Carlsbad Caverns

This morning we visited Carlsbad Caverns. I thought maybe I could do two self-guided tours for a total of about two miles. After learning the bats were not back from their winter migration to Mexico, we decided to just do one tour, The Big Room. It was a good choice as my ankle is very sore tonight.

This formation was my vote for the coolest. It is called Lion's Tail. It is a stalactite that became a column that ended in popcorn. Three different crystal formations on one feature. WAY COOL!

 This very large formation was titled Crystal Spring Dome. It has some flow stone where water washed over the "growing" stalactites and stalagmites giving it a smooth, shiny surface.

This is an example of two columns. I love the ripples and texture, ridges and lines on them.

This area of the cavern was called Painted Grotto. It was one of very few areas with any color than shades of white and bat guano, also white.

We are glad we stopped and toured this national park. However, we were surprised at the lack of color. We remember color in the three other caves we have toured; two in SD and one in AZ. I will say the size of the Big Room, 14 football fields, was by far the largest cave area we have toured-not necessarily the largest cave. And I was disappointed to learn the bats were not making their dusk flight from the natural cave entrance.