You may have read the previous post about my trip up Guadalupe Peak, “Guadalupe Peak; the Highest Mountain in Texas,” December 15, 2024. My fellow trekkers and I stayed at the Whites City Inn which is conveniently located on the way to Guadalupe Mountains National Park as well as a short drive to Carlsbad Caverns.

While we were that close, there was no reason not to see the caverns as well. So the next day after our trip up the mountain, we drove the few miles to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It’s about 17 miles down the road from the motel. The road ends there and you just turn around and drive back to Whites City and the motel.

I had to make online reservations to reserve a space for us at 11:30 Monday morning, and then you check in for the tour. If I had not had my National Park pass, it would have cost us $45, but the pass just let us go right on in. What a deal!

We were told we could hike down the trail to the actual caverns which would take about an hour and a half, or we could ride the elevator down something like 700 feet to start the tour. Well. Just coming off the mountain with very weary legs, as well as the extra hour and a half to do it, we chose to ride the elevator down. It was a no-brainer at that point for us.

Down we went. Facilities are available down there, a gift shop, restrooms, a small eating place, as I recall. The path through the cave is about an hour-long circle, paved and smooth with stout handrails on either side. I seemed to feel a bit off-balance walking in the dark and trying to look at everything at the same time, even though it was not completely dark. Lights were strategically set up to show off the formations, but it was still dark on the path. I was not embarrassed to hold onto the rail just about the whole trip. Other people were doing the same thing. Not Ben, of course. He was at ease and I suspect also got tired of waiting on me just like he did on the mountain. But that’s okay. We all three made stops along the way to look at the stalactites and stalagmites in all their splendor.

Naturally, all those other-world formations are very seductive and you want to take a picture of them all! I finally had to make myself just look and admire, but here are some to share with you. But, of course, to really appreciate the awe and wonder of the cavern, you have to be there.

Just a quick science lesson, in case you have forgotten: stalactites hang from a cave’s ceiling, looking something like icicles, taking shape as mineral-rich water drips down and takes shape with pointed tips at the ends. Stalagmites grow upward from the cave’s floor, formed by the mineral deposit-loaded water dripping from the ceiling and are round or flat on their tops. A mnemonic to help remember the difference is that stalactite is spelled with a t for top and stalagmite is spelled with a g for ground.

You can see the railing I was talking about holding onto as I toured the cavern. As you walk through, specific formations are highlighted to be best appreciated, but you are still surrounded by darkness.

This one is interesting because if you look at it just right, you can make out a face. A character from Star Wars, perhaps?

I think this is one view inside what is called the Big Room. But it was so big, I suspect several of my pictures of are of this Big Room. Some formations were named and information was posted by several in explanation of their history or how they formed. I will have to admit I took few pictures of those signs; I tended to get caught up in just looking at the formations.Keep in mind the camera added light for the picture; much of the cavern was darker than it looks in the pictures.

The green you see is in the picture below is actually water collected in the cavern. No telling how long it has been there. I asked a park ranger if the cavern was still active and forming formations. He said it had been dormant for many years-sorry, I forgot how many years he actually said-because of lack of rain as the climate has heated up and water is the key. He also said it might take as long as thirty years for water to seep down and do its thing making those stalactites and stalagmites, but that there are a few areas where some water still manages to penetrate.

I think this is another view of the Big Room.

My fellow adventurers and me.

This last picture is historical as it is the ladder used some of the first explorers of the cavern. It goes down into a bottomless pit. Hard to believe they went down without a clue what they were getting into. I think this is one of the places where they had a sign with information about the event. I may have something about it wrong, but that will give you something to correct when you visit the cavern, ya’ know!

I know that many of you have already visited the caverns, but that might have been a while back. So perhaps it’s time for another look. As I mentioned earlier, you really have to be there to appreciate the caverns and the millennia it took to become spectacular enough to be named a World Heritage Site. Make your reservations and have a great trip.