TRAVELOG: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

The early morning drive out to Carlsbad Caverns National Park was fairly uneventful, scenerywise – until you get to the canyons along the route to the memorial itself. The road winds through tall, rolling sandy mountains peppered with large swaths of bushes, cacti and trees still blackened by the fire that had closed the caves down last summer. The fire apparently spanned 30,438 acres along Highway 62/180 from Rattle Snake Canyon to Dark Canyon Road. Out of the over 117 known caves within the park grounds, Carlsbad Cavern is the largest and I believe the most well traveled. The lighting is fantastic and the winding way throughout the caverns is well paved. There are two options to get down to the caverns themselves…

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