Carlsbad Caverns - entering via natural entry

On Sunday, we had gotten reservations to be able to enter Carlsbad Caverns and to go on the King's Palace ranger-led tour. The weather was predicted to have high winds - an ideal time to be underground, right?

It was *quite* windy at the top outside the visitor's center.

We went to the ticket desk and purchased our tour tickets, then headed out to enter the cavern through its "natural entrance".

Out the back of the visitor's center on our way to the natural entrance.

From early May through October, at sunset, hundreds of thousands Mexican Free Tail bats leave the cavern to feed on insects in the area. This area of amphitheater seating is provided for viewing the exodus of the bats. (We weren't there during the season when the bats are in residence. It seems that they winter further south.)

Starting the walkway down into the natural entrance

Serpentine path down and down and down!

Looking back up...

... and from deeper in the cave, looking back toward the entrance.

The photographs won't convey how magnificent the cavern is.

We were told that the air totally exhausts and replaces every 36 hours.

This was called "Whale's Mouth".

Carl stopping for a picture (I tried taking a picture of him as he was walking, but because the camera is trying to compensate for the darkness, he was a blur!).

There were so many different types of formations...

On the ceiling and on the floor.

Some looking like popcorn.

In this area the signage indicated that early development of the natural structures in the cave was done via sulfuric acid carving into the stone...

... making a Swiss cheese kind of structure to the rock. (Some information about how this kind of cave formation is different from something like Mammoth Cave in Kentucky: https://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/nature/cave.htm)

After about a mile and a quarter of hiking down, we came to the area where the elevators bring people down (and take them up), and there is an information center and place to purchase food.

The "Main Corridor" entrance passage ends at the lunchroom and underground rest area near the elevators.

We were to meet our ranger-guided tour near the elevators at 11:45am. We got to the underground rest area at about 11:30am, so had time to rest for a few minutes before meeting up with our tour.