Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM; Roswell, NM

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is an area offering diverse opportunities for exploration.  The 9 mile scenic loop drive within the park to view the landscape and wildlife allows access to backcountry camping when open.  We had planned to drive the loop, but unfortunately the road was closed for repair due to recent weather damage.  Other activities available include night sky viewing events, a nightly bat flight viewing program, Ranger-guided cave tours, and self-guided cave tours.  We opted for the hour-and-a-half self-guided tour, where we viewed “The Big Room” after taking an elevator down 750 feet.  The Big Room can also be accessed by the Natural Entrance, which adds about an hour to your tour.  Once you’re down in the cavern, it’s amazing to realize that these caves were formed by sulfuric acid dissolving the limestone.  The rooms are huge, and the different types of formations are beautiful and fascinating.  Also worth noting is the fact that the air temperature in the cave remains a pretty consistent 56° Fahrenheit year round.  Taking photographs in the low-light conditions is very challenging, especially for a novice like me.  Here are a few that came out the best:

After leaving Carlsbad Caverns, we drove to Roswell, New Mexico, home of all things UFO and alien.  We just wanted to drive through the city to see what it was like and say we’d been there.  Here’s a sample of the alien activity we saw:

Once we’d satisfied our curiosity there, it was time to continue down the highway and backcountry dessert roads.

View the rest of the day's photos here.