Cloudcroft is high up, well up above the snowline and still had lots of snowdrifts around in the main street in early May when we passed through,. Clearly, it is a village that is very used to living with snow. There were very few fences, and it was obvious that it was unusual to be able to see the ground, let along actually walk or drive on it.
The road down the other side of the pass was totally different. Instead of a steep climb, this side was a long gradual descent, over 80kms of winding through beautiful valleys and lush green farmlands that looked straight out of the 1930’s. Gravel roads, wooden barns, rustic fences, dotted with trees and byres. Beautiful! It’s a shame that we didn’t stop and take some photos for you all.
Eventually got to Artesia, where we had to take a left – it felt much like our standard reply to the American question of where New Zealand is – head for Hawaii, turn left, and keep going. In this case, it was only another 35 miles to Carlsbad. Carlsbad is another strung-out town, heavily influenced by the tourism trade service the nearby caverns and the Guadalupe Mountains NP.
The caverns are fantastic! There are two ways to get in; the long way through the Natural Entrance, and the quick way, 230m down in the lift. We arrived just after the 2:0 pm cutoff for the Natural Entrance, so we had to take the lift down – what a shame ;-). That may sound like a better option, but the Natural Entrance winds down through a lot of wonderful caves and viewpoints, so we actually missed out on quite a lot.
Once down in the caverns, the first hall is the old concession area which used to be very busy with a restaurant and souvenir stands and the like. Now more than half the area is closed off and only one outlet is still operating, selling drinks and packaged snacks, plus the obligatory tee-shirts and hats. We noticed that all the stuff was covered with plastic sheeting, and discovered later that this is because there is a bat colony living in an area of caves past the closed-off section. Note that this is over 230m deep and a couple of miles flying from the surface. So it is pretty amazing that the bats are living so far from their food supply. Of course, they are not going to care about having the lights and stuff on for the visitors, but you have to wonder what has driven them to go so far into the cave system to find a safe roosting place.
The main thing that we noticed was the temperature – is was a supremely comfortable 13 deg inside. Much better than the 32 deg outside up top!
We did the self-guided tour of the Big Room, and it is aptly named. This is a BIG cave! The information says that it is over 33,000 sq metres, 6 football fields, or about 3.5 hectares. It is quite well lit, with strategically hidden lights shining on many of the interesting formations. Once your eyes get used to the light, it is quite easy to walk around without a torch. Here are some of the photos that we both took.
By the way, here is some tips for taking photos underground like this.
1. Support your camera – dim light means a slow shutter speed. Arm’s length just won’t cut it.
2. Change the White Balance to Tungsten. Go into Program mode or better still, Aperture Priority, and set the White Balance. If you don’t know how to do this yet, read the camera’s manual – you know, the thing you never looked at beyond how to put the batteries in. Oh yes, better do this before you go into the cave. It’s dark down there
When we got back home, David downloaded all the photos and reviewed them, and decided that it really needed a second visit. So, instead of leaving for San Antonio, he got up early and went down again. In reality, this is a place that deserves a couple of days to explore thoroughly. Just as well that we bought the National Parks Pass. It costs $80, and gives unlimited entry to all parks managed by the National Park Service. With just our visits to Joshua Tree, Saguaro, White Sands, the Space Museum, and Carlsbad, we have nearly paid for it, with lots more to come.
He did a guided tour this time, through the King’s Palace. Again, a fantastic collection of weird and wonderful formations. David says that he was still struggling to get a good balance between the rich colours of the artificial lighting and the more natural colours available by using the different white balance settings. It’s really a matter of deciding at the beginning what effect you want to have, and how you want the pictures to look, and then making that happen. Here is an example. The one on the left is Shade white balance, the one on the right is tungsten WB. See what I mean? The right one is more true to nature, but lacks some of the impact of the other one. Which one do you prefer?
So it was time to get on the road again, heading for San Antonio. ‘Bye now, see you in “Ole San Antone”.
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