Day Trip to Carlsbad Caverns

I took Monday off, and we took a 3-hour (each way) day trip to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. It was our first time there, and it was quite amazing! It was like Timpanogos Cave times 50. The cave was HUGE! We hiked down into the largest part of the cave, which was a total of about 2.5 miles (1 mile down and 1.5 miles once you were inside). We had a hard time getting our flash to work right inside the cave, so I'm including a couple of pics taken by other people to show you how cool it was. (The pic with the guy pointing shows the entrance - the tiny light.)






Also, here is a pic from the drive showing some oil wells of West Texas, for those of you who have never been here.


And, this will only be interesting to my family, but 10 years ago my dad, brothers, and I drove across the country together and ate at this dive of a restaurant in West Texas (after searching for a normal place for an hour and practically dying of starvation). We often reminisce about that experience; it was like stepping back in time about 50 years. (My dad thought it was so cool that real Texas ranchers were telling cattle roping stories.) The place has since been renamed and painted, but you can still see how ghetto it is. So, this is the old Cattleman's in Pecos, TX.