The Big Trip: Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad Caverns always struck me as a stereotypical family trip. It's in the middle of fucking nowhere. It's in New Mexico, but it's closer to El Paso than Albuquerque in distance and geography. I can imagine the kids fighting while the family's driving across the desert, the AC barely keeping the temperature below 80.

All the towns around boom and bust with the oil and gas business, but the latest boom didn't seem to have caught up yet. There were lots of trailers in the brush and it looked like ground zero for meth labs.

We pulled into town late, so we missed the bats flying out of he cave. But, we did eat at Chili's, the nicest restaurant in town. While we were there, we had quite the in-depth conversation with the HB about steroids and why they are harmful and make the users cheaters.

A few years ago we had gone to the Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park. The rooms were pretty big and the marble rock had a stream running through it which led to some stunning colors. Geologically, the Carlsbad caves are very different. This meant no great colors, but the rooms were HUGE--some 200 ft tall. This picture won't do it justice, but will give you an idea. By the way, these two formations don't quite touch. A bit of a frustrated kiss.



Besides missing the bats, there were other trails that we didn't have a chance to hike, so I would definitely go back next time we're in ABQ. The Days Inn in town was relatively new, quiet (despite all of the oil workers drinking beer in the parking lot) and had a warm pool.