We went back to Carlsbad Caverns NP for our cave tour. We had tickets for the 10am Kings Palace tour. Turns out today is probably the height of the spring break rush. So there were lots of families with small children. Amazingly, for the most part the children were well behaved. But they should banish flashlights from the cave, particularly in the hands of children. The lighting in the cave was more than adequate to walk the trail and see the formations and children just can’t help them selves. They point their flash lights up in your eyes, ruining your night vision, or into your picture just as you take the shot. Unfortunately we found it was not just the kids with poor light etiquet. Yes, there is a light etiquet for cave explorations.
Ranger Catie gave us the Kings Palace tour. She had been a Park ranger for ten years but had only been at Carlsbad for a couple of those years. Her previous assignment had been at North Cascades NP. Over hearing this, David asked her for suggestions for when we are at North Cascades NP in August. She gave us four solid recommendations. Her enthusiasm for North Cascades NP has us looking forward to our visit in August. The tour through Kings Palace was very interesting. When we got to the Queens Chamber, Ranger Catie asked all the kids to be very quiet and turned the lights off. No one turned on their flash lights or made a peep! Then Ranger Catie began singing. She had a beautiful voice and with the incredible accustics in the chamber and the pure darkness, it was a moment to remember. Ranger Catie had also explained that they were still exploring the cave and had mapped a new room just the week prior. Her and another VERY skinny female ranger and squeezed through a narrow opening, that no one else had been able to get through, to find the new room. With that success, they have laid out additional explorations for her future!
Following the Kings Palace tour, we toured the Big Room on our own before heading for the elevators. After a few hours of looking at stalagtights and stalagmites they start to lose their magic!
No comments:
Post a Comment