Carlsbad Caverns

Gordon was all excited to see Carlsbad Caverns. He can vaguely remember coming here as a child. We had decided that we should take the elevator down and up so we would be able to enjoy the walk through the caverns rather than proving how strong we are by hiking down the steep 1.5 mile path into the cave, and then back up the same even steeper path.

But horrors! The elevator was busted! We had to walk down the steep path. We tried to make it all the way, but did not make it very far. But we did get far enough to see some stalactites, which made Gordon a happy camper.

Heather always admires Gordon's gift for revisionist history. First, it was quite a little hike from the visitor's center to the cavern mouth. We started down the path into the cavern, so poorly lit it was impossible to see the walkway at times, and unsure how far was going to be the point of no return. We were SURE we were practically to the bottom where we could start enjoying the wonders of the cavern. Then we came upon a gentleman in a plaid shirt, camera hanging from his neck, taking a breather on his way up. Heather had the bad sense to ask him how much further it was. "Oh, quite a ways. You're about 1/4-1/3 of the way down. And it gets a lot steeper." WHAT?!? Well, Heather is glad Gordon is happy. The MOUTH of the cavern is truly awesome, and we are glad we got to see it.Read more