A Land Down Under

My time in Carlsbad Caverns National Park was amazing! Last night I went to the bat flight program at the entrance of the cave. Just after sunset THOUSANDS of bats started flying out of the cave to begin searching for food all night. The stream of bats lasted for at least 20 minutes, and I'm pretty sure it was still going when I left after it got too dark to see. Bats have become stigmatized as creepy and gross animals but they're actually very smart and caring. They can see as well as a human, can hear the sound of a bug crawling on the desert floor, and they pollinate many fruits and plants that humans consume. 

Today I went back into the park to descend into the cavern, and it was immense. The Natural Entrance Route descends to the Big Room Route which is 750+ ft below the surface. Both trails combined are 2.5 miles. The size of the cavern was very impressive, and there were many cool features to see, such as stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, columns, and flowstone. Would recommend the park to anyone who has a chance to see it, going through the cave only took a few hours. It was tough to get photos in the dark cave but some of my best ones are below. 

After I left Carlsbad, I drove to Albuquerque, where I will pick up a friend tomorrow. Once I got here I replaced the canister purge valve solenoid on the RV because it was causing a "Service Engine Soon" light. The fix was a little tricky but I'm glad I got it done, the service light is off so it seems like the new part did the trick!