Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

When we left San Antonio we didn't have a specific destination locked down, this was a first for us. We knew only that we needed to leave San Antonio and that we were continuing our trek westward. As we headed down I-10 across Texas we had two destinations in mind, Carlsbad NM or Big Bend National Park in Texas which is situated along the U.S/Mexico boarder along the Rio Grande.

We had 200 miles to make our decision, which in the end, had us turning north and heading into Carlsbad, home of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

New Mexico also presented us with a new RV'ing experience, Boondocking! Or in less fancy words, dry camping. During our 6 days in New Mexico we boondocked all six nights. We mixed it up with a few overnight stays in Walmart parking lots. Believe it or not, Walmart encourages RV's to stay the night in their parking lots. All that they ask is that we call in advance and get their permission first.

We also spent 3 nights on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land just about 10 minutes outside of Carlsbad in Dark Canyon. The BLM land was a great find and the kids loved the freedom to explore the canyon and hike the hills around our campsite. The open area was great, but Katherine and kids were a little uneasy sleeping in such a remote location (see pic below). Also, one little fun fact about our stay in Carlsbad. While we were in Carlsbad there was a radioactive leak at the nuclear waste facility that leaked some radiation into the air...This all made for the perfect setting for a horror movie!

After finding our spot in Dark Canyon we unhooked the camper and headed over to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We spent two days at the cavern. The first day we did a self guided tour through the natural entrance which took about 2 hours to make the decent to the bottom of the cavern. The second day we did a Ranger guided tour through the caverns which lasted about 3 hours.

I'll tell you, I'm not normally claustrophobic, but being 800 ft underground in a natural cavern did make me a little uneasy. During the Ranger guided tour there is a point in the tour where the Ranger turns off the lights and there is absolutely no natural light and it is pitch black. It was an eerie feeling being 800 ft under ground with absolutely no visibility. They Ranger did mention that a few years ago there was a power outage and everyone needed to find their way out of the cavern with only the light from their cell phones. I couldn't even imagine the sensation that must have been to be underground with only the light from a cell phone to hike my way out.

Our first night in NM at the Carlsbad Walmart.

The kids at the natural entrance.

Me and Katherine at the Natural Entrance.

Izabelle getting a little freaked out!

Helaina and Sidney were cool cats and enjoyed the hike.

Katherine keeping the fire going at our campsite.

The girls spent most of their time breaking open rocks looking for crystals.

The kids completing their junior ranger booklets.

A view from the top of the cavern.

Many of the paths through the caverns were narrow walkways between the rocks.

This was a bit of a tight squeeze for me!

Katherine and Izabelle keeping the fire going.

This is a view of our campsite from a distance. This was truly a remote location that had no cell service. It was nice having all of this space, but at night Katherine and the kids were a little uneasy being in such a remote location.



Enjoy the Ride!
Seth and Katherine