Lost in the Land of Enchantment | Monday – Wednesday, November 11-13, 2024
After spending a cold and snowy weekend at Bandelier National Monument and elsewhere around the Pajarito Plateau we headed further south into New Mexico until we reached Carlsbad, which is located in the Permian Basin just east of the Guadalupe Mountains. It was quite a bit warmer here which was a pleasant change from the previous couple of days further north. After checking in to our hotel we still had plenty of daylight left, so we drove over to Carlsbad Caverns National Park so we could start getting acquainted with the park and maybe even find a place to catch the sunset. This turned out to be an excellent idea because as we entered the park we noticed a sign that said there was a Bat Flight program this evening at the Bat Flight Amphitheater. According to the park’s website the Bat Flight Program only takes places from Memorial Day weekend through October, so I didn’t think we would be able to go to one on this trip, but since it was still happening we were excited to check it out!
Welcome to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Shortly before sunset we headed over to the Bat Flight Amphitheater and waited for the program to begin. We found out that typically the program ends earlier in the year, but they keep it going as long as there are still bats leaving the cave each evening. We would be lucky as this would be one of the better bat flights that would occur at this time of the year with hundreds and maybe even over a thousand bats flying out of the cave this evening. Although this is nothing compared to the tens of thousands of bats that typically fly out of the cave during summer evenings, it was a nice unexpected surprise for us at this time of the year. As an added bonus, we got to watch a Great Horned Owl swoop down through the bats twice, and I think it caught at least one bat, maybe two. It was an amazing experience to witness, especially for Diane who loves owls.
We returned to Carlsbad Caverns on Tuesday morning with our Timed Entry tickets to enter the cavern when it opened at 8:30am, and were the first ones to hike down the Natural Entrance Trail for the day. Once we descended all the way into the cavern we took our time hiking around the Big Room Trail and then went on a Ranger-Guided tour through the King’s Palace. After the tour concluded we hiked through the Big Room again, but shortened the route with a shortcut the second time. Here are some photos from our time inside the Carlsbad Caverns.
Natural Entrance Trail Switchbacks
Hiking further down into the darkness…
Devil’s Spring
Underground Walkway
Cave Monsters
An old sketchy ladder into the National Geographic Pit.
Top of the Cross
Mirror Lake
Big Room Cavern
Twin Domes
Crystal Spring Dome
Rock of Ages
The King’s Palace
Green Lake
Veiled Statue
Back in the Big Room.
Doll’s Theater
After spending most of the day in the darkness underground we returned to the much brighter surface of the park and hiked a few short trails on our way out of the park.
Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail
I believe that this small opening into the caverns that is found along the Old Guano Trail was used for bat guano mining operations in the early 1900s.
Walnut Canyon Overlook
Rock Shelter Pool
Indian Rock Shelter
On Wednesday morning we went for a backcountry hike into the Carlsbad Caverns Wilderness of the Guadalupe Mountains. We were hoping to find some rock art along our route, but we came up empty handed this time. Of course, everything in the Chihuahuan Desert has sharp thorns and catclaws, so our legs got pretty scratched up through our pants from hiking off trail.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
After leaving Carlsbad Caverns National Park we needed to drive around the southern end of the Guadalupe Mountains to continue our loop back up through New Mexico, which would bring me into the state of Texas for the very first time. It also brought us into Guadalupe Mountains National Park for the first time, too. Although I would have loved to been able to hike to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, which is the highpoint of Texas, while we were there, we just didn’t have enough time for that today and were only able to go on a short hike along the Pinery Trail to the ruins of an old Butterfield Stage Station. We will have to plan to spend a little more time in this park on our next loop through southern New Mexico.
Welcome to Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
Pinery Trail
Hunter Peak
Butterfield Stage Station Ruins
The Pinery Ruins
As we drove around the southern end of the Guadalupes we had a nice view of El Capitan.
After leaving Guadalupe Mountains National Park we headed west towards El Paso, but veered off a little north to find a campsite near the Hueco Mountains so we could spend most of Thursday exploring Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site.
>> Carlsbad Caverns National Park Photo Gallery
>> Guadalupe Mountains National Park Photo Gallery
Fantastic cave photos! My photos in this cave are nowhere near as spectacular. Was this with your RX 100 VII?
Thank you! These photos were all taken with my Canon EOS RP. I figured the full-frame sensor would handle the high ISOs better than my compact camera.
I lived 35 miles from Carlsbad in my younger years. Trips to the Caverns were always a fun event. The thousands of bats coming out of the cave they allow the public to view is so awesome in the summertime if you ever get the chance. Your photos of the Caverns are beautiful!
We visited the Carlsbad Caverns about a year ago and they are probably the most beautiful we have visited so far. It’s hard to capture the detail & beauty of the formations but you took some impressive photos. We also hope to return to the area. Thanks for sharing.