Chapter 6, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Roswell New Mexico
- traci wilson
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
Thankfully, our travel day into Carlsbad New Mexico was free of mishaps. It was windy, dusty and hot when we pulled in at the Carlsbad KOA. The park itself is nice and very clean, but the surrounding landscape is dry and desolate. We found a dirt road (I use the word ‘road’ loosely) heading out into the desert. We walked the dogs down it about a mile the first night but didn’t want to venture too far. The next day we got braver and went running on it, about two miles. We could see water in the distance which intrigued us, so the following day we ran all the way to the water’s edge (about five miles in total). Come to find out it was part of a larger reservoir called Brantley Lake. There were lots of birds (and bugs) near the water’s edge, and the surrounding vegetation greened up considerably around the water. We had to run early because it was extremely hot and windy both days we were at this location, with temps reaching 102 degrees at one point on Saturday (we arrived on Friday and left Monday).
The main reason for visiting this area was the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which we visited on Saturday. We’d arranged for doggie daycare in Artesia, a town about 36 miles away, for the pups since we were going into the cave. We would have liked to find a place in Carlsbad but the only facility we could find there actually lost somebody’s dog a couple years ago, so we weren’t really feeling that place.
We both thought the area around Carlsbad would be mountainous and green, but it was mostly flat and brownish gray in color. We were also surprised at the number of oil drilling wells around the area. They were literally everywhere! As we approached the National Park the landscape began to change, becoming a bit more interesting. The bland browns and grays of the desert gave way to red-colored rocky hills. We traveled through a small canyon on approach and were surprised by a herd of Barbary sheep that crossed the road right in front of us! We mistakenly thought they were goats when we first saw them. Dave stopped in the middle of the road to get pictures until some cars came up behind us and forced us to move on (there wasn’t a place to pull over here if you’re wondering why we didn’t do that). We found out they aren’t native to the United States. They actually come from North Africa and were introduced to the southwest in the 1950s for the purpose of hunting.
We went on a short desert hike along a nature trail that intersected with the Old Guano Trail which connects the caverns to White’s City, the closest town to the cave. There was an abundance of prickly pear cactus and various other desert plants, some that were flowering, intermixed with red rocks, making the area much more interesting and diverse than where we were staying at the KOA in the valley below. We walked just over a mile on the trail before descending the 750 feet (or approximately 79 stories) into the cave. It was already quite hot when we were walking outside (temps in the 80s) at around 10:30 a.m. and it was a welcome relief when we entered the cave and started to head down the steep trail to the interior. The literature says the cave stays right around the mid-50s year around.
We took a self-guided hike through the cavern although they do offer guided tours with reservations. Starting at the natural entrance trail, we walked 1. 25 miles down a paved extremely steep path, to the massive, simply named, big room. It was the largest cave ‘room’ I’ve ever seen. The trail around the big room was also 1.25 miles long. Then we took the elevator back to the surface. We would have liked to spend more time in the cave as it was arguably the most magnificent cave I’ve ever seen. I can’t even begin to describe it’s beauty and grandeur, except to say that it was awe inspiring, and a must see if you love caves as much as we do!
There’s even a snack and souvenir shop at the bottom of the cave! We got a snack and drink there just because. Unfortunately we had limited time because we had to get back to pick up the dogs from daycare, an hour and a half away. We’d love to return sometime, and stay in White’s City so we could be closer to the cave. Although there’s no doggie daycare there, it does have an RV park with full hookups so we could leave the dogs for a while in the air-conditioned trailer while we explored the cave in more detail. Then we could go see the bats as they fly out of the cave at dusk—something Carlsbad Caverns is famous for!
The following day, we drove to Roswell, about 60 miles from the KOA, to visit Dave’s Aunt Lotti and Uncle Steve and see a bit of the town made famous for the “Roswell Incident” that sparked numerous conspiracy theories about UFOs and alien close encounters. In fact, the town really leans into all the extraterrestrial hype! There were life-sized alien statues in several places along the main drag, some of the more friendly ones waving, along with signs and window paintings of either spaceships or aliens in various locations. They even have a McDonalds shaped like a flying saucer and a huge green alien holding up a Duncan Donuts sign!
We went out to lunch with Dave’s aunt and uncle and had a nice visit with them, then we went to check out the International UFO Museum, because, well, you can’t go to Roswell New Mexico and not go to the UFO Museum! It was pretty cheesy, but I found it interesting also. Made me wonder what if… But, no, mostly just cheesy!
Our next stop will be Wichita Falls Texas where we will be visiting with more relatives—Dave’s Aunt Martha and Uncle Rodger. Then we head to Oklahoma City to visit with Dave’s cousin, Wanda. After that, we’ll set off for Hot Springs National Park, which will be the next chapter in our epic adventure. See you then!
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