From The Rock To The Rim: The Beauty of New Mexico

As we travel throughout North America, we are discovering the unique beauty that each province and state is famous for. There is no better place to get up close and personal with the places we are visiting then by entering the National Parks and Monuments and taking in the variety of events that are offered. Way back at the beginning of this journey, we discovered that many of these National Parks would be bucket list places AND we quickly discovered how expensive it would be to visit, each averaging $25 to $35. It was a no-brainer to purchase the $80 annual pass. With everything we have seen so far, we have already paid for our pass 3 or 4 times over. Such was the case when we visited our last two National attractions in New Mexico.

White Sands National Park, located in the northern Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico, is known for its dramatic landscape of white gypsum sand dunes. Occupying 275 square miles of desert landscape, this fascinating area is even visible from space. We really enjoyed our afternoon on the Interdune Boardwalk and driving the scenic road through the mountains of sand. For just a moment, we thought we were spending February home in Newfoundland!! And yes, I even sled down a dune!

Carlsbad Caverns was the other National Park we visited in New Mexico. Featuring over 100 caves, there are two ways to enter the cavern; hiking through the Natural Entrance or taking an elevator down 750 feet at the visitor centre. Normally, I would have been all up for the hike but I had the off chance of chatting with another tourist on the previous day and her story of descending down into a dark and eerie cave had my claustrophobia on high alert and, for my sake, we chose the elevator ride. If I were to do this again, I would definitely hike in!!!

The pictures and video below show a huge underground chamber with stalactites clinging to the roof and other odd formations and features that you would only find in an ancient cavern. As we walked for about a mile underground exploring the various rooms, we were awestruck by the strange beauty and eerie silence that is typical of caves. We were so glad we made it to Carlsbad Caverns!

The National Park Service has done an excellent job in making these caverns accessible for everyone. The trailways and hand rails ensure safety and a promise that you won't get lost!

Down, down we go!

These three stalagmites are known as The Three Giants and were formed from the accumulation of calcite from dripping water. The twin domes are 58 feet from the bottom of the trail and the Giant Dome has now become a column touching the roof of the cavern.

Many parts of the trail were softly lit.

You can really get an understanding of the size of this particular room in the cavern when you let your eye follow the pathway down to where Steve is standing.