Days Inn Carlsbad

Carlsbad Tip

by smoox

There they go! Thousands of them. Once they are out, they will circle and circle and circle above you, trying to determine the direction of their flight. Immediately, the birds of prey fly in, too, to catch a snack. +++ Ladies, don´t worry: They do NOT attack or get entangled in your hair. :-)

Look out for Draperies

by Sharrie

Look out for Draperies.

The creation of each formation depended on water that dripped or seeped down into the limestone bedrock & into the cave. Draperies were hung where water ran down a slanted ceiling.

Wildlife encounters

by Bwana_Brown

I was not really expecting to see much wildlife at the mine site! However, this Desert Cottontail, a member of the rabbit family, seemed to have settled in for good amongst some old sections of metal electrical switchgear cabinets that had been hauled out for junk and were just sitting there rusting away topside. These cute little creatures inhabit the American west from Montana all the way down into Texas and over into Mexico and California. It did not seem very skittish compared to the Snowshoe Hares common in eastern Canada where I grew up. I came across it on several occassions as I walked from our office to the Cage Hoist for another trip to the depths!

The 2nd photo shows a creature I was really interested to see - a Roadrunner! Seeing it brought back pleasant memories of all the laughs I had decades ago watching one of these outwit 'Wile E. Coyote' on the Warner Brothers cartoon shows! Sure enough, there was this largest member of the Cuckoo family trotting around the mine site (they can reach almost 20 mph) - always wary to maintain a safe distance from humans. On a couple of occasions I noticed that the Roadrunner seemed to have a morsal of some sort in its beak - and was saddened to learn from one of the site secretaries that it would occassionally fly up when necessary to grab young Swallows from their nests beneath the building eaves (3rd photo).

The 4th photo shows a rear view of a squirrel in the backyard of the house I was using for my residence. On more than one late afternoon, as the sun was setting, I noticed it laying flat on its belly atop our surrounding rock wall with its legs splayed out as it soaked up a few rays. It lay there motionless for hours - something I had never seen a squirrel do before.

The Giant Chandelier

by Sharrie

The Giant Chandelier.

Made of ribbon staclactites. Created from water which dripped from the surface into the cavern & thereby deposited rings of calcite on the ceiling. Guess how long ago that was?

Ans.: 800,000 years ago!

Carlsbad

by whooping_wombat

"Getting to Carlsbad"

Carlsbad is a rare gem in what has been called "The most desolate place in North America". There is a reason why New Mexico is the last untamed land in Aldous Huxley’s book “A Brave New World”. Southeastern New Mexico is a vast open place, you can actually see where the sky and the earth bend to meet each other on the horizon. This is definitely not the place for agoraphobics.

"Getting to Carlsbad"

Getting to Carlsbad is relatively difficult. There is an airport but it is serviced by small private airplanes. You can actually get a flight directly into Carlsbad with Mesa Air Group (http://www.mesa-air.com/default.asp) or you can drive. Be warned there isn’t much between Carlsbad and the next city so you want to make sure that you always have enough gas.Once you are in Carlsbad finding lodging is easy. There are a lot of hotels running up the main street in town. Most are inexpensive. Other then the flumes and the Pecos river Carlsbad doesn’t have to much to see. Everything that is really worthy of seeing is around Carlsbad. The Carlsbad Caverns are about 45 minutes south of Carlsbad. They are gorgeous and there are several parts to the cave. Getting the full effect takes around four days. During the summer you can see bats leaving the cave at twilight. For a different effect you can go at 5:00 in the morning and see them entering the cave again.

"Things to see besides the caves."

If you come to Carlsbad and you only go to the caves then you have missed out on half of the charm. There are is a water fall north of town called Sitting Bull's falls, that is worth going to. It is in the middle of the desert in a very isolated place which really adds to it's appeal. You can get a permit from the Forest service to enter a cave that is behind the water falls. It is small but pretty and has a lake that you can swim in (though the water is quite cold).
There are some seasonal things to see in Carlsbad. During the winter time Carlsbad decorates the river and people go on boats to see all of the lights. It is a pretty event and worth seeing. The bat fliths only take place during the summer, in the winter they migrate to Mexico.
North of town there is also a lake which is stocked with fish. An hour south of Carlsbad there are the Guadalupe Mountains. Get up early to hike the peak and you will have one of the most beautiful views of Texas and New Mexico. The most beautiful part of Carlsbad and the thing I miss the most when I leave is the night sky. Drive for five minutes out of the city park the car and walk out a little ways from the road and you are treated to a spectacular view of the heavens.