom"...see it?

 It looks like it might have been claustrophobic in there but it actually wasn't.

 A number of the caverns were enormous, up to 300 feet high!

 For some reason this picture reminds me of Narnia...a strange statement on my part, I know.

 Some of the formations had signs to point out a specific name or shape.

 The handsome couple...

 As you can see, Harris was very impressed by the Caverns...

 This one was called the "Veiled Statue"

 See the kids way up there?

 It was like being on an alien planet.

 Welcome to the Hall of Giants...

 Aw, happy family...800 feet in the ground.

 HeeHeeHee...

This formation is the "Totem Pole"...Liv thought they looked like muffins

 This formation looked like a creepy dude to me...

 So cool!

 National Geographic did a big article on the Caverns in 1924 that really began to make them popular.  Having visited it I can see why.

 They had this cool lecture area that we stopped at for a photo opp.

 Mirror Lake was cool.  They hung the sign upside down so that you could look in the lake and see it right side up.

 I thought this looked like ice...it wasn't.

 Doesn't "Rock of Ages" sound grand?

As we said goodbye to The Caverns we stopped for one last photo.  We loved the experience and look forward to doing it again next year!