Carlsbad Off The Beaten Path

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This photo shows me 1600-ft down, in front of the 'cage' that carries men and equipment up and down. My typical kit was worn by all our employees who ended up spending time underground at the mine. The coveralls are designed to resist a certain amount of energy in the event an electrical arc flash occurs while working on equipment - preventing you from catching fire. The yellow flash stripes glow brightly when light is shone on them, enabling you to be seen by equipment drivers in the dim recesses of tunnels. The sturdy blue belt has to support a large battery attached on one side (with its cable running up your back to the light on the hard hat). On the other side of the belt is an SCSR (Self-Contained Self-Rescuer) - a device you will deploy in case of smoke or other breathing dangers. Once opened, it will provide oxygen for up to an hour. Rules also require that a larger rescue-breather also be kept nearby (on your vehicle for instance) to provide a few more hours for you to reach the surface or a rescue chamber. The small round metal tag hanging from the belt is your personal number, with an identical one hanging on a board located above ground indicating whether you are either on the Surface or Underground - a method used to determine exactly who and how many miners are down at any time. Safety glasses and steel-toed/electrically insulated boots make up the rest of the kit, along with your water jug and lunch box to get you through an 8-hour shift in the heat below.

The 2nd photo shows the long brown 'cage' on the surface as it hangs on the right side of the tower, with its lower compartment used for transporting equipment and the upper compartment for miners. The 3rd photo shows one of the rescue chambers where miners can retreat and seal themselves off with extra air breathers, food and cots if things get bad. There is also a telephone and air pipe direct to the surface in case they are trapped for an extended period.

The 4th photo shows one of the many Miners - a large battery-driven machine that can raise its rotating 'chewing bits' on the front end to gouge away at the walls and ceilings to spit the ore out its rear-end onto a Haul machine. You can see the marks on the roof where the teeth have done their work and also how reflective those stripes can be.

In the 5th photo, I'm at the controls of one of the several vehicles required to move men around the many miles of underground tunnels that branch out from the shaft. They are 4WD and quite easy to use but many tunnels are so low that you have to always be prepared to duck your head (sometimes as low as the steering wheel!) to avoid serious injuries!

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Just to the southeast of town, in the opposite direction of Carlsbad Caverns and on a little-used state highway, lie several stunning alkali flats.
Alkali flats are essentially dry lake beds where salt has accumulated. After a light rain, they become a gorgeous, shimmering white.
From Carlsbad take US 285 south to NM 31. Turn left (east) and turn right (south) approximately 10 miles later at NM 128, Jal Highway. This will take you to Texas.

If you really want to explore a region, get a good map!
Benchmark makes an excellent, detailed atlas of New Mexico, which lead me to CR 206 northeast of town into the oil and gas fields on Carlsbad's extreme outskirts. The road runs north from town as Canal Street and ends up at US 82 several miles east of Artesia. It takes a little longer than 285, but it's a much more interesting drive.

Sitting Bull Falls. It's right there on your map, but you may ignore it because it's so far down a dirt road. You want to check it out! In the middle of the desert you'll find a big waterfall complete with cottonwoods and columbine. Well worth the drive.

Though most visitors who travel to the park concentrate on the caverns, a nearby nature trail will give you a good sampling of desert flora and fauna. It is about 1/2 mile long. Keep an eye out for lizards. This is prime habitat for them. I spotted 2 Collared Lizards. The trail makes for an interesting diversion and is recommended if you have the time.