From Pecos, TX it was a short drive up to Carlsbad, NM and the Carlsbad Caverns (the one with all the bats!) National Park. Somehow since we were headed to CAVES it never occurred to me that we would have to climb a mountain first. IF I had known that I would have lobbied to leave Lizzie at the bottom and just head up in the truck. Alas – hindsight is a wonderful thing! Up-up we went –
and then down –down into the cave.
This was a very impressive cave – we were underground about 4 hours and only saw the same area when areas would intersect.
The bats live in an entirely different area (phew) – but right on cue, at dusk they all exited the cave. We were very impressed as about 25,000 bats spiraled out of the mouth of the cave, but apparently it was a pretty light night. During the summer there are up to half a million bats that leave the cave over a span of a couple of hours. No cameras allowed for the bat flight – but trust me – it was pretty cool!
The trip down the mountain wasn’t too bad – probably because it was dark!!!
The next morning we left Lizzie at the campground and trekked back up the mountain to drive the Walnut Canyon Scenic Drive.
Not quite as lovely as a day (or at least the start of the day), but it was a great drive. This is all part of the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains – and I confess it gave me a whole new perspective on the word “desertâ€.
You can check out the whole set of Carlsbad-Walnut Canyon pictures here –
but first here’s a little puzzle – can you find the deer in this picture?
Next post – drive to El Paso and El Paso itself. Are you tired of desert and mountain shots yet?
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I found the deer in the picture!!! Right lower half of the picture. I am enjoying your life so much and to see the countryside of out west again is great. Your pictures are wonderful. Lara’s house is cute. I remember all those Waco houses when Jeff & Jennifer lived down there while he was at Baylor. Some were nice and others really needed work. Have a great day.
Carol
I found the deer. I’ll bet you only saw him because he moved – pretty well camouflaged.
I have always loved the desert. And I have very fond memories of Carlsbad Caverns many years ago. Your pictures are wonderful and make me want to visit that area again.
OK…how many deer? I think I can see about half a dozen or more. All the pictures were good as usual. The one with the “cat” in pajamas….looks like he might have been up on the roof playing with a red rubber ball. Really enjoy your blog. Love you both, Bill & Dolly