December 20, 2022 – Carlsbad Caverns National Park
We drive to the park goes through hills/ cliffs and very arid desert landscape. We get to the park for our 10:30 entrance tickets slot.
You have the option of going down in the Caverns using lifts or following the Natural Entrance Trail , a 1.25 mile (2 km) trail , extremely steep in places. Depending on if you decide to hike up or down, you gain or lose about 750 feet (229 m)—equivalent to walking up or down a 75-story building. The hike takes about one hour (on average) to complete !
We opt for the trail and it is well worth it, as there is plenty to see even before you get to the main caves and the “Big Room”: a natural limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 feet (1,220 m) long, 625 feet (191 m) wide, and 255 feet (78 m) high at the highest point. It is the third-largest chamber in North America and the seventh-largest in the world.
The Caverns were found In 1898 by a teenager named Jim White. He explored the caverns with a homemade wire ladder and named many of the rooms, including the Big Room, New Mexico Room, Kings Palace, Queens Chamber, Papoose Room, and Green Lake Room.
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[click on the picture to open the gallery]
The visit lasted 2 1/2 hours altogether and was surprisingly interesting.
CARLSBAD
We then drove on to the town of Carlsbad, did some food shopping and bought a SIM card for Paul’s mobile!
We could not find reasonably priced accommodation so once again we rely on our trusted app I.overlander and head to the Pecos River Recreation Centre. There is a large car park and a sports/ leisure centre. It covers a wide area. We park there for the night.
December 21, 2022 – Carlsbad
It is cold this morning, 1 C and we head to the Leisure Centre which opens at 8 am. It is nice and warm inside and we can use the bathrooms! We decide to treat ourselves and get breakfast in town, not cheap though with a bill of $30 for pancakes, bacon, egg and coffee!!
We managed to book an AirBnb in Roswell but not until tomorrow night.
We come back to the Pecos Rec and have a walk up the river. There is a concrete path going quite a long way, following the river and we pass children playgrounds and large covered picnic areas. There is also an aquatic centre on the other side of the river. This place is really well set up for outdoor activities and well maintained. It is sunny and the temperature has improved somewhat so we make most of it and have a late lunch/ early dinner at one of the picnic tables.
By 4 pm it is getting cold as the sun is fading and we retreat to the Leisure Centre. It is quite busy inside with young families. We find a spot in a comfortable armchair and spend almost three hours there, reading, surfing the net ! The Centre is open until 8 pm and there are lots of activities for kids and adults. When we get back to the car, it is dark and cold so we have a light snack and get straight into the tent!
