We arrived on May 11th at Whites City RV park in New Mexico. This is the closest RV area to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. In fact, the site we were in was just off the road leading to the National Park. There is not an official park gate. A Fee or National Park Pass is only needed to enter the cavern which you get at the Visitor Center at the parking lot.
The building to check-in for the RV Parking was unique. It had basic supples but also very unique sections!
BAT FLIGHT
There was a sign for “BAT FLIGHT INFO”, so I inquired. Sunset is when the bats fly out from deep inside Carlsbad Cavern to spend the night getting water and feasting mainly on moths, some mosquitoes, and other possible flying insects before returning to the cavern between 4 am – 6 am. We had time for the night flight if we get ready to go now. So we did. We went to the Bat Flight amphitheater.
Ranger Tim began speaking down at the amphitheater about 7:15. About 7:25 there was an incredible swirling of bats as they approached the cave opening. Wow! It was like a reverse tornado, or maybe a desert dust devil but with several hundred bats. They came out of the huge cave opening (like 12 o’clock on the face of a clock) and flew in a relatively wide counter-clockwise circular pattern till they turn off about 1 or 2 o’clock. Thousands of bats just kept flying out for at least 30 minutes. There were definitely thousands of them! It was such an incredible site to behold. No cameras, video electronics or cell phones were allowed. All electronics were to be TURNED OFF since they interfere with the bats and their echolocation that allows their ears to be their “eyes”. (There is a reason for the saying, “blind as a bat”! )
From April through mid-October, visitors watch the nightly spectacle of several hundred thousand Brazilian free-tail bats exiting Carlsbad Cavern in search of food. NPS Photo by Nick Hristov
Everyone has to stay absolutely silent during the entire bat flight. This actually forced everyone to be fully immersed in the moment, and appreciate the awesomeness of nature that we were lucky enough to witness. What a delightful and unique way to celebrate Mother’s Day.
Some things we learned:
- When humans are at rest our hands are relaxed with fingers outstretched. We have to engage our brain and muscles to make a fist or to hold onto something. Bats are the opposite. In their relaxed state their toes are clenched tight. Thus when they sleep (upside down) their toes hold them in place.
- Bats need to be at a height of at least 3 – 4ft to “fall” in order to get enough lift to fly. If something causes them to fall to the ground, they have to climb up something to get to the 3-4 ft height.
- Bats will eat their weight in bugs during the night, but they can go a couple days without eating.
- 300-500,000 bats reside here during the summer. The migratory ones go south for the winter. Supposedly most of the migratory bats are present, but there are still many yet to arrive. The resident ones are even deeper in the caverns. It’s like they got the best bat real estate, but it also takes them longer to reach the opening. 🙂
- These Mexican Split-Tail Bats have a wing span of about 12 inches, and weigh the same as 3 nickels! Their body size is about 3.5 inches in length – a quick visual for the body would be putting your thumbs side by side for width and length.
- Bat Flight is not guaranteed to occur. If conditions are adverse for flying, they don’t come out. That can be the temperature, rain or wind.
The caverns don’t open to human visitors till 9:30 to give all the bats ample time to return and get deep into the cave and sleeping. Barry previously claimed at 9:30 start time for our visit. The Visitor Center opened at 9:00am. We got our free admission ticket with our America the Beautiful Pass and our entrance time reservation. We went into the smaller gift shop on the way to the Natural Entrance Trail. After seeing the Bat Flight last evening, we had to get a soft, stuffed toy bat for the kiddos.
We found the perfect postcard of Bat Flight to send to the kids. Once again Barry and I both picked out the same t-shirt. LOL. We’re OK with that. It’s a great shirt.
Now to the nature trail to the caverns.
At the mouth of the cavern this Natural Entrance Trail follows many switchbacks along the steep path as it descends 75 stories to the Big Room.
A look back up to the opening that we just entered and that hundreds of thousands of the Brazilian free-tailed bats fly out each night.
Soon we entered the Dark Zone. Little light penetrates here. No lighting has been added here because it must be kept really dark so animals that often use caves don’t venture in too far. The natural floor disappears causing many to fall to their deaths.
Throughout the caverns there are some pools of water. These pools are not coming up from deep underground, but it is dripping down from cracks in the limestone above the cavern feeds. The amount of water varies in size depending on the season and the amount of rain or snow. It was cool to see the drips and ripples in some of the large pools near the walk path. It takes months for water drips to make it their way to these various pools. So don’t think if it rains heavily one day that that week you will see increase drips and bigger pools of water.
There were SO many cool textures within the caverns. Jim White discovered the caverns when he was a teenage cowboy when he went to investigate a huge cloud of bats he saw one day at sunset. White explored regularly by building ladders to aid his explorations. He knew the caverns so well that he was a guide for many others and was key in getting the caverns the attention to become a National Park.
About 75 minutes later we reached the Big Room. We could have taken an elevator from the visitor center directly to the access to the Big Room, but we wanted to experience the entire caverns and get a better sense of its immense size. It blew me away. While the path to the Big Room was cool, I’m including mainly our pictures from the Big Room which is absolutely stunning in person.
The BIG ROOM – I expected to come into an expanse like a grand ballroom, see some spectacular formations of stalactites, stalagmites, and columns, and that would be about it. Instead it was a huge section of the limestone cave that stretches 4,000 feet in length, and is 625 feet wide. It reaches a height of 255 feet at its highest point. The Big Room covers a floor space of 357,469 square ft!
This wooden set of stairs used to route visitors around Iceberg Rock between 1926 and the mid-1950s. Visitors used to climb down to reach the Big Room or climb up to exit the cavern. It was one of many used in the Main Corridor until 1932, when the first elevators opened.
“Swiss cheese” texture ceiling – This is called spongework or boneyard. It occurs in caves where freshwater and seawater mixes and forms sulfuric acid.
LION’S TAIL – Stalactite and popcorn
FAIRYLAND – popcorn covered stalagmites
The ladder of fence wire and sticks shown below was made by Jim White. I can’t imagine climbing down it as it sways in the dark pit! His expedition in 1923 led to Carlsbad Cave becoming a National Park on October 25, 1923.
A rope hanging from the 250 ft high “ceiling” to an opening named the “Spirit World”. The rope hangs straight down in the middle of the picture below.
Humans have a great impact on nature. Here the rangers try to impress upon everyone to NOT touch anything other than a provided railing, due to oils, and bacteria on our hands. NO food or drink is permitted in the cave. There are NO restrooms.
Thank goodness an idea in the 1930s to blast a tunnel through a wall for automobile tours never got going. Instead an elevator shaft was created. It caused the cavern to dry out. Airlocks installed in the 1970s rebalanced the cave. Building atop the cavern system has also caused problems. A recent renovation addresss underground water contamination from deteriorating sewer lines among other concerns.
Lit up in the scene below I see a “guarding tiger” in the back left, and to the left of it – a man with a cloak that reminded me of a European or Russian Santa?
The “Tiger statue” close up.
Rock of Ages Column
Here are a couple pools we saw. I watched slow drips and the ripples each caused in the pool that was closer to the path, but it doesn’t show in the picture.
We went in saying that we weren’t going to go nuts taking pictures, but oh, my, there was such beauty. Such incredible formations – some with such intricacies. Some that looked like lace. Picture do not do justice to this National Park!
We spent a total of about 3 hours and 15 minutes exploring the caverns from the bat entrance at the amphitheater and all through the Big Room. They say it’s about an hour to walk the natural trail into the cavern to the elevator area, then about 90 minutes to complete the Big Room viewing. It took us 1 hr 15 min for the first part, and then 2 hours for the Big Room portion. Then we took the elevator back up into the Visitor Center. It was all totally worth it!
We ate a little lunch in Sadie and moved on toward tonight’s overnight destination – Pecos Rest Stop, Ft Stockton, TX.