Day 8 - Carlsbad Caverns National Park

We headed for Carlsbad Caverns this morning for our 9:30 reservation. The reservation charge was $2/person. This would be on top of admission but the senior pass got us in for free. There were a number of unhappy people at the front desk of the visitor's center complaining about the need for reservations. Especially since the next available slot was several days away. But we had ours and picked up our tickets.

The natural entrance to the caverns is near the visitor's center and after showing our ticket three times, we were allowed onto the trail. It is quite a descent into the caverns. About 1½ miles descending about 800ft to the "Big Room". It was a nice, relaxing walk down. Very few people and no large groups. A handful of people were walking up the path as it is now permitted. The last time I was here, the path was one-way only. 

Like most places like this, I return with too many pictures and no real idea why I took the shot. I just thought it looked interesting. 

These were mostly taken in the "Big Room" at the bottom of the descent. All of the lighting was warm so I'm not really sure what color the formations should be so no color corrections even attempted. There used to be names assigned to many of these features but the park removed the signage to allow visitors to use their own imaginations.

At the end of the path, there was a nice, long elevator ride back to the visitor's center. I was thinking of walking up the path but having to walk uphill with a mask on would not be pleasant. Though I would've enjoyed the walk. The elevator numbers show feet below ground level. Social distancing requirements meant that only one family group per elevator ride. So Bridget and I got the huge elevator to ourselves. This did mean that there was a line to get on the elevator.

The last time I was here you could get snacks such as hot dogs and ice cream before riding the elevator back up. But the snack bar is closed. At least for now.