Into the Maw

Hiking into the heart of the Carlsbad Caverns, I entered a nether region of other-worldly shapes, sounds and sights. Sounds of other tourists shuffling over echoed through the hallowed halls and the narrow passageways while the artful lighting converted thin pillars of stalactites and stalagmines to the monstrous jaws of an extra-terrestial creature. Curtains and wedges of limestone dangled delicately from the ceiling, growing slowly but steadily with every drop of water dripping down to the nether reaches below.

Such were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I walked through this surreal space.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA

A Mammoth Aperture

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A Mammoth Aperture
Carlsbad Caverns is one of those off-beat National Parks that get visited only by a determined few. For me, the biggest draw has been descending to the depths of the cavern through the natural entrance. While it was still a sanitized caving experience, I still enjoyed the change in scenery as I dropped below the ground level. The humidity and temperature fluctuations led to water vapor getting caught in various pockets of the cave, lending an eerie atmosphere which I tried to capture here.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA

A National Parks Journey - Carlsbad Caverns National Park

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I always thought of caves as a dark and dank place that I hope I would never get caught in without a source of light. Spelunking, or cave exploration clearly wasn't my thing. But walking through the open gaping hole in the earth down to its inner depths along an artistically lighted walkway that highlighted the classic limestone formations of a cave - the tall stalagmites and the dangling stalactites and straws, towering columns and thin curtains. The walkway wove through a profusion of such formations in the karst-laden cave, formed when acidic rainwater slowly dissolved naturally occurring limestone over thousands of years.

And even though I enjoyed my first, and subsequent visit, my irrational fear of caves still remain. This fear was reinforced when, on one of the guided trips, the ranger cut power to all the lights, leaving us tourists to bathe in darkness.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA