2017 11 03-05 Brantley Lake State Park and Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Brantley Lake State Park, Friday, November 3, 2017

Lake Brantley with dam.

Walking with the dogs was a challenge. The thorny brush kept getting caught in Tori's tail. All the new smells and sounds kept both of them excited to wander off trail so a short leash was needed. The background shows what the ground is like everywhere, even for tent camping sites. Ouch!

Saturday, November 4, 2017. Looked out the window this morning and saw movement. Finally got a good look at this road runner. Beep, Beep. Sure looks more robust than I remember from my childhood when our family drove through Arizona. 

Carlsbad Caverns, Sunday, November 5, 2017.

Doing the 1930's the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed many paths into the caves and adobe houses for the crews. 

Cavern Entrance uses switchbacks to descend underground. 

The pathways make a very long hike much easier. 

Those two guys are just barely into the darkening entrance. 

The Whales Mouth does look like the baleen of a whale. Throughout the caverns the play of light and shadow does allow the mind to see things that disappear in flash photography.  

Formations of stalagmites. Bob saw a troll in the back one. I think the front one looks like a wall of ocean waves. 

Still growing.

Differing colors are caused by minerals leaching down through the limestone. 

Who would have expected to find a sandwich store and gift shop at 800 feet below ground. This is the level where the elevators stop so once we descended and walked about 2.5 miles we could ascend more easily. 

I think some of the stalactites look like coral growing upside down. They call it "popcorn" formation. 

There were volunteers working to cover the large cables which have been laid out for lighting and the emergency phones. 

Bob says he really should have put a filter on the camera. The formation to his left is called the "Lion's tail".

I think the front one is called "the Pillar". Very thought provoking. 

The "Totem Pole". I was thinking Space Needle but I guess in the 1930's that would have been too futuristic. 

Curtain stalactites. 

We both thought this formation looked very similar to how the dunes look on top after the sands have been blown across. 

This is one of the original ladders made of wood and wire. It drops 90 feet down a shaft. 

The "Crystal Spring Dome" is still growing

This one is called "Chinese Theater". The one on the right does look oriental.

On the drive home from Carlsbad Caverns we found the "Check Engine" light had come on. Since it was Sunday we had no option than to wait until the following morning. We also got an email from Ram saying there was a need to have the engine serviced. This was not looking good. We have less than 5000 miles on the truck. Bob took the truck to the local dealer before 8 am so they could run a diagnostic and interpret the cryptic email. Calling every hour for an update, we ended up waiting four hours. Bob was finally told the code was for a computer software update to adjust the fuel mixture so it burns cleaner and exhausts less pollutants. With that good news and a happy, updated engine we left Carlsbad RV with minutes to spare before getting charged for another day and drove to Lubbock, Texas. Another dark and chilly set-up.