Days 1 and 2: Santa Fe to Carlsbad Caverns to Alexandria, LA

 Days 1 and 2: Santa Fe to Carlsbad Caverns to Alexandria, LA

Due to the snow we delayed our trip by one day and left Santa Fe on Friday before dawn. NM 285 was still a bit icy, but was also empty. The hills on each side of the highway were white and frosty. The thermometer said 28 degrees.

By the time we reached Clines Corners the sun had risen and we got croissant/sausage fat/salt combo rolls and coffee after navigating the iced over parking lot.

The road south to Carlsbad was very quiet. We did a quick stop for a photo at Roswell. Saw no aliens. Few trucks, few cars. Eventually we got to Artesia, NM, an oil town and filled up with gas that was no less expensive than Santa Fe. The discount for filling up across the street from the refinery apparently is just a rumor.

We reached Carlsbad Caverns at 12:30. The Park Ranger honored our missed 8:30am entry time.

Visitors walk to the cavern entrance from the visitor center down a winding, paved path. And then there's simply a giant, and I mean giant, hole in the ground and a switchback path leading underground (see photos).

Early January is apparently a great time to go as we were nearly alone on the mile walk down 750 feet into the cavern. The size of the cavern cannot be described in words. It's magnificent and incredible. The lighting is very muted and we used our cell phone lights occassionally on the way down until our (getting older) eyes adjusted.

There is an option to take an elevator down, but I would not recommend it. The walk into the cavern is definitely part of the experience.

Reaching the bottom, there is a small gift shop and restrooms and a 1.5 mile walk through the 'big room'. We headed off down the path. Again, the lighting is spectacular. The National Park Service has done a great job of lighting the far reaches of the cavern, giving you a sense of the space. It's an alien world filled with hanging stalagtites, mighty stalagmites and other stone features with names like popcorn and curtains.

After more walking we returned to the rest area for a gatorade, a bathroom break and a long elevator ride to the top. With more time I might have tried to walk back up...maybe some other time.

We stayed nearby at the entrance to the park in the modest White's City Cavern Inn.

We woke again before dawn and hightailed it across Texas, not in a rush, but hoping to make it within three hours of New Orleans. Google maps took us through rural Texas, past oil fields, cotton fields, wind farms. Dallas Fort Worth was the busiest part, but still not bad. We reached Alexandria, LA around 7:00pm.