HISMSV Pt 2: The Cave of Wonders

HISMSV=How I Spent My Summer Vacation

When we were driving through west Texas, Zane found this little golden bug thing. We weren't sure what it was, but when we got to New Mexico, we though we'd throw it on some sand in the desert and whaddya know-- a giant sand tiger with an earring popped out of the sand dunes. Then he opened his mouth, and the skinny old guy told us to get the lamp.

Wait, wrong story. Different cavern.

This post is about the national monument Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. We went here on day six of our epic road trip. A few years ago they used to have a restaurant in the caverns, which I was really excited about, like the main reason I wanted to go was to eat down there, but apparently they don't do that anymore. Boo. We still got to see some SWEET cave stuff. You know, like stalactites, stalagmites, body parts:

They call this one the stactit.

No, seriously, we saw awesomeness down there. I'm pretty sure the guys who created the characters from Pans Labrynth went down there to get ideas. We're pretty sure this was the inspiration for Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean:

I know, it's dark, but you can see it right? The beard...okay, it's a stretch.

That wasn't the only movie character we saw. We also saw some of Ursula's sea urchins:

"Now, it's happened once or twice, someone couldn't pay the price, and I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals." (Don't be deceived by the "Fairyland" sign...it's a trap!)

All in all, I had a great time in this National Monument, and I'd recommend it if you are in the area. But don't go expecting to eat in the underground restaurant just because you read about it in a novel. And because you saw billboards for it all along the road to get there. Don't have that expectation.

But you can have this expectation of what it will look like to walk into the caverns for the first time:

And if you plan it right - you can also see a bunch of bats fly out at dusk. It's true. Check out the site.