By: Kevin
While on assignment in western Texas, we opted to take a few days and travel to Carlsbad, NM. With RV in tow we headed across the oil fields of TX and across the border. The next day we went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The hike down into the caverns was steep, but well worth what awaited us underground. I remember that the kids, who were told where we were going ahead of time, exclaiming that they thought we would walk down, look around, and come out. They did not expect the expanse of the caverns that took us about 5 hours to fully explore. If you are in the area, I would definitely recommend stopping and exploring the caverns. My favorite picture is of the entrance to the bathroom within the cave. Not because it is a stellar photo, but because if one thinks about it, we were about 1,600 ft below ground. So, when you flush, does the water go up or down? And no matter which answer is correct, how did they engineer it to do so?
The walk back out was a challenge. In 1.5 miles we came back up 1,600 ft of elevation. Add to this that Heather was 22 weeks pregnant, so she tired more easily than normal. I led our tribe back out of the caverns, and at one point I looked back to find Heather holding on to my backpack, and Bug hanging on to Heather’s pack creating a train of people that I was now ‘towing’ up the path. Pie was up ahead wondering what was taking us so long.
Once above ground we found a scenic trail that started along the paved road to the caverns. It warned that the trail was only for use by those with high-clearance vehicle and that trailers of any length were specifically prohibited. We felt daring in our F-350 dually, so we accepted the challenge and took the scenic trail. It was very beautiful as we traversed through the national park on what was basically a dirt/gravel path. An hour later we emerged back onto the paved road. I do agree with the warning signage, and would not try the trail with a low-sitting car.
The Ready Rovers 