And Down, Down We Go...Into the Depths - Carlsbad Caverns

You gotta really want to visit Carlsbad to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park   It is way out of the way.  So is Guadalupe Mountains National Park and fortunately the two are near each other.
All the photos below were shot with my iPhone using the Pro HDR app.  Too much hassle to use big camera, etc.  Really worked well.

Yesterday we drove north about 35 miles to see the famous Caverns.   I  wanted to get my Passport stamped and Yogananda had visited here back in early 20th century. The caverns didn't disappoint.

The geology is quite interesting. 

Running west rom SE New Mexico then south into NW Texas is this 250 million year old ridge of a dead undersea coral reef from Permian Geologic Period.

Ye olde' Permian Period Layers I think

The sea went away, the reef got covered up then the ridge lifted back up like so many other mountain ranges in the west.

The main difference here is this fold was composed of undersea materials whereas most other mountain ranges were other geologic materials.

One of the cool formations

Compression made the limestone from billions and billions of little shells and plants and life forms.  So, when you hike around these mountains or walk through the caves, you are looking at molecules which were once permeated with life force or life energy.

Not meaning to get all "woo woo" on you but it is a little different energy.  Not inanimate even tho it is, if you get my drift.

We drive north along the "shoreline" 

West of us are these high mountain ridges and peaks, many above 8,000 ft.  Gradually the elevation goes down and we get to the turnoff to the Caverns.

We drive through a long winding canyon then back up on the shelf to the Visitor center.  The wind is blowing fresh at 40 mph so we dart into the center.

Just like Yogananda viewed

There are two entrances into the cave.  Elevator descending 750 feet to main room or natrual entrance and hike down about 1.3 miles and 800 feet elevation.

Natural Entrance.

Because of the wind, we chose to take the elevator down, hike around the caves for 2 miles then walk back up to the entrance or exit for us.

Looking up to entrance as we climbed back out

Guided tours are available by reservation in advance so we elected to stroll through the "Big Room". There are 119 total known caves here.  Some 300 ft tall.

Map of area so we didn't get lost. hehe

Dim lights illuminate the path and shine on various formations.  There is an initiative in place now to replace all the current lighting with LED systems designed to preserve the look while significantly reducing power needs.

Chandelier

It took us 2 hours to tour the Big room and adjacent areas.  Then we headed back up the "down ramp".  Most people choose to enter this way which really has appeal.

We felt it was better to get the cardio workout of going up and save the wear and tear on out knees from the descent which is pretty steep in places.

We are glad we did.  You only need one easy day unless you really want to "spelunk" back in the tiny crevices with a guide.  We ate our sack lunch outside in sheltered area then headed back south.

Content to be back in daylight.

Did you Know?

Nearly 400,000 Brazilian (more commonly called Mexican) Free-tailed bats call Carlsbad Cavern home in the summer... and all they want to do each night is eat bugs... several tons of them!

They aren't there now.  Maybe a few but the real show is in the summer.  Too hot for us though.

Until next time......

Route 66

Departing Needles this morning we drove east to Kingman, Az, them turned left onto a section of the old US Route 66 highway. Remnants of the old highway still exist along sections as this one we traveled between Kingman and Seligman where we rejoined the interstate. Here are a few shots from my iPhone.

Old Sign just outside of Kingman

Balmy weather gave way to crisp cool air as we climb in elevation up to over 5,000 ft.

Old quonset hut greenhouse.  Hmm. What are they growing?

Along the highway are many older and campy places quite unique in character.

Hackberry General Store.  A real historical site

We found one place, Hackberry Store, which collects old gas pumps and cars and signs. We met the owner's son and grandson inside.

Entrance to Hackberry Store

Inside were all kinds of memorabilia.

Wow

We drove through the Hualapi reservation following the railroad line of the old Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe.

Old trucks abound

The Grand Canyon caverns is a private venture. The caverns were discovered back in 1921 and the land bought by a man named Peck.

This greated us at the entrance

Old man Peck thought he had discovered a mine with gold, silver and diamonds so he bought the land only to discover it wasn't.

And this one at the Gift shop.
No Dinasours down in caverns though.

So, he developed the place and them sold it to a other people. Who really commercialized it. They put in a 22 story elevator down to the entrance.
The cavern boasts the quietest motel room in the world.

Rated amongst the 10 best places to sleep in the world..right...
They do a nightly ghost tour in the caverns.

And Enough food storage that was put in place during the Cuban missile crisis to feed 2000 people for several weeks.

Somebody takes this stuff seriously to pack away all this water and MRE's

Apparently they have recently updated their inventory in light of recent world events and concerns.

More food storage.

And why is it called the Grand Canyon Caverns? Apparently they discovered the air I'm the caverns actuall comes from 40 miles away in the canyon. They did this by releasing red smoke bombs in the cavern. Takes 2 weeks for the red smoke to reach the canyon through the limestone. And there you have the tidbit of the day.

It was interesting. Now onto Winslow Arizona.

Location:Kingman,Az