The drive to the visitors’ center from the highway is about 7-1/2 miles and there were several pullouts with informational signs along the way. It was a fun drive and we enjoyed the stops.
We checked in and found we could get tickets to the 11:30 am King’s Palace Tour which we hadn’t had any luck getting online so we added that to our day’s agenda.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located in the Chihuahuan Desert of the Guadalupe Mountains. The gigantic subterranean chambers have amazing cave formations and features. Over 1000 years ago, American Indians ventured into the caverns but left no records of entering the “dark zone” of the cave, but they did leave mysterious drawings near the natural entrance.
It wasn’t until the late 1800s that the cave was really “discovered.” A young cowboy, Jim White, spotted thousands of bats rising out of the natural entrance. He came back and explored the cave and was eager to reveal to others the natural wonders of this extraordinary place. Few people believed him. Finally, in 1915, photographer Ray V. Davis joined White on a cave trip and Davis took photographs which were displayed in the town of Carlsbad. The photos created quite the sensation and people finally clamored to see the marvelous cave. In 1923, the U.S. Department of the Interior sent an inspector to see if the cavern really was an outstanding natural scenic wonder. Following his report, Carlsbad Caverns was named a National Monument by Preside Coolidge. In 1930, Carlsbad Caverns became a national park. From 1938-1942 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began constructing a service road and water diversion ditch and many of the structures in the park. In 1995, it was designated a World Heritage Site and now included 46,766 acres and over 100 caves.
We started off with the Natural Entrance Route self-guided tour which is about 1.25 miles and rated as steep and strenuous. It took us from ground level to 750 feet below the surface! The first visitors into the caverns entered via guano buckets prior to 1925 when wooden stairs were built. The paved path we took was much better.
We marveled at the formations and enjoyed working our way deeper and deeper into the underground passing the “Bat Cave,” Devil’s Spring, Devil’s Den, Iceberg Rock, and Boneyard on our way to the Rest Area 755 feet below the surface.
Unfortunately, we are here too early in the year to see the evening flight of the Brazilian free-tailed bats who make this their summer home.
At 11:15, we met our tour group at the rest area and headed off for our 1-1/2 hour, 1mile tour of the “King’s Palace.” We went through the Green Lake Room, the King’s Palace at 829 feet below the surface, The Queen’s Chamber and the Papoose Room.
No cave tour can be complete unless the ranger turns the lights off so you can see how dark it really is 829 feet below the surface. Trust me, it is completely dark. We could not see our hands before our faces. She continued to tell the stories of Jim White and his explorations of the cave while we tried to imagine what it was like.
After the tour, we took the elevator back to the surface and went out to the RV for a late lunch before returning to the depths to take the 1.25 mile “Big Room” (The Big Room is 8.2 acres!) self-guided tour. It is so hard to explain how huge these rooms are and the pictures do not really do it justice!
We were thankful that we were underground most of the day today because the winds above ground were fierce! The outside temperature reached 57 F (in the caverns it was 56), but the winds were 35-55 mph gusting up to 85mph. We drove into Carlsbad so I could have internet to join my book club meeting tonight before heading back to the Chosa campground for the night. We have our nose facing the wind, but we needless to say, our little RV is still rocking!
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