Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns

I was sad to leave Meris'. She's one of those people that, no matter how long you go without seeing them or talking with them, you can pick right up where you left off. My goal was to get to Carlsbad and it took me most of the day to get there. Jack took me all over the place. I think he wanted me to stay away from the Mexican border. I still had to go through a border patrol station though. I think they have them randomly around here. Despite my amazing tan, they figured I wasn't illegal and let me through. I decided to stop at Guadalupe Mountains National Park because it was right along the way and I can't say no to a National Park. It was surprisingly cloudy and cool. I think it's the highest point in TX but I couldn't see it thanks to all the clouds.
I took a walk over to an old stagecoach station but there wasn't much left. It was interesting to see all the different kind of desert plants. I went to an old farmhouse as well that was a little oasis in the desert. They had a spring that flowed at 6 gallons a minute. I wanted to get to Carlsbad by 3pm though because the last entrance by the Natural entrance was at 3:30. I was walking in at 3:20 so I just made it. I was a little put off at first because it reeks of guano. But once you descend past where the natural light fades, this entire world opens up and it is spectacular. I just couldn't stop looking up and around. It was hard to take pictures because they try to use just a few lights to highlight the striking formations. In a few sections, I was all by myself where I couldn't hear anyone else and it was exhilarating and creepy at the same time. The trail joined up with the Big Room tour and that was huge (duh).



It's amazing because when I was driving up to the Visitor Center I kept looking around wondering where the heck everything was. It's weird to think there's a whole world underneath me. They even have bathrooms and gift shops down below. That's the first time I've peed underground (well at least 1000 feet down). I spent time at the campground doing laundry and then I went back for the bat flight. The ranger that talked beforehand was amazing. He was like a stand up comedian. Then we heard a loud buzz come through the speakers and we all shut up and then thousands of bats flew out. I was kinda grossed out that I was in there with all those things. They all formed a massive line and flew off to eat half their body weight in insects. It started smelling like guano so I left and spent the rest of the evening catching up with my photos and blogs. I'm at about the halfway point I guess. It's been amazing so far and I can't wait to get to the East Coast and see a completely different landscape and feel that much closer to home and Max!!