What the Walrus said . . .

Photos and Anecdotes from a vagabond!

Bats . . . hundreds of thousands of Bats!!

I am back!! I apologize for not sending out the blog update yesterday, but I was honestly having too much fun, way too late, and when I got back to the KOA site late in the day I simply went to bed!

Yesterday was very busy. It started at 6 AM when my alarm went off and I broke down and packed up the tent, then headed to Carlsbad Caverns National Monument, NM.

The previous day, the area around the Cavern had more than 5 inches of rain. A flash flood ran down Walnut Valley, which is also the location of the road up to the cavern. The road was buried in rock, mud, shrubs, trees and cactus plants, stranding over 100 visitors at the Visitor Center until late at night when the road was finally cleared. During my drive up the valley, the remnants of the flood could be seen thrown up the sides of the valley and in piles scraped off the road. I have heard that it is believed the flood crest was about twenty feet high . . . emphasizing that flash floods are not something to be scoffed at!!

I opted to go on the self-guided walking tour of the caverns. I also opted to walk in versus taking the elevator directly into the cavern and the Great Room.

This is the first sight you get of the cavern. Just a great big hole in the ground with Mud Swallows flying in and out of the shadowed overhang.
Looking down into the maw of the cavern, I was excited to see what the depths held!
And the walkway just continued down into the ground, deeper and deeper!
The light from above gets smaller and smaller as I continue down into the cavern.
As you can see, the walkway has leveled off and disappears into a crack in the dark wall ahead.
. . . and the sunlight quickly fades away!
The world below begins to appear, lighted by LED lights powered from the surface.
It is a strange world here, full of ominous shapes and flowing otherworldly designs of rock.
And just as I thought I was done with traveling down the journey continues. Ultimately, I will walk down the equivalent of seventy-six floors.
Down and more down!
The shapes of the walls of the cavern are amazing and ancient.
More down as the cavern begins to open and expose its secrets.
I love the stalactites that hang from the ceilings.
The original wooden stairs that were utilized by visitors through the 1950’s is shown here. Imagine having to climb down these stairs and then climb back up them at the end of the tour!
There are still remnants of the equipment used to mine guano left on the floor of the cavern.
Hanging down from the cave ceiling is this odd stalactite known as the “Lion’s Tail”.
I still love all the pointy things!! It is hard to imagine that humans have stolen thousands of them for keepsakes before the Park Service commenced protecting them.
This is an area of the cavern known as “Fairyland”.
Look . . . more pointy things hanging from the ceiling!! These ones are much, much bigger!
Yep . . . but these pointy things are special . . . they are about 20 feet long and look like a macabre chandelier.
“Mirror Lake”
More strange and bizarre shapes, this one in a free-standing tower.
This is just a corner of the “Great Room”. Carlsbad Cavern is not the deepest, nor is it the longest cavern in the United States, but it does have the largest single cavern . . . and it truly needs to be seen to be appreciated.

I spent three and a half hours in the cave. It was GLORIOUS . . . if you like caves! LOL I know the caverns are located in an out-of-the-way corner of New Mexico, but it is something that really needs to be on your bucket list. And trust me, the kids I saw in the caverns were having a blast . . . just NO PETS ALLOWED!!

I really wanted to see the bats fly from the cave. However, I finished my tour at close to noon, and sunset was not going to be until around 8 PM. I was prepared for this eventuality though . . . and off to Guadalupe Mountains National Park I went . . . a short 45 minutes’ drive into Texas!

These are the Guadalupe Mountains. They are very green at the moment due to the large amounts of rain they have been receiving.
So . . . up the trail I went . . . and my camera battery died!! LOL I, however, did not stop and continued on to knock out about five miles. The mountains are rugged, the terrain challenging, and the scenery so wonderfully beautiful. I need to come back here and head further up this valley and see what it is hiding. OH . . . and there are bears here, and I love bears!!
Actually, it would take a few days to hike up to, but the top of this peak looks like a venture I would love to do!! It is only up at around 7,500 feet!!

After my hike I returned to Carlsbad Caverns and waited for about one and half hours for the Bat Presentation to start. I sat next to the wall of the amphitheater that gave me a perfect view down into the pit. The cavern had been closed and emptied for at least two hours, and the little Brazilian Free-Tailed bats have been waking up, moving about and getting hungry. At almost 7:15 PM, the time the Ranger felt they would appear, the first bats started corkscrewing their way up through the cavern opening and into the sky. Within five minutes, thousands of bats were leaving the cavern . . . it was stunning!! I wish I could have videoed the flight for you, or snuck in a camera, but the bats are skittish, and if they get scared, they will turn around and dive back into the cave and go back into hiding . . . so the hundred or so visitors, like me, sat in stunned awe as almost 400,000 bats flew into the night sky, munching the hell out of a whole mountain of insects!! It was something I had always heard about and had always wanted to see . . . and I am so incredibly glad that I did!

I was headed back into the Guadalupe Mountains this morning, but it was raining. I saw this when I climbed out of my tent.

The rain moved away from the KOA site shortly after I snapped this picture . . . and over the mountains I wanted to go hike into. The roads on the way to the Park were full of standing water with large lakes on either side . . . not a good sign. As I headed into the valley to go back to the McKittrick Canyon Trail, I saw water running down the riverbed where yesterday there was none . . . and that is not a good sign. As I stood in the parking area at the trailhead, looking up the valley, watching the rain fall, I made a difficult decision and walked away. Being in a narrow valley in monsoon season with flash floods in the area . . . I just did not accept the risk. I can ALWAYS return later and find the bears!!

Tomorrow, I get to go see one of the last National Parks I had planned to see on this adventure . . . Big Bend National Park, Texas. I heard today that there are baby bears in the park, apparently LOTS of baby bears!! Yes, I have my bear spray and my air horn . . . and new memory cards and fresh camera batteries, so I am ready!! Keep your fingers crossed and I bring you back wonderful baby bear photos!!

Have a wonderful night!!

Matt

majik756

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