Van Horn KOA
This was supposed to be just an overnight stop on the way from Lajitas to Las Cruces, but we had heard so much about Carlsbad Caverns that we came a day early to make the day trip to the National Park for a look-see.
Arrived here and found we had 4G telephone service....it's been a long time. Off I went to find a supermarket and much to my disappointment only found a market...none of my favorite Coffeemate; no deli; just the basics and very expensive at that.
So, up the next morning to get an early start (it was a little over 100 miles each way). The first 50 miles along Route 54 had me wondering if we had made a mistake. Remember what I said in the last blog about the roads in Texas being endless; the beginning of this trip was even worse because you could see the road and there was no end ever!!
This is El Capitan which is 8,085 feet...when we first spotted it on this trip, it looked no more than 2,000 feet. We watched it grow and grow and grow...
The next 25 miles of the trip traveled through the Guadalupe Mountains National Park with varied scenery along the way. Over half the park has been designated for protection under the 1964 Wilderness Act. It is the largest wilderness area in Texas and contains desert, canyons and highlands with many walking trails throughout. This is our view on the trip back.
Another 25 miles and we reached our destination of the day: Carlsbad Caverns National Park and a magnificent journey underground away from sunlight, the desert cactus, and the peaks of the Guadalupe Mountains to the gigantic subterranean chambers, fantastic cave formations and extraordinary features of the caverns. After 750 feet below the entrance we came upon a sign that said additional trails to the right (and down another 250 feet) and elevator to the surface on the left; we chose the left!!
We left the surface at a temperature in the upper 70's and followed the switchback trails downward where the temperature reaches a constant of 56 degrees. The humidity was 90%.
The trail was dimly lit to provide the best viewing of the chambers. We saw stalactites (hanging from the ceilings) and stalagmites (forming from the ground), and such things called soda straws, draperies, flowstone, columns and on and on...all quite impressive.
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| Stalactites
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| Columns |
Tonight we spend our last night in Texas. We arrived December 8th in eastern Texas and will depart tomorrow, February 16th in western Texas. We traveled just under 2000 miles and stayed in 11 cities. They weren't kidding; EVERYTHING in this state is BIG!!
See you next in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
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