OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Known also as the land of enchantment. New Mexico really shocked us. It wasn't at all what we expected. It was so much more and then some.

It is so beautiful. A fun state all around. We’d love to go back one day and spend more time exploring.

New Mexico is one of the Mountain States located in the southern portion of the Rocky Mountains. It shares the Four Corners Region of the western United States. It shares it’s borders with the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas. It also borders two states in Mexico.

In order for us to get to New Mexico we had to leave Big Bend National Park and drove north through Texas for many miles, for what seemed to go on forever. Texas feels more like a country than a state. It’s so freaking big!

I lost track of the number of oil / fuel refineries we passed by on our way out of the Lone Star State. You would think being so close to where they pull oil / fuel out of the ground that fuel prices would be lower. No way! That was not the case at all, the cost of fuel was higher than ever!

The Rio Grande River passes through New Mexico causing different temperatures in the east and west. the west and south are warmer while the north and eastern portions are cooler.

As we entered New Mexico (it took a few minutes to register that Texas had finally let us go) we came into a small town. We spied a city hall building with a train car on display, and an enormous pair of cowboy boots. I pulled into the parking lot and Amy jumped out all excited!

Amy climbed up the stairs on one end of the train car. I snapped her photo from the van. She still wasn’t ready to leave. She wanted a picture with the boot, I knew she did. She speed walked her way through the parking lot up to this boot that had a picture of a guy riding what appeared to be a lion. She seemed to be satisfied, temporarily anyways. We drove on until she saw the “Welcome to Carlsbad” sign and demanded I pull over again. It was a really cool sign and the back drop was amazing! The picture is at the top of this journal if you want to scroll on back up there to take another gander at it. I’ll wait for you in the next paragraph.

Carlsbad is known as the Pride of the Pecos. The Pecos were a well organized and prosperous Indian Tribe that were eventually forced out by the Spanish and Mexicans long ago. Carlsbad is famous for Carlsbad Caverns National Park but the city is also full of culture and has a wide array of art. Carlsbad gets about thirty-eight inches of rain each year. It does snow there as well with almost five inches of snowfall.

THE CAMPGROUND

We were extremely hungry when we arrived. We hadn’t gotten to experience Texas BBQ we had heard so much about so we decided to find and eat some New Mexico BBQ and see if it was any good. We found a little place and ordered up some food. It was great. With full stomachs we pushed on to the campground.

We stayed at the Carlsbad KOA Holiday Campground. It was very nice and the staff was super friendly. As I pulled the Aloha into the parking lot I saw a couple of green aliens in the front of the main office hanging out. One wore a “Welcome Earrings” sign. This was our very first alien encounter. The aliens were very friendly and eagerly waiting for me to get out of the van and come take a photo with them. It was an “Out of this world” kind of experience!

The KOA is located in the heart of South East New Mexico and not far from the entrance to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It is also close to a Living Desert Zoo, the Gardens State Park, Roswell’s International UFO Museum, and White Sands National Park. We found our campsite and were very satisfied with it. We hung out in our campsite for a while just chilling and resting up. A short while later we headed back out. We were only a couple hours away from seeing one of the most spectacular events ever!

CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK (The night flight of the bats)

The moment we entered the park we were swallowed up by mountains on both sides and soon enough on all sides. The sky was dark and gloomy and the rain threatened to start pouring down on us at any moment.

We were on our way to see the night flight of the bats program. The bats fly out of the entrance of the cavern into the air as high as 14,000 feet in the sky. This event takes place in late May through October of each year.

There are no reservations needed and there is no cost to attend this event (other than a park pass). We got there an hour early as we were told the seats in the amphitheater fill up fast. And they did, so good thing we listened and got there early for once!

Each evening during the summer, Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats emerge from the depths of Carlsbad Cavern in search of food.

You do need to check the flight times either by looking at the park website or at the ranger station. Times vary, and the bats came late for us, we had almost given up all hope. They were supposed to come out about a half hour after twilight. At least it was nice and cool outside. Amy and I were able to secure a good seat. There really isn’t a bad seat in the amphitheater (no matter what chitter-chatter you hear).

From the parking lot area you take a short hike down to the amphitheater. Then you secure you a spot and wait until sundown. In our scenario, you wait a little longer, be patient. There are a couple different types of birds flying around the front entrance of the cavern. They don’t really fly too far inside. You can tell them apart after awhile from the bats. The birds sort of glide with their wings while the bats flap their wings up and down rapidly and they move in circular motions. If you are an early riser (unlike Amy & I) you could come in the early morning and see the bats as they return to the cavern.

Individual bats my reach speeds of 25mph. The nursing mothers will come back and forth from / to the cavern to give their babies food. Another fun fact about bats? They don’t like heavy rains or inclement weather. It was very hard to take pictures and or video of the bats. One, it got very dark. Two, electronic devices are not allowed during the event nor is flash photography. Bat researchers have proven that light sources and loud noises effect them flying. I was able to get a short video of them without using a light source but of course it wasn’t the greatest. If you haven’t watched our video on our YouTube channel make sure you go there and check it out after reading this.

They started coming out a few at a time. Then they came in larger groups filling the sky. It was awesome. Some flew just above our heads. Don’t worry, they don’t fly too close to you. It was an exhilarating performance. Even and owl showed up. The owl flew to a perch on the rocks high above the cavern’s entrance. Amy and I watched the owl as it randomly took flight after the bats. Sometimes it snatched a bat up and flew back to its perch. Other times, the owl came up empty and returned. This was definitely a good place for the owl to stop and get a bite to eat!

750 FEET DOWN

After we returned to the campground from the bat flight we were tired. We got the camper ready for bed. We got ourselves ready for bed. Then the rain came. The lightning started soon after. Then suddenly, everything went quiet. Like the quiet before the storm. The booms started next. It sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone with bombs going off all around us. We turned off the lights, slid the door open and the window. Boom, boom, boom. At first we thought someone was shooting off fireworks. When we stepped outside we found out right away that was no fireworks, that was some sort of heat lightening. Boom, boom, boom. Boom, boom, boom. It was so mesmerizing. Shall never forget that storm.

The very next morning we were up bright and early for a change and heading back to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. 38 miles later we were there taking pictures at the entrance sign. We had a 9:30 AM self-guided tour of the caverns scheduled. Yes, even with a park pass you must schedule and pay to have a guided or self-guided tour if you want to go into the caverns.

Carlsbad Cavern is one of 119 limestone caves within the park. The park protects about one million cultural resource artifacts. The park preserves a portion of one of the most exposed Permian-age fossil reefs in the world, the Capiton Reef. The park also protects a few portions of the northern Chihuahuan Desert.

We arrived. We parked. We shopped the gift store. We waited in our designated tour area for our park ranger. He came, a young guy with long hair, very knowledgeable, and a great sense of humor. He led us downhill to the Natural Entrance Trail. The trail is very steep. Hiking shoes are strongly recommended. We lost 750 feet of elevation going down to the bottom (equivalent to a 75 story building). The trail to the entrance is 1.25 miles into the mouth of the cavern.

The cavern was huge! Photos and videos don’t do this cavern justice. We walked through all different kinds of areas inside continuously traveling downward on switchbacks taking in the views. I video taped going down at first but soon gave up, the lighting was very poor of course. I used the night mode on my iPhone and was able to get some incredible photos. Down, down, down. It was like looking at the Grand Canyon inside. Like I was Pinocchio inside the whale. Down, down, down. The temperature continued to drop the further down we walked. I wore a hoodie and Amy her jacket. By the time we reached the bottom we had taken them off. We had worked our body temperatures up and shredded the coats.

750 feet below. The bottom. The Big Room. We walked around unguided for another mile or so in a loop. We saw so many beautiful sites. I felt like I had landed on a distant planet and was exploring it for the first time (except without a space suit).

Also at the bottom are nice public bathrooms, a snack shop, a gift shop as well. We ate some snacks and drank our waters. Amy bought a postcard with bats on its front to mail to our grandson, Charlie. They have a mailbox down there and Amy dropped it inside. The mail service from 750 has been going on for years and years. Pretty cool, huh?

Then…

The Elevator…

750 floors…

We went inside, the doors closed…

I watched as the numbers jumped by 25 every couple seconds until we arrived at the top. Phew, we made it.

If you have never visited Carlsbad then please make sure to put it on your bucket list! I’m so glad Amy put it on our itinerary!

We had a look at the mountains as we drove slowly out of the park. Oh, they do have hikes in the park if you were curious at all. They were closed during the time we visited due to fires nearby.

So, don’t miss out on this great national park! Put it on your bucket list!