Ben went a few times while on his mission, and we went 11 years ago when we were first married. Admittedly, I was a little nervous to do the cave with the kids. For 11 years I have had nightmares of one of my kids falling off a ledge into a deep, dark abyss to never be seen again. I wish I was kidding about that.
Thankfully, the cave was WAY safer than my worst nightmares! It would have been quite impossible for our little lemmings to wander aimlessly off a cliff. Yay!
The cave was even more impressive than my memories. Seriously, this is a place every person should go to- it is truly a natural wonder. One of the rangers told us that 500,000 people go through the cave each year. That actually made me a little sad- it should be so many more than that! The problem is that Carlsbad is so far out- hundreds of miles away from civilization. I mean, you have to go through an alien village to get there. It's a huge shame- if you ever get a chance to go, take it!
It is 79 stories to get down to the bottom of the cave when you walk in the Natural Entrance- which we highly recommend. There is an elevator that can take you down and out of the cave, but it was broken for 6 months. Somehow, because the weather Gods had been so cruel, the elevator Gods took pity on us and the elevator started going today!!!! Literally a tender mercy! Even though thousands had been forced to climb back up out of the Natural Entrance, we were thrilled to not be counted among them!
Pictures can not ever do this cave justice.
Camille looks happy here, but this is toward the end of the hike, and the girls were pretty tuckered out:
I asked the lovely little one to join me for a "special" picture. She was not amused:
I loved being in an area where, aside from the trails, the area was completely untouched by humans. How many places in the world can you go to where that happens? It felt really sacred- the glory of God and His wonders.
Then we, thankfully, took the elevator up and enjoyed a wonderful lunch.
And went to the visitor's center to finish the Junior Ranger Program for the kiddos.
As part of the requirements, we went on a nature hike just on top of the caverns. It was pretty cool to be walking on top!
And, they earned their badge!
4 comments:
This looks accessible for a wheelchair no?????? I have never been.
As long as the elevator is working, most of the "Big Room" at the bottom is accessible, though there are parts that are closed off to wheelchairs. She can do a lot of it, and she would love the bats, I'm sure!
I have always wanted to go there! It looks incredible!
Looks awesome!
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