Carlsbad Caverns

 I felt like howling at the full moon in the morning...but I behaved myself. We were heading north on the Texas Mountain Road to Carlsbad Caverns and soon came to a Border Patrol checkpoint. I wagged my tail and looked happy to see the officer. He just wanted to know my name to say hello!!! But momma had to go into the back of the truck to find their passports. Too bad my parents don't have cute tails to wag!

We saw mountains the whole way to the caverns.

I was so happy to get out of the truck at lunch time. I was checking out the prickly pear cactus...and luckily didn't get too close.

In the afternoon when we arrived at Carlsbad Caverns, Momma and Dad went through the Big Room, the largest room in any cavern known today, and 750 feet below the surface. They said it was enormous...but there was no way they could capture it with their camera. So here are some pictures of different formations they saw. This is called Rock of Ages. Years ago, the Rangers would turn off the lights and the people would sing the hymn, Rock of Ages, in total darkness. Maybe they'll sing it for me one day.

This looks like a frozen waterfall. The long "folded" formations on the right are called draperies.

 This was the only bat they saw...and he has been dead since the 1970's! The other bats are hibernating in Mexico.

 The small round formations are called popcorn.

 Sometimes stalactites and stalagmites join and form a column. The skinny stalactites on the ceiling are hollow and are called soda straws.

They saw horsehair worms and cave crickets and learned how the cricket gives birth to the young worms! The cricket drinks water and ingests the worm eggs. When the eggs hatch inside the cricket, they produce a hormone that makes the cricket VERY thirsty. He goes back to drink the water which causes the worms, about 3-4 inches, to come out, killing the cricket. We watched it on You Tube...pretty disgusting, but that's cave life for ya!

 Can you find the witch's broom?

This is called the Chinese Theatre.

Notice the lighting, the walkway, the handrails....the next day Dad and Momma went on a guided tour that was in the Lower Cave, which is 75 feet below the Big Room, and things were much less civilized.

To reach the lower cave they had to go down a rope and then three separate ladders. The only light was on their helmets, and they followed red tape on the natural cave floor, which was very slippery. This is Momma going down....

These huge columns developed cracks.

This is one of the old ladders that brought people down back in the 1920's and 30's. The early photographers had to carry all their heavy equipment down...and back up! 

 Another adventure successfully completed!

That meant I could get out of the truck and go for a walk!!!