Carlsbad Canyon

This is a MUST-SEE for everyone...Jeff thinks it is more impacting than the Grand Canyon...I think they rival one another. It's a constant, humid 57 degrees, about 800 feet in the ground. Or rather in the mountain to be exact. The elevator ride down is in the dark and takes 1 minute. They turn the lights out so you can see the rock , in which lights are embedded, going down. VERY cool. We walked the Big Room which is 1.5 miles in virtual solitude other than Jaden saying hello into the little caves. Every once in awhile we would come upon a person standing quietly gazing upward. Jaden would stop, look at them, and then stare up as well. Quite amazing that he didn't climb up and over into caves, drop-offs, small ponds of water, etc. And he didn't touch anything other than the railing! Jenna just squealed and kicked and gazed around. It was the perfect time of year to go, according to the rangers, because summertime is a steady stream of visitors. We had it virtually to ourselves. One gross fact we learned after coming upon 2 quiet rangers dusting popcorn rocks with paintbrushes...they take out over 400 pounds a year of lint made up of dead skin cells, things from people's clothing, etc. And we saw it! Yuck. Sorry about so many dark photos. Very tough to make anything turn out with limited lighting. Enjoy! Oh, you could hear water dripping! That's because you have to WHISPER in the cavern! Jaden's now saying, "Go cave. Go canyon, " after our latest little outings. Jeff took the shot of the mountain that the Cavern is in and you can barely make out the entrance at the top!