caves

Yesterday we went to Carlsbad Caverns. We got a pass there that allows us entrance to all national parks for a year as a family. This included entry to the caverns. Considering the number of national parks we will be visiting over the next few weeks this should add up to a considerable savings.

Getting to the visitors center required more of a climb than I remembered and also gave a view of the dessert that I had not remember I'd like to think I could retain memories well enough that a view of the desert as nice and surprising as this would be relived.





The entry into the cavern is as spectacular as a hole in the ground can be. They do a good job there. The decent seemed to continue forever. Another good thing. There would not be much to this cave thing without the down part. Being a cave, it is by nature dark and as such difficult to photograph. I had some success, though. I have found that the camera is capable of an initial flash followed by a long exposure. This allows clear view of people in the foreground and the long exposure captures the darker background with the natural light. In other photos without family I set the camera on a nearby rock and let time do it's thing.



In the photo below Kat and the kids can be seen in the middle. They had to hold still for a long time to catch this. Of course, Ian's image was lost to child hood motion.a child's motion.




I also captured a pic of a vertical hole from bottom up that I recall having difficulty with on an earlier trip.










The photo on the right was a boo boo but I like it.











One last family photoElise and I caught a pic of a desert flower while exiting the park.






After visiting Carlsbad Caverns we traveled by way of El Paso toward Silver City, New Mexico. The road between Carlsbad and El Paso is the most desolate 136 miles we have traveled so far. No gas stations were between the two cities, but there was land for sale....$200 per acre. We saw the largest dust devil I have ever seen making it's way across a small salt flat. The Guadalupe Mountains are in the distance behind our poor van.



Tomorrow we will travel to the Gila National Forest and see the Gila Cliff Dwellers. This is North of Silver City, New Mexico.