Well, as we hoped we had fun adventures at Carlsbad Caverns. Also as expected, the few campsites nearby had little or no shade. With intense sun and highs in the mid 90s we made the correct decision to stay at the very comfy Comfort Inn 30 min away. (Yes, we are Goldilocks campers.) Fortunately,  we checked the Caverns website yesterday and made the necessary reservations. Checking in was a piece of cake.

The tour began outside by the bat Amphitheater. The ranger said that approximately 400,000 bats fly out in the evening. Since we finished touring the Caverns about 2:30, we decided not to wait four hours for the impressive mass exit.

Although we have both been here before, we really enjoyed our tour. The caverns are spectacular! We decided to walk down the 750 feet (75 stories) to the Big Room – the size of 6 football fields. Despite the steep 1.5 hour walk, we were glad that we walked. If we had taken the elevator, we would have missed the amazing formations we saw along our way to the Big Room. After our underground tour, we took the time to enjoy the above ground scenery.

The views were great. We could see clear to the Guadalupe Mountains. The summer monsoons here in TX have turned the hillsides green! It’s fascinating to see the different layers of rock. Since it’s pretty hot out, we had another milkshake at Denny’s Restaurant.

Peggy revived herself with a nap and then a soak in the hot tub. She said that it sure felt good after our 4 plus mile walk today! I worked on posting pictures to the blog. After finishing our story, we tucked into bed. Tomorrow we’ll head to Texas to visit more friends.