Carlsbad Caverns

I don’t have a single photograph from one of our best experiences so far – Carlsbad Caverns in Southeastern N.M.  Carlsbad Caverns are simply AMAZING limestone caves, carved from a fossilized Permian era limestone reef by naturally occurring sulfuric acid.  If you have never been inside a limestone cave decorated with cave formations (speleoliths) then I can hardly describe what it is like.  First of all, caves are cold and dark, even when the temps outdoors are over 100 degrees which they are this time of year in New Mexico, the inside of the cave is always in the low 60s.  Second, the limestone formations, which are formed as water containing dissolved minerals drips into the caves and the minerals come out of solution, are simply beautiful, strange, and wonderful.  Some hang from the ceiling, some grow up from the cave floor, some look like icicles, others like popcorn, others like a fairy castle, others like explicit parts of human anatomy, I could go on and on.   In the caves I visited in the former Yugoslavia when I was a child, the formations were colorful, orange, yellow, red, and white.  In Carlsbad Caverns, they are mostly just white and gray, but beautiful and awe inspiring nonetheless.

Caves are also scary.  Seriously, it is not normal to walk down deeper and deeper under the earth into a cave, it feels creepy and thrilling and even a bit demented.   Everywhere inside there are huge piles of rubble from bits of cave roof or formations that have collapsed over time.  At any moment, of of these “bits” (meaning thousands of pounds of rock) that are still clinging on over your head, could decide to give in to gravity.  That would be a seriously bad day.  But caves are also beautiful and magical, and somehow you feel a better, braver person once you’ve been down and have safely emerged again into the sunlight.

After our time “down below” we emerged from the elevator which hurtles at high speed up 800 feet from the bottom of the cave into the bookstore (a bit of a shock to the system).  We sat outside the Visitors’ Center in the late afternoon sun and the children finished up their Junior Ranger booklets and got sworn in just before the The Visitors’ Center closed at 5:00.  We sat there munching trail mix (I hadn’t thought ahead to bring anything for dinner) and contemplated what to do with 3 hours, as we had decided to stay and wait to see the bats.  We struck up conversation with a young tatooed vegan couple traveling across country on bicycles.  It turned out that they were from Pensacola of all places and had ridden their bikes from there.  The boy had attended Milton High School.  Talk about a small world!  It was humbling to learn that they had been on the road for roughly the same time-period we had.  They didn’t have a camping book for the area so I gave them my AAA Southwestern States Camping book thinking I would easily acquire another (this was 3 weeks ago and we are still without).  I wish now we had their contact information so we could find out whether they made it to San Francisco.

We considered driving out of the park and finding dinner but the “Velvet Garter Restaurant and Saloon” in town didn’t sound worth driving 30 minutes for, and anyway, we had trail mix, so we decided to try the nature drive recommended by the Ranger at the Visitors’ Center.  By the time we got there, it was 6:00 and the sign said the drive closed at 5:30.  However, the gate was still open and the Ranger had said it might be left open for people waiting around to see the bats so we risked it.  The drive was an 18 mile loop around a canyon with numbered stops along the way.  By stop number 4 we noticed a Ranger jeep trailing us and sheepishly, we pulled over so she could pull up along side of us.  Ranger Jan was not amused.  ”You shouldn’t be down here” she said before we could stammer out our excuses.  ”But the other Ranger said it might be left open . . . ”  ”No, it closed at 5:30″ she cut us off – clearly not a fan of park visitors who don’t obey posted signs.  ”Sorry” we mewed meekly.  There was no way to turn around on this steep narrow dirt road so we crawled the next 16 miles at 15 mph with Ranger Jan on our tail watching our every move.  Thankfully, she didn’t issue us a ticket on the spot.

As the sun began to set we made our way down to the amphitheater to await the bats.  The “nice friendly” ranger from the Visitors’ Center was there to talk about bats and Ranger Jan was there too packing her side arm and wearing her sunglasses although it was already fairly dark, ready and willing to issue a ticket to anyone using a laptop, cell phone, or camera in the presence of the bats (evidently bats don’t like the hum of electronics and camera flash bulbs throw them completely off their game).  Already on her bad side, we were on our best behavior throughout the program.  Bats are the only mammals who can fly and are very interesting creatures yet surprisingly little is known about them.  There are about 1000 species of bat worldwide.  They live on every continent except Antarctica.   The largest species, the Giant Flying Fox has a 5 ft wingspan!  Only 3 species drink blood, the rest eat insects, nectar, or fruit.  In short, bats are interesting.

Waiting for bats is a risky business – some nights they show, others they don’t – it is hard to say why or when they will decide to fly.  We were all tired, hungry and worried about our dog who was waiting for his dinner and evening walk in the trailer an hour away at the KOA, so we started to feel a bit antsy.  And then, there was the scratchy sound of the speakers, the bats had tripped the wire that let us know they were on their way.  First just a handful of bats fluttered out, then suddenly there were hundreds, and then thousands.  As they left the cave the bats (these are Mexican Free-Tailed Bats), fly in a tight spiral formation up and away from the cave.  This flight formation is believed to be a defense against predators as many predatory birds consider bats a tasty snack.  An owl had recently built his nest right at the cave entrance enjoying a nightly “all-you-can-eat buffet”.  We watched and watched in awed silence, just mesmerized by the sheer number and beauty of the flying spiral of bats.  After the first few minutes, many of the spectators left, hoping no doubt to get out of the park before it was completely dark.  We couldn’t tear ourselves away and as the amphitheater emptied, we crept closer to the bats until we were sitting at the bottom of the amphitheater with our necks craning over the wall nearest to them.  ”You can’t sit down here, the aisle has to be kept clear” came a voice behind us.  Shit!  We had forgotten about Ranger Jan and were in trouble a second time.  Finally, it got too dark to make out individual bats so reluctantly, we slunk away feeling Ranger Jan’s malevolent stare boring into our backs as we retreated.  Careful to obey all posted signs and speed limits until we were well outside of the park boundary, we set off home to our awaiting dog and our cozy home on wheels.