Day 2: Carlsbad, NM -> Santa Rosa, NM

We hit Carlsbad Caverns early this morning. We Showed up about 8:30, picked up our tickets for the 10:00 tour of King's Palace, and walked down via the "natural entrance." I thought the entry to the cave was worth the walk, but once you're in the mouth, there is a long, less interesting walk to the main room (where the elevator meets you).

It turns out, we picked the right day to visit. Since yesterday was the annual "Bat Flight Breakfast," and it was Fee-Free Weekend at several parks around the country, Carlsbad saw over 4,500 visitors yesterday. We heard stories about the wait for the elevators back to the top. Our visit was very un-crowded and nice, and we enjoyed lunch at the almost deserted underground lunchroom.

We did not do the self-guided tour of the Big Room. After the long walk in and the 90-minute guided tour of King's Palace, we were ready to hit the road. So we started of toward Santa Rosa, New Mexico... with a short stop along the way in Roswell. We hit the UFO Museum. Quite a hoot.

In Santa Rosa, we plan to see some of the city parks. The skies here are very gray and there are some impressive lightning displays in the distance.