Bats, Chihuahuan Desert Plants and Carlsbad Cavern

We watched the bat flight from Carlsbad Cavern last night. It was by far the most amazing thing we saw here at the National Park. I was so moved by it, in a way I can't really explain. As the thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats swirled out of the cavern, I could hear them whooshing into the night, and see them outlined against the dim sunlight on the horizon. The cooling air smelled of a hot day in the desert, and the stars and milky way emerged to light the dome of the sky. The moon was a small crescent, and had not yet risen when we left to walk back to the car. They provided a minimum of lighting for the return trip, so I ended up stubbing my toes before finding the car. There is no photography allowed at the bat flight to avoid disturbing the bats, so my prose will have to be sufficient to convey the experience. The parking lot at the visitors center has a commanding view of the New Mexican and Texas plain far below. At night the lights of Carlsbad, NM lit the horizon. So pretty. This area is part of the Permian Basin oil patch, and oil extraction is highly visible here, but none of that shows up at night, but the population these jobs provide for makes an impact with their lights. We also did a short hike through the Chihuahuan desert along the top of the ridge as we waited for the bat flight.

The plain from the top of the hill at the edge of the Visitors Center parking lot.

This morning we got up to make our tour time to walk through Carlsbad Cavern from the cave entrance. I made a reservation weeks ago, a necessity now due to Covid-19. The National Park Service limits the number of visitors. The cave was just a spectacular as I remembered from my visit during my college years, maybe around 1990, but there were many fewer visitors this time. They have also shut down the little lunch counter in the big room area of the cave, leaving only the bathrooms open. When we finished our walk and found the elevators, they were shut down because of a fire alarm at the visitor's center above. We waited in the area instead of immediately starting to walk back, up, and the elevators resumed within 30 minutes. We ate a quick lunch at the Visitor's Center before continuing on.

The cave mouth.

Russ takes a picture as we prepare to descend.

The trail is steep and about 2.5 miles long.

Cave formations.

The scale of the cavern is hard to convey in a photo.

This formation is called the Sun Temple.

We both got interested in the huge variety of Chihuahuan desert plants, so Russ' bought a book. We then had an immediate chance to try it out on the Scenic Loop drive. Many of the plants are in  bloom, and there were clouds of butterflies.

Russ checks out the Rattlesnake Canyon overlook.

The spindly plant in the foreground is an ocotillo.

There was some surface water from earlier rains.

Walnut Canyon natural rock shelters.

Prickly Pear fruit, also known as tuna. This is right next to our trailer.

We leave here tomorrow to go to Guadalupe National Park just over the border in Texas. It's remote, so I don't expect to have any kind of signal for a couple of days. This trip is exceeding my expectations so far, and I anticipate the sites we have yet to visit.