We reached the bottom of the down slope. We had travelled down almost 80 storeys and walked 1.25 miles of switchbacks. John said he had to poo 15 minutes prior, because he doesn’t like to plan his bowel movements, so Gen took him to the washroom while I helped the girls complete their junior ranger booklets. We reached the bottom of the down slope. We had travelled down almost 80 storeys and walked 1.25 miles of switchbacks. John said he had to poo 15 minutes prior, because he doesn’t like to plan his bowel movements, so Gen took him to the washroom while I helped the girls complete their junior ranger booklets.
The Big Room was a massive 15m high cavern with another 1.25 mile pathway through over 350,000 square feet of cavern. The mineral formations varied from typical stalagmites and stalactites to popcorn versions to big bulbous versions to elongated sheets. The secret is water. Water leaches minerals from the rocks above and flows downwards. If the water drips from the ceiling it gradually creates a stalactite. If it splashes when it hits the ground it will create a popcorn formation. If it runs along a crack, it gradually creates a drape or elongated sheets. Regardless, the results are spectacular especially when backlit with lights.
There were other caverns in the ceiling that led to other rooms. There was a bottomless pit that was really a 45m deep pit. There was another level below the one we walked along. All of this was created when water mixed with carbon dioxide in the air to form carbonic acid and that acidic water ate away the limestone to create these levels and caverns as the water level fell.
The kids were great for three quarters of the walk around the Big Room then John started melting down because he was hangry. Unfortunately, no food is allowed in the cavern. The girls were getting tired of walking. We took breaks and started walking a bit faster to get through it quicker. Eventually we made it back to the elevator and with a final look went up 750 feet to the gift shop.
We ate some lunch, and everyone was much happier. At Carlsbad they had a senior ranger program so Gen and I read through the information pamphlet to answer questions on bats and leaving no trace. We even interviewed a Ranger with the girls which was interesting. We found out that there was a Bat Flight presentation at dusk that we wanted to come back for. The kids finished the junior ranger books and we all got sworn in.
Lastly, we spent too long in the gift shop looking for souvenirs and gifts. The kids were done so we went back to the campsite. I made a butter daal (butter chicken minus chicken plus lentils) which went over well. We then raced back to the caves for the Bat Flight presentation. On the way, we had to stop to let a herd of big horn sheep, including some babies, pass across the road.
The Bat Flight presentation was good, but our children were not. They were over tired from the walk earlier and we probably shouldn’t have pushed them. John would not sit still and constantly moved from the front to the back of the amphitheatre. Eventually, I removed him to have a little quiet time. The girls were better. Aisling answered some questions about bats but the rules during the bat flight were stay seated and quiet; they struggled. At dusk thousands of bats started to fly out of the caverns. After the first couple of hundred it got a little bit old. The coolest thing was there was an owl or a hawk that kept diving down and grabbing bats, flying off and then coming back to do it again. We left after a while and the kids were forced to think of a consequence for their bad behaviour. The drive home featured everyone in timeouts.
I would highly recommend that everyone gets to Carlsbad Caverns. The experience was amazing and it was easily one of the top things we’ve seen on our trip.
Comments
Post a Comment