Day 6: A Day in the Caves

Hello readers, this is Jessica and I'm going to be writing about our fantastic adventure today! 

Today we ventured into the Carlsbad Caverns. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The walk down into the cave took a little less than an hour, and was a little spooky (if you ask me). 

In the picture below we are standing outside of the entrance. The path keeps going down until you eventually get inside of the cave and follow the path further into the magnificent national park. The walk down was a little steep, so if you have any knee injuries the walk may not be best suited for you. There's an elevator! 

Inside the cave, we saw so many beautiful different types of crystal-like structures. Below are some pictures, but I promise if you ever get the opportunity to see this, your breath will be taken away. Literally and figuratively. It did get a little chilly, so I recommend a sweater.

Every once in a while we were struck by water droplets, because the way these   structures form is due to water inside the rocks. Along the walk, we also saw a very old ladder hanging into a hole under us. That was pretty cool. The ladder was first put there in 1924 during an exploration sponsored by the National Geographic Society. We also saw a set of wooden stairs installed along the side of a part of the cave around the same years. These historic sites were fascinating and really interesting to learn about on the walk down. 

Before walking into the Big Room, we decided to hit the bathrooms and grab a little snack. Daddy and Katie bought T-shirts while I bought a very nice gift card to add to my scrapbook. For a snack, Katie bought a turkey & cheese sandwich, and I bought a very delicious Rice Krispy Treat. 

After our short stop, we finally arrived at our destination: the Big Room. This room is basically a gigantic room full of those structures called stalagmites and stalactites where you get to walk around and see all the different types. It was absolutely spectacular. 

After walking along the path in the Big Room, we took the elevator up to the visitor center (Which is a total of 754 ft or 75 stories) SAY WHAT!!???? So yeah, we walked down a total of 75 stories mhmmmm try that some time.

In the Gift Shop we bought stickers, magnets, a Christmas ornament, a hat (for padre), a necklace, and a lovely T-shirt for Papa John. 

After all the fun and excitement, we headed back into town for a nice lunch. We decided to eat at a place called Little Italy. I had spaghetti and marinara sauce (below is a picture). Although the service was slow and rather hectic at times, our meals were pretty satisfying. The bread was to die for (although it took a while for them to get to us). We also got Bruschetta, which was more like a cheese pizza (in my opinion). 

Also in the parking lot of the restaurant I found this beauty. 

It's a beautiful painting of Edgar Allen Poe (a personal favorite).

After our fantastic lunch, we got back in the car and found a Walmart! We found lots of wine (for the adults), Oreos, plenty of candy, and I even found a swimsuit! Then we ventured back to our hotel, where many of the elders fell asleep right as they hit the pillow. 

After the short nap, us grandkids and the grandparents walked over to the grocery store and ate some ice cream. 

This was in the ice cream store, so of course we had to take a picture. 

Then we came back and swam in the pool. They have a pirate ship and 2 water slides !!!! 

We had loads of fun. We went back to our hotel and played a few games of cards. After relaxing, we got back in the car and drove the 7 miles back to Carlsbad Caverns to watch the bats fly out of the cave. 

On our way to the cave we saw this massive Bull (or Cow - not sure). 

We drove back to the park and found seats for the Bat watching. While watching from the amphitheater, all cell phones are strictly prohibited, so the only picture we have from the seats is from mom sneaking a photo (mom the rule breaker). 

While walking to our car, Katie snapped a few photos (Seen below) of the some 400,000 bats in the sky. I must say it was absolutely stunning. You will never see something so naturally beautiful as that. 

Not only did we get to see the bats, we also got to learn a lot from the Ranger. We learned things relating to the cave and the bats, including what labor and nursing is like for bats. They are mammals after all!

After the long day, we got back to our hotel, had some cheese and sat down to watch the Baseball game (Go Giants !!!!). Today has been so spectacular and our next stop is San Antonio, Texas. 

And that's a wrap :) 

Love,

The Magnificent Jessica Berry