 | Carlsbad Flights and Airline Tips | 1 - 10 of 10 |  |
 Our Beechcraft King Air 200 at
Casper, Wyoming by Bwana_Brown, 4 more photos
The aircraft itself was very nice, seating 6 passengers and having an on-board toilet. The pilots had prepared for our needs with a couple of ice-coolers full of soft drinks, juice, beer and liquor as well as quite an assortment of snacks. We just helped ourselves whenever we felt the need. I really enjoyed cruising along in this personalized mode as we dodged various thunderstorm clouds that rose even higher than our 30,000-ft maximum altitude. There was one cell we could not avoid on landing in Regina at the end of the trip and the airplane took quite a buffeting from the storm clouds as strokes of lightning lit us up! Some of the guys were understandably quite nervous but I have been on so many flights that I just enjoyed the action - and opened another cold beer!
Just a few weeks later, we were awarded the contract and I was in our first group of six employees who flew down via commercial flights for a 3-week stay. Regina-Calgary-Denver-Albuquerque was the plan but various hitches turned it into a 40-hour non-stop slog via Regina-Calgary-Phoenix-Albuquerque incuding the 5-hour drive (1 AM - 6 AM) to Carlsbad in order to be there for the start of a 7 AM mine safety training course. The charter flight was looking great by comparison! Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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 My rental truck parked on
Walnut Canyon Drive by Bwana_Brown
This view was taken in Carlsbad National Park, since I took this Dodge Dakota AWD for the 27-mile drive from the city of Carlsbad to the National Park via Highway 62/180, with the last seven miles being on a scenic road inside the NP. The truck worked great and air conditioning was essential in the desert heat. The vehicle I rented from National in Albuquerque cost US$1550 (including extra insurance) for three weeks and gasoline was running at just under US$4 per American gallon (the least expensive grade) at this stage of the up and down oil prices. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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 by Sharrie
From El Paso, take Highway 62/180 East to Carlsbad Caverns directly. It's about 2 1/2 hours ride.
Carlsbad is also serviced by Mesa Airlines.
No commercial vehicle as indicated by this sign.
Driving Distances:
El Paso - 166 miles.
Rowell - 76 miles.
Albuquerque - 278 miles. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Carlsbad is best reached via road from Alburqurqe. The later is reached by air from most major hubs in the USA.
Taxis are available. Rental car is also a possibility as well. Theme: Car/Motor Home
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In doing a bit of research into the attractions of Carlsbad, the one that seemed to top all the lists for the city itself was a visit to Living Desert State Park, located on a hilltop at the northwest edge of the town and within sight of our accommodations! They are open every day of the year except Christmas so a bunch of us headed up the hill for a look at just after 9 AM on our Sunday off-day.
According to Park literature, "it is an indoor/outdoor living museum displaying more than 40 native animal species and hundreds of succulent plants from around the world". For a $5 entrance fee, their modern Visitor Center was a great place to start our tour. The staff were very friendly and we enjoyed wandering around examining the many objects on display giving us a taste of the history, geology and plant/animal life in this part of New Mexico.
Located next door is a large Green House that we visited at the very end of our visit to the park. This structure is climate-controlled to a much more humid atmosphere than the 3100-ft natural outside elevation provides (I broke into an immediate sweat) as it shelters an amazing variety of weird and amazing cacti and succulents from all the world's Tropical areas. The last two photos show a couple of views as we walked around admiring these plants ranging all the way from pint-sized to giants towering many feet up to the ceiling. Each speciman had a small plaque providing information on it, including where it originated in the world. Because of my six years in Africa and the South Pacific, as well as a few trips to South and Central America, I could really identify with these plants! Leave a Comment Directions: On the northwest side of Carlsbad, from Highway US285, take the road leading up the hill just on the very outskirts of the city - there is a sign.
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 Approaching the 'Natural'
entrance to the caverns by Bwana_Brown, 3 more photos
I decided to enter the hard way - walking down to 750-feet below the surface via the 'Natural Entrance' that first revealed this geological wonder to the world in 1898 when a local spotted hordes of bats emerging. Even today, a colony of Mexican Free-tailed bats inhabits a dark part of the cave near the surface, with as many as 300 bats per square foot hanging from the cave ceiling during the day as they sleep. As darkness begins to fall, each evening the entire colony begins to trickle out through this natural opening, with the exodus gradually turning into a torrent as thousands of bats take to the skies in search of moths and other flying insects. There are so many bats that their mass resembes a giant snake as they make their way up and away into the night before returning at dawn. The path down into the caverns starts from an amphitheatre that has been built beside the Natural Entrance, allowing visitors to watch the daily 'bat show'.
The map in the 3rd photo shows the 'Natural Entrance' at top right where the self-guided tour begins. Just to the left of centre is a white line going straight down from the Visitor Center on the surface - this is the elevator shaft for those who want to make the trip down a little easier for themelves. All visitors must exit via the elevator because it is one-way downhill traffic when entering by the Natural Entrance. The map also gives an overview of the most significant features in the caverns as well as some idea of the size of the underground grottos when you consider that the caverns are about 850-feet deep. Without rushing at all, I covered the entire Blue (top) and Red (bottom) areas in a bit less than two hours.
The final 7 miles into the NP is via the paved Walnut Creek highway (4th photo) which takes you along a scenic creek bed (dry when I visited) in the foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains. There are several places to pull over to view interesting things (such as ancient native dwelling areas) and even a one-way 9-mile very scenic gravel loop road through the park backcountry as you near Carlsbad Caverns itself.
Altogether, it was a great way to spend the morning, only costing $6 for my self-guided walking tour of the caverns. At the cost of another few dollars (presently $3), it is also possible to rent individual headsets you can take with you on the walking tour. Leave a Comment Directions: Near the New Mexico/Texas border - turn off Highway 62/180 at Whites City.
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 Once the largest concrete
structure in America by Bwana_Brown, 4 more photos
The result was a couple of dams further north on the Pecos to impound the water flow at an elevation about 50-feet higher than that of the town. With the construction of canals from there, this water could then be channelled to both the east and west of the town to provide irrigation for the surrounding desert lands. What this meant in reality, was that one of the canals had to be constructed at a higher level than the naturally flowing Pecos River in Carlsbad if it was going to be able to use gravity to deliver its flow further out into the desert. The original wooden flume (another name for an 'aqueduct') that was built to carry the Pecos over its own natural channel was completed in 1890 and performed its duties admirably until 1893 when it was washed out by flash flooding that is common in this part of the USA. It was rebuilt but washed out again in 1902 - leading to the construction of today's concrete flume in 1903. At 475-ft long, 25-ft wide and carrying 8-ft of water, it was reported to be the largest concrete structure in the USA at that time and, although a bit leaky, is still there doing what it has to do! On either side of the flume are a nice little park beside the river as well as a replica of the first settler's (Mr. E. B. Eddy) house to be built in this part of New Mexico.
The last two photos show the 1907-built control gates on the canal system that feeds water into the Flume as it travels from the upstream Avalon Dam. Leave a Comment Directions: On the northwestern edge of Carlsbad as you enter the city on the highway from Roswell.
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 The rocky home for the Cougar
and Bobcat by Bwana_Brown, 2 more photos
One of the highlights for me was the very nice cliffside enclosure for a Mountain Lion and Bobcats - located near the end of the trail, just before it returns to the Visitor Center. The Lion was stretched out in the sunshine on his cliff taking time to lift his head every now and then to keep an eye on our progress. In the grass just beside the trail, a Bobcat was also sleeping but woke up long enough for me to get a half-decent photo through the mesh surrounding this enclosure. At the end of the day, all of us mentioned how impressed we were with the quality and variety of the experiences available for visitors. Leave a Comment
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 Heart of Pecos recreation area
in Carlsbad by Bwana_Brown, 1 more photos
This river begins its 925 mile (1500 km) journey in the mountains of the northeast part of the state and ends up as a tributary of the Rio Grande when the two rivers finally meet in Texas. The Pecos provides many scenic views and a variety of entertainment for the locals as it passes through the city, with this view showing one of the weirs that has been built to help maintain a certain water level in the city even during the dry summer months. The large building in the background was formerly the local power plant but is now retired. The 2nd photo shows a bit of the long expanse of walking trails along both sides of the river, which I enjoyed myself one Sunday afternoon.
The area is a great attraction for the locals, with power boats and jet-skis roaring up and down as others enjoy walking, swimming and picnics in the sunshine. It is also possible to walk out onto the weir to get a closer look at some of the tame local ducks or that large fountain spurting water. Leave a Comment Directions: Near the central part of Carlsbad but on the eastern side just north of the Highway 63/180 bridge leading toward Hobbs, NM.
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 Enjoying the views from the
walking trail by Bwana_Brown, 2 more photos
While you are enjoying the trail, it also takes you through various buildings with tons of interesting things to view such as the Aviary with live Eagles, Owls and various other birds, another with reptiles and a darkened building illustrating how creatures of the night live and survive. If a particular building is not of interest, the trail also has a bypass so you can continue on the loop. The furthest reaches of the trail winds its way through various large animal pens or enclosures (next tip). Leave a Comment
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Get cheap flights to Carlsbad. Airports in the area include Carlsbad (CNM). Check flights to Carlsbad when you want to visit these nearby places: Living Desert State Park.
- Days Inn Carlsbad
3910 National Parks Highway, Carlsbad, NM - Ocotillo Inn
3706 National Parks Highway (Formerly "Ocotillo Inn"), Carlsbad, NM - Super 8 Carlsbad
3817 National Parks Highway Route 62/180 South, Carlsbad, NM - HOLIDAY INN EXP STES CARLSBAD
2210 I West Pierce Street, Carlsbad, NM - Best Western Stevens Inn
1829 South Canal P.O. Box 580, Carlsbad, Carlsbad, NM - Motel 6 Carlsbad
3824 National Parks Hwy US Hwy 62/180, Carlsbad, NM - Great Western Inn
3804 National Parks Highway, Carlsbad, NM - Comfort Inn Carlsbad.
2429 W Pierce St, Carlsbad, NM - Executive Suites And Hotel
601 S. Canal, Carlsbad, NM
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