Carlsbad Caverns

Another National Park that has been designated a National Heritage Site, and it is simply amazing! We have been in several caves, but this was hands down the most beautiful. Huge stalagmites and stalagmites , and curtains or drapes you could easily imagine hanging on a huge window, sometimes translucent enough to have the lights shine through. We took the guided King's Palace tour with a park ranger, and then the self guided Big Room tour, which was the size of 14 football fields! Hard to believe that this is not the largest cave, though it is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Discovered and developed by a single man, the stories of his solitary trips in with only a lantern were fascinating. Although most of the formations are stagnant, some are still growing, and we saw a perfect example with the giant Crystal dome, with its shiny wet surface, and water dripping on and down off. So neat! The cave also houses several species of bats, which you can observe flying out in a cloud at sunset. Unfortunately, they have mostly migrated at this time and very few remain. Guess we have to return in September sometime!

Sadly, bats in different caves have been infected with a terrible disease with a strange name, white nose syndrome, because of the white that appears on their moses when infected, and it is killing them by the thousands. You are screened to be sure you have not been in a cave where it has occurred so they can prevent the transmission. We had been, but only my camera had been there, so I was required to clean it before entering.
We adopted a couple of bats in the girls' names to help with research and prevention.

This was in the Queen's Chamber, named for the amazing drapes, which I just could not capture with the camera. 

We spent the entire day there exploring, descending over 750 feet, then through the two chambers, then a special climb to the top with a ranger, a walk to the natural opening, and returned home pooped, but totally awed! Another great adventure.

This shows where we were in just one part of the huge chamber.  Later on top, we saw the Liberty Dome from above ground.  Amazing!

Computer connection problems tonight, so posting via iPhone, and no photos. Hopefully can get it corrected tomorrow and post photos. Don't want to fall behind, as tomorrow we set out for our next destination in Texas. Again today I had to wonder if we should just explore New Mexico and hit Texas another time, but Clem is ready for something different. So onward we go!