Holiday Inn Carlsbad

... and headed to the caverns in the morning. These caverns are incomprehensible in size! The pathway drops down 850ft beneath the surface, is about three miles long, leading you through tunnels, corridors and gigantic chambers filled with all sort of different formations (even one that looked like a boob). The big room was equivalent to 6 football fields. At dusk and dawn you can watch the 40,000 bats swirl out or in to the cave opening.<br><br>Next stop El Paso, Texas.

... please, yogurt. Springhill Suites scores again. <br><br>Things we did this morning in Austin: <br> - Explored the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Austinites are very proud of their parks, and with good reason. We hit this local fave for a short hike with our leftover pizza from last night to have for a picnic. Although, ironically, there was no Barton Creek, we did enjoy our little 2.5 mile trek. Highlights were cacti in the middle ...

... and it is beautiful. The second tour was into the "Lower Cave" and included a decent via knotted rope down 30+ feet, then down ladders till we reached a depth of nearly 1000 feet - almost 150 feet deeper than the main cavern. It was wet, slippery and we wore gloves to protect the formations and helmets with headlights to see our way. Oh, and knee pads, since the tour included crawling like reptiles through a ...

... and decided on a motel stay in town instead. Hot showers, a bed, and clean laundry gave us a much-needed boost. Re-focusing on our primary aim (enjoyment vs. drudgery), was also helpful. It's all too easy to get caught up in the rigidity of a pre-planned route and budget. With that in mind, we departed for El Paso the next day, drove on through when we didn't feel like staying and continued on to Las Cruces.

... in this stark land. It even questions the cultural practices and linguistic preferences of the locals, because although they are Americans, they just don't seem to fit a mold that you understand. They are citizens of uncharted territory in your mind. This might explain why you feel a little intimidated and out of place when pulling into the Chevron station just outside of Carlsbad, NM... Welcome to the desert.

When I was planning my "business" trip to New Mexico, I got the okay from my manager to spend an extra day in New Mexico since it did not increase the airfare. Of course lodging and other expenses for the extra day are paid by me. I definitely wanted to spend my free day going to Carlsbad Cavern to explore the cave systems. After spending the morning looking up to the heavens, I am in route to Middle Earth. Along the way, I ...

... caverns are the biggest in the western hemisphere. The "Big Room" alone is 8.2 acres! The temperature underground is an almost constant 56'F and gave us a welcome break from the heat above ground. Not so welcome were the hundreds of bats that live inside the cave's entrance. The caverns have been nicely lit and the trails through them done sympathetically. All in all we were very impressed, the caverns ...

... messes up bat sonar. Worn out from a long day, we headed toward Carlsbad to find dinner and a place to sleep. We drove around to find a restaurant where the locals go. Turns out that they all go to Chili's. We got there at 9:30 p.m. and there was a half-hour wait. Luckily, we got seats at the bar and we were able to have a fairly quick meal, interrupted a number of times by locals offering us shots of Patron, which we politely declined.

... around the main paths and direct people to the exit. Once they are sure everyone has left they close all the lights. There are stories where once they have shut all the lights that they hear screams coming from the caverns. Someone in the caverns who has not listened to the instructions and have strayed from the paths, and the final Ranger sweep missed them. If you are ever in south east New Mexico make sure you make the detour and stop in and ...

... Next we strolled through the downtown plaza and did some shopping from the local sellers. When we were finished purchasing souveniers, we drove by the state's capitol building and took a few pictures. We were not impressed! We then headed back to Albuquerque for a relaxing night at Hotel del LaGrone. Thanks again, Bob for letting us stay! Tomorrow we're off to Flagstaff, AZ! ~Cathy