We headed back over the Sacramento Mountain range, through the Lincoln National Forest and Cloudcroft on our way to our next stop: Carlsbad. Once out of the forest and back to the Chihuahuan desert, the high winds were consistently high as we set up camp. The following morning we proceeded to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the southeast corner of New Mexico.
Theatre seating to watch the bats
The natural opening to the Carlsbad Caverns
Ready to enter the cave.
Down, down, we go!
Working our legs as we head into the cave.
Settlers first discovered the cavern in the 1800s. They began to mine the huge deposits of bat guano, which they sold as a natural fertilizer. In 1889, James White began investigating the cavern and brought it to the public’s attention. It wasn’t until 1923 that people believed it was truly an incredible natural wonder. Finally, in 1930, Congress designated the Carlsbad Caverns a National Park. Over 100 caves have been discovered in the complex, with new areas discovered as recently as 2013. Only a small percentage is open to the general public.
Duck your head!
While the natural entrance to the Kartchner Cave in Arizona is only a couple of meters wide, the entrance to Carlsbad looks like an amphitheater that is several hundred feet at its opening. When the bats are present, this opening is used by hundreds of thousands of bats every evening as they venture out to feed on insects in the surrounding area. The park service built theatre seating for visitors to watch the swarm of bats leave the cave like a fast-moving cloud as night falls.
Exploring the Big Room
Different formations in every direction.
Carlsbad Caverns is a sanctuary for at least seven types of bats, but mostly Mexican Free-tailed bats. About this time of year, they migrate to the Caverns from Brazil and Mexico. So far, only a small advanced party has arrived. The main body of bats are on their way, and are expected to arrive in Carlsbad around May 22nd. Unconfirmed reports state that Geraldo Rivera of Fox News, wearing a wing suit is flying with the swarm and providing real-time coverage as they move north. He has not yet committed to hanging upside down off the roof inside the cave. Once arrived, the bats begin the breeding cycle with young bats being born in June, followed by the youngsters’ first flight in July or August. They ‘hang-out’ in parts of the cave not visited by people. In October or November, the adults and young begin their journey back to Brazil where they will spend the winter months, before returning again next spring.
Pool of clear water.
The size of the cave is hard to capture.
Tunnels lead to unexplored areas.
The park service installed three elevators that carry guest to the Big Room cave, more than 800 feet below the surface. UNFORTUNATELY, all elevators are currently under repair. This doesn’t impact us since we decided to walk down and back up (4.5 miles, 850 feet down, 20% grade), entering via the natural entrance that the bats use at night. It does impact the ranger led tours. The many different types and times of tours have all been reduced to one. We missed it… it was sold out by the time we arrived. Instead we did the self-guided tour, which was excellent, and gave us lots of time and opportunity to take photographs. The cave is so massive that we really couldn’t capture it effectively with our cameras… but we had fun trying. It is absolutely the largest cave I’ve ever visited. It is stunning!
Drapery formations
A spectacular view in any direction.
The Big Room is large enough to accommodate a concession and rest area, as well as restrooms. With the elevators out-of-order, the only food available were ham sandwiches and water brought down on carts by rangers earlier in the day. They ran out of food. Some hungry people, as well as bats, came out of the cave that evening.
Walking back up, we can see the ‘end of the tunnel’ – the opening to the cave.
While we wanted to stay for the bat exit-flight at nightfall, the rangers encourage us not to stay – too few bats – we’d miss them in the blink of an eye. Instead of writing about the cave, I’ve included more photos instead. I highly recommend visiting this National Park.
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