Worth It

There are magnificent calcite structures in every area of the caverns

Stalactites are "tite" to the roof and stalagmites "mite" grow to the roof

Being 800 feet above the plain allows you to see "forever"

A flowering Cholla Cactus alongside a desert trail

Two days of boring landscapes are a small price to pay in order to visit the Carlsbad Caverns. The caverns, another of the “1000 Places to See Before You Die” (1000 places to add to your “bucket list”), are amazing. They stretch for 30 miles underground and descend to 850 feet below the surface. The “Big Room” has the interior volume of 14 Astrodomes and takes 1 ½ hours to circumnavigate on a one mile long paved trail. Chambers with the names of “King’s Palace”, Queen’s Palace” and “Papoose Room” each exhibit unique calcite structures of enormous size. At one point in the Big Room the ceiling is 80 feet above you and the “Bottomless Pit” extends 140 feet below your feet. We have been in caves with more spectacular structures but nothing of the scale of Carlsbad. Just entering the main caverns involves a 1 ½ mile underground walk from the surface to the 745 foot level. The cave is so large that photographing the features is almost impossible because flashes will simply not cover the vast distances.

Coming back from the caverns we cruised a very rough gravel track through desert canyons and over high bluffs, allowing panoramic views over the New Mexican plains to the horizon. A very wild country indeed!!!