To the Bat Cave.....

"The descent to Avernus is easy; the gate of Pluto stands open night and day; but to retrace one's steps and return to the upper air, that is the toil, that the difficulty" - Virgil

Nestled in the Guadalupe Mountains, the Carlsbad Caverns were truly one of the best parts of this trip thus far. Driving into the park, one is surrounded by cacti of various sorts. Before I descended into the cave, I listened to a lecture by the park ranger about how the caverns formed, which he purported was from sulfuric acid rather than from running water, which is how many other caves were formed.

After being briefed by a park ranger, I began to walk down into the natural entrance, which, incidentally, was the favorite place of about 100,000 bats. The descent was very steep, dark and wet, which is par for the course of caves. The rooms were HUGE, much bigger than other caves I have visited, and there were many cool formations. The ranger said that almost 95% of the formations were dead, but the dampness and constant dripping of water suggested otherwise. The stillness and silence inside was amazing-- it was as quiet as a cathedral.

The climb was long but relatively unpopulated, which I found interesting because it was over 100 degrees outside and the middle of the summer. I wandered around for about 3 hours taking in all of the different natural composition. I did manage to get a few pictures, but my camera batteries died halfway into the cave. I will post some pictures when I get some more batteries. :)

As many times as the rangers went through the rant of protecting and preserving the cave and the natural environment surrounding it, I found it fascinating that the walkways inside the cave were paved with asphalt. Um.. that was not very environmentally friendly to the cave was it?

On the way back to Roswell, I spotted some Krone hay balers outside of Artesia, New Mexico. I had seen the very characteristically shaped Krone hay bales for several days, but I had yet to spot an actual baler. I called Dad to report the sighting, and he said that he had just gotten off the phone with them! How funny! I should have stopped to say hello!

Today I am driving back to Albuquerque to begin Romanizing my brain. Should be fun.