Geologic Wonders: White Sands NM and Carlsbad Caverns NP

Of our 3 “must do” destinations in New Mexico one was otherworldly (Roswell) but the other two, White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns were very much wonders of this earth.

Other than the alien museum, the Roswell, NM area is not a very pretty desert landscape. As we left, driving west along the 380 to the 70, it seemed we were in for a day of barren desert landscape, but as the elevation rose we found ourselves traveling through a beautiful pine forest. I wish we had time to stay and enjoy the Lincoln National Forest and the Mescalero Reservation. We continue to be surprised by the beauty of New Mexico!

John has a sense of humor!

Welcome to Alamogordo!

We reached our destination – Edgington RV Park in Alamogordo, NM. We were not expecting much because we picked it for its lower price. We then we were greeted at the gate by John, the owner… Friendly is a small word for how John greeted us, he was downright enthusiastic!

John escorted us to our site and regaled us with stories about his park and his life. He is a Vietnam Vet who became a communications specialist at the Alamagordo Missile Site – through the late 70s and 80s… 30 years ago he bought this patch of land off the highway and dreamed of creating an RV Park… he built the whole place himself – full hookups, duck pond, trees for shade, a book exchange shed, laundry etc. The park wasn’t fancy, but John made it special. He loves meeting people who pass through and is happy to point out all the sites and things to do in the region.

Traveling isn’t just about seeing sights – it’s made richer by taking time to chat with the people you meet on the way.

White Sands National Monument

You actually see it from miles away as you approach Alamogordo. It’s huge. Two hundred and seventy five miles of glistening white gypsum sand dunes is a beautiful sight. This iconic landscape is like nothing else on this earth.

We drove into White Sands National Monument and were wowed by the dunes. The small visitor’s center provides just enough information and then you are off! The road into the park offers several places to park, picnic, etc. There are some marked hiking trails, or you can just pull over and start climbing dunes. That’s what we did!

Geologically unique – these large white sand dunes are actually gypsum crystals (‘sand’ because they are so small). The wind is constantly moving the sand about – footprints from yesterday are gone today. I’m sure the park staff have quite a job keeping the roads, trails, signs and picnic areas accessible. If you are in the area you pretty much can do the park in a day – and since there are no campsites within the park you can’t spend the night.

When visiting White Sands National Monument it’s important to remember a few things:

CHECK FOR MISSILE LAUNCHES – the road into the National Monument is occasionally closed because of White Sands Missile Range tests! This is for your own safety. Notice is usually posted 24 hours in advance – check online before you drive out.
BRING PLENTY OF FOOD & WATER. The Visitor’s center has a small store and no restaurants. Beyond that, there are no options to buy supplies. Plan ahead, bring lots of water. This is the desert and running out of water can be very dangerous.
BRING A PLASTIC SLED! A great family activity is climbing up, and then sliding down the white dunes! Sleds can be purchased at the visitor’s center for a fee if you forget.

As you can see in the pictures above, Alex brought the plastic sled he was given in the snowy Rocky Mountains just a week before and put it to good use! But you can have fun even without a sled – he eventually just did this:

Escapees Living

We drove back east over the 380 and 70 to park our RV at our base of operations for Carlsbad Caverns. The city of Carlsbad itself has pretty much been taken over by the oil boom in the region. There are lots of trucks, rough roads and not much in the way of sightseeing. What we saw was downright ugly.

So we chose an RV park north of the area, part of an RV group called Escapees. To be honest, as we drove through the barren desert and oil fields around I was getting concerned, but we were pleasantly surprised to find The Ranch. It was a little oasis, full of clean, well-maintained sites, and very friendly people! We were glad for the full hookups because this is the desert and we needed air conditioning. Especially since we had to leave our dog and cats in the trailer (Sorry, no dogs allowed down in Carlsbad Caverns.)

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an exquisite treasure and well worth a journey to southeast New Mexico! It was certainly a highlight for us.

These beautifully preserved underground caverns are a spectacle. We gave ourselves two days. The first day we did “The Big Room” a self-guided walk-through of the main cavern. They estimate you should take 1 1/2 hours… we stayed over 3. You can begin by either hiking down the natural entrance (a series of switchbacks) or take the elevator down 750 feet, or about the height of a 55 story building!

When you get out of the elevator you are in an underground lobby of sorts… where they sell some food and drinks and t-shirts (but the real store and restaurant are up on the surface)… and then the tour begins.

WOW!

WOW WOW WOW!!!!

If you’ve been in a cavern before you’ve seen things like this – but Carlsbad is HUGE! The ceiling is so far up, it extends so far out… the walking loop is only 1.25 miles, but there’s so much to see. We kept stopping to stare and letting people pass us.

Our pictures only give you a hint of what we experienced. There’s so much to see.

On our second day, we wanted to do one of the ranger-led tours. These fill up fast so it’s important to get to the visitor’s center early in the day to get your tickets. We did King’s Palace tour and it was beautiful! The ranger takes you through several magnificent chambers and describes not only the names and science of the geological formations, but gives you some of the history of how these were discovered (and continue to be discovered!)

The path had some narrow and low passages (ow, my head!) and some actively wet areas where stalactites and stalagmites are still forming. The ranger said it takes a drop of water 60 years to creep from the surface down to the cavern where it deposits minerals to form stalagmites. I felt horrible when one drop landed on my shoulder (almost made it, dude, almost!)

There are several other ranger-led tours and each has different rules and restrictions, so check the website and plan your visit.

Here are some pictures from our two days in the caverns – honestly, they don’t do the experience justice. You get WOWED when you are in there.

ALSO – BATS!

We came in the winter, before the bats were really in season, but if you come in the summer months be sure to hang outside the natural entrance at dusk to watch the BAT FLIGHT! Thousands of bats roar out of the cavern at sunset to go feed for the night – I’m sure it’s quite a sight!