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October 15
We left this morning for Carlsbad. We had a bit of a lazy start, and were immediately faced with a decision - longer, flatter, highway route….or Hwy 82 up through the mountains. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures on the drive, but it was very scenic. Most of the drive was along the mountainsides, so steep drop-offs on one side only. We climbed 4000' in less than 20 miles. There were a number of cute little villages, but also some deserted ghost towns. We reached the town of Cloudcroft before 11:00, and the line-up at the BBQ place was over 30 people long….we kept going. After a picnic lunch, we arrived in Carlsbad around 2:00, then proceeded to the RV park at the road entrance to the caverns around 2:30.
By the time we arrived at the caverns, it was too late to enter them, as they didn't allow human activity before the "bat flight". What a sight! We convened at the amphitheatre at the mouth of the cave, where the cave was maybe 50' across. The ranger enlightened us on many facts and myths about bats (they're not blind, they won't get stuck in your hair, and they don't suck blood), and while she was talking, the first bats left the cave. She stopped immediately, and we watched for at least 20 minutes as wave after wave of bats left the cave…perhaps as many as a million bats. They leave en masse at sunset every night between May and late October, feed on moths and insects all night, and return in small groups as the sun rises.
October 16
We drove 60 km from Carlsbad, into Texas, to Guadalupe National Park. It was very hot, close to 30 degrees, but fortunately quite windy, which helped to keep us cooler. We went on a very nice hike to Devil's Hall. The first 1.5 kms was a somewhat traditional trail, with a moderate elevation change. About half way up the route, the trail began following the "wash", which is where the "river" would run in the event of rain. This was a really neat section of trail, as we needed to pick our way around and over quite large boulders. Not dangerous, but involved a lot of choices….some of the boulders were 3 metres across. Shortly before we reached the Devil's Hall, we came to the Hikers Staircase, a section of path with 5cm stratas of rock stacked on top of each other for about five metres. The Devil's Hall was very much like a short slot canyon, again with the sedimentary rock and with tons of vegetation. Nice place for a picnic before heading back down.
October 17
We packed up and took the trailer with us into Carlsbad Caverns. There was an elevator down to the very aptly named Big Room, but we took the Natural Entrance, which involved countless switchbacks taking us 750' underground. This hike was amazing. There were several large "rooms" on the way down, interspersed with long "hallways". When we reached the Big Room, we were able to stop for a light lunch and bathroom break before continuing on. The Big Room was the size of 14 football fields. There were so many different "formations" that it seemed like a new one every few steps. Some of the highlights including the overlook of the Lower Room and the Bottomless Pit, as well as countless stalagtites, stalagmites, columns, "icicles", small pools and "castles". It was unbelievable.
Leaving Carlsbad we headed south to Fort Davis. The directions for the State Park advised us to "park on the side of the road and walk to your destination". We didn't do that J, we stayed at the Fort Davis Motel and RV Park.
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