Carlsbad and White Sands Monument, New Mexico

Roswell, Carlsbad, and White Sands Monument, New Mexico.

September 03, 2016

Distance: N/A

Time: 4/A

Entrance Fee: $5 USD per person; Carlsbad $16 USD per person.

For Carlsbad and White Sands Monument, we used our America The Beautiful Pass.

This is not a blog post about one of our hikes but one of our travelling experience on labor's day weekend, to three places in New Mexico. The trips started because we (by we, I mean me), really wanted to go to Roswell, New Mexico because, you know, aliens, spaceship crashing sites, UFO, etc.

We made a quick stop at Roswell, went to the International UFO Museum and Research Center, Downtown Historic District, and we visited the Roswell Spacewalk (Although we did not actually did it).

Our next stop was the amazing bat cave at Carlsbad Caverns. This is a must if you are in the area! As usual, the scenery is picturesque, and the bat cave is impressive. Carlsbad Caverns National Park does a before dawn event called Bat Flight Program.

Before the bats exiting the cave, you might be able to see some birds flying around. Picture this, but with millions of bats. In case you want to witness these visitors from the south, the best time to visit is from late May-October.

We do not have any pictures of the bats exiting as electronic devices, pets, or anything that makes noise is not allowed. It is a time to be quiet, relaxed and simply be in the moment and enjoy the site. Please do not be THAT guy whose phone rings in the middle of the event!

We decided to spend the night in the area and visit caverns the next day. We were able to take some good pictures that evening.

There are two ways of accessing the caves, you can take elevator right to the caverns or you can walk/hike all the way to the Big Room (about 1.25 miles) which takes close to an hour to two, depending upon your pace. The Big Room is the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America.

We took a hike called Natural Entrance Trail which is a 1.25-mile long walkway/paved trail that took us from the mouth of caverns(close to Amphitheater) to the Big Room. Be warned, the trail is steep, and it has a gain or loss of 750 feet. It is worth it, believe us! It will give you an idea of what the early explorers had to do and will allow you to enjoy natural formations.

Mouth of the caverns.

These caves have numerous formations, each one unique and spectacular. We can add some pictures but there is no way a camera can capture what our eyes can see.

Keep in mind we use our phone camera, and that we are not photography experts, these pictures do not come close to what you will see if you decide to go.

Our last stop in the three day trip was the White Sands National Monument a 275 square miles of white sand, it is truly a place like no other on earth! I mean take a look at these pictures!

There are some hiking trails in the park, please be very careful if you decide to hike here. The trails are not long (they range from 0.5 to 5 miles round trip). Keep in mind that you will need plenty of water, we do mean PLENTY, and it is not advised to start a hike if the temperatures are at or above 85°F (30°C). Did I mention that you need PLENTY of water?

This place is HOT, even with some clouds, the temperature is extreme but worth the trouble, you will be able to enjoy spectacular views and, if you are up to, play in the endless sand hills. You might even purchase a sled at the giftshop and have a blast!