Carlsbad Caverns

Blake and I had been talking about going to Carlsbad caverns for years, but something always got in the way of us going. We knew Blake wouldn't have to work Friday because his attending physician was out of town, so we decided on a whim to surprise the girls Friday morning and take them. I woke up at 5am to prepare our lunches, put water in all of our camelbaks, and other items we would need on our trip. The girls were excited when we told them that morning and made waking them up at 5:30am less of a battle. Kelsey helped pack activities for the car and we were off for our 3.5 hour drive.

Since living in Texas, we have become accustomed to long drives. A 3.5 hour drive is a piece of cake for us. I know most hate traveling for long periods of time, but I actually enjoy them. It's a time Blake and I can really talk to one another without the distractions of his job/responsibilities and the world at large. We talk about our life, our dreams, future plans, our kids. It's almost like therapy for me to get away from the demands I face at home to just sit and talk with my husband. For really long drives, we enjoy calling family members we haven't spoken to in a long time. We have been blessed with kids who do extremely well on long drives. Kelsey read the 2nd Harry Potter book most of the time and the other kids just enjoyed looking out the window, playing with each other, or sleeping.

We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns about 10:30am. It was impressive to think, that in this arid dessert and dare I say UGLY place, there lived an underground palace of sorts. The visitors center was huge!! I've seen many visitor centers on our various travels throughout the country and this one beat them all by far. The place was massive and equipped with all sort of amenities. I was fascinated at how they were able to conserve the natural beauties of the cave and make it possible for normal people like us to come and enjoy the wonders of it. At the natural entrance of the cave the had built am amphitheater of sorts for viewing bats that came out at night time to feed. We didn't stay for the "bat show", Mylee and Lanaea were happy about that.

Upon entering the cave, it was somewhat frightening and fascinating all at the same time. Mylee and Lanaea were a little unsure about entering. I didn't blame them. The opening was massive and it was dark. It was so dark in some places that we had to rely upon the pavement beneath our feet and the metal railings at our sides to know where to go. I had been to Timpanogos cave in Utah, so I knew a little about what to expect, but this cave was so much grander in every aspect. The cave decorations (as they call them), or stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, draperies, etc, we breathtaking to view. Reading about the history of the cave's formation was also fascinating and made me ponder about the creation of the earth,wondering if perhaps this cave's formation started during the earth's early years.

The girls were in awe. It was fun to see their excitement and see the wonder in their eyes. Kelsey had brought her little kids camera and we taking pictures left and right. Kayden was just happy to be walking along side his daddy. Eventually he landed on Blake's shoulders when his legs got tired...so cute!! We didn't walk the entire length of the paved trails inside because our kids were tired. We all thought it was neat to ride an elevator 750 feet back to the surface in the visitor's center. I can't imagine the effort it took to build that elevator, but we were all thankful for their efforts because it would have been a long and hard climb uphill to get out.