On the Road to the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas

Kent and I haven't taken a long road trip in awhile.  Part of the allure is to travel two-lane roads and allow the time to visit interesting stops en route to our destination. This post documents some of the places we encountered on our two-day travel from Hurricane to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Click here to see a map of our journey.

The Colorado River at Marble Canyon is a good place to stretch your legs 

The San Francisco Peaks quickly come into view north of Flagstaff

The Eagles song, "Take it Easy" plays in the background when you visit here

Winslow's claim to fame . . . besides trains

The last time we were in Glenwood, NM this was closed, so we're hoping it is open

It is open for 1/2 mile, so we started up the trail

This is an older section of trail

Apparently this narrow canyon closes often due to flooding

In the 1890's the creek was piped to an ore processing plant

The catwalk structure was finished in 2003

This is where the trail ends for now . . .

We explored a little further 

Whitewater Creek was flowing pretty good

At Emory Pass, Kent examines the fire damage that was lightning caused

We are here to explore Guadalupe Mountains National Park

We plan to hike up Guadalupe Peak later in the week

We have time for a hike in McKittrick Canyon

It was refreshing to hike along this intermittent stream 

The unique peeling bark made the Madrone or Manzanita trees stand out along the trail

We crossed the stream a few times, but never saw any signs of trout

Entrance to the Pratt Cabin

After hiking 2.4 miles we reached Pratt Cabin

Wallace Pratt began construction in the early 1930's, so this could be original 

The cabin is made of stone and wood

The stone was quarried from the base of the mountains 

The rockers on the front porch made for a great place to relax

Even the roof is stone

Pratt Cabin was built to last

Flowers along the trail

This unique limestone grotto was further up the trail

Hunter Line Cabin was where we turned around

Built in 1924, it apparently had electricity at one time

The cabin appears to be in great shape

Slaughter Canyon Cave at Carlsbad Caverns

Since this is our first visit to Carlsbad Caverns we decided to spend three days exploring the caves. Slaughter Canyon Cave is located 45 minutes from the visitor center by car (it is a separate cave, but lies within, and is administered by the National Park).  It is a limited entry cave and requires a reservation.     

To access Slaughter Canyon Cave we had to hike 1/2 mile with a 500 ft elevation gain

On the hike up to the cave Kent said to me,
 "I hope they have the right key" . . . guess what?
They didn't have the KEY!

After a two hour delay, it was time to go into the cave

This was the first tour of the year, 20 people are allowed 

Originally this was called New Cave

We used a rope to access this part of the cave,
we were told not to step beyond the striped ribbon,
as the formation was fragile 

You may have seen this in a 1950's movie, "King Solomon's Mines"
It's called the Klansman

This was day one of three we spent at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

This is a wild cave, with no lights, other than our headlamps

There were some very interesting formations

The formation on the left is called the mushroom, it's rare to find these formations

Carlsbad Caverns . . . What Lies Below the Surface

Looking at the rugged Guadalupe Mountains you'd never expect to find such beautiful cave formations below the surface.  Carlsbad Caverns exceeded our expectations in many ways.  As we ventured through the Natural Entrance we were amazed at the enormity of the cave, it went on and on, and got bigger and bigger. Believe me pictures don't do justice, you have to see it for yourself. There are self-guided routes and ranger-guided tours through the caverns.  Be prepared, you will cover a few miles on your journey below.  The elevator ride at the end will whisk you back to the surface in a little over a minute. 

We have arrived! 

A peek at the Natural Entrance

If you dare . . . it is 750 ft down or 79 stories into the cave,
 and it is worth the descent!

Colorful cave bacon

It is a pleasant 56 degrees in the cave

Flowstone

Ladder built by Jim White, the 16 year old who first explored the cave in 1898

Jim White left his inscription in the lower cave

The path is paved with just enough light to make navigation easy

Stairs built in the 1920's enabled visitors to access the caverns

No matter where you look there are formations

Stalactites and Popcorn

The Green Lake Pool in the King's Palace

Cave pearls

A cave pearl cut in half

Colonel Boles formation . . . the crack was formed by shifts in the earth.
The first Superintendent was known to remove the center section
just to show the strength of the calcium columns & then put it back.

Yes, there are even restrooms 750 ft below the surface . . .
and no you don't have to go behind a rock!
Apparently, the toilets must flush up!