Carlsbad Caverns and Sitting Bull Falls

We were up and out of the RV by 0730 Sunday morning.

We were going to Carlsbad Caverns and we figured an early arrival would mean less crowds.

We were right.  We arrived, got our tickets and headed in.

If you visit Carlsbad Caverns, you can take the elevator down to the Big Room or you can enter at the Natural Entrance and walk 1.5 miles to the Big Room.

THE TRAIL TO THE NATURAL ENTRANCE

I highly recommend walking down.  It is all downhill and it is spectacular.  The enormity of the caverns is beyond the imagination.

Though photos do not do it justice, I took quite a few.

I probably spent an embarrassing amount of time gawking.  I was constantly pointing at this and that.  I had anticipated an amazing experience and I was not disappointed.  The Caverns are spectacular!

We walked down to and around the Big Room.  After we'd had really good look, we took the elevator up.  We drove back to the RV, got the girls and headed to Sitting Bull Falls.

Sitting Bull Falls is a series of waterfalls located in a canyon in the Lincoln National Forest southwest of the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service maintains a popular recreation area for day use at the location of the falls.

The falls are fed by springs located in the canyon above. The water flows through a series of streams and pools until reaching the falls where it drops 150 feet into the canyon below. Most of the water disappears into the gravel or cracks in the rocks and either reappears in springs further down the canyon or joins the Pecos Valley underground water supply.

The area around Sitting Bull Falls is the remnant of a reef system known as the Capitan Great Barrier Reef dating from the Permian period. Approximately 250 million years ago, the region was located near the edge of an inland sea.

Sitting Bull Falls Park is a lovely oasis out in the middle of an otherwise barren range.  The falls boast a very nice visitor area and several trails.

The main trail to view the falls is paved and good for strollers, wheelchairs and those less inclined to hike in rough terrain.

There are other trails that are much more strenuous and offer wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.

THE FALLS

PENNY TAKING ANOTHER DIP

CANYON WALLS

We had a great hike and made our way up to the source of the falls.  We met a few hikers along the way and Penny had a blast.

We'd had a very full day and it was not even 2pm.  We drove back to Lewis, and we are now settled and waiting to watch the Masters replay.

Another great day in this thing we call life.