Carlsbad Caverns 3/23

Today's Carlsbad Caving Winterim Blog is brought to you by Madison Dodge, Rodas Tewelde, and Maddie Abel: "Today we had an extraordinary and incredible adventure. We woke up early, poured our coffee, and hit the road into Texas to meet Ranger Justin at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We learned that the park was once a reef deep in the Delaware Sea before the time of the dinosaurs. We saw fossils and photographs of sea creatures that have been found in the park. Then we began our seven-mile excursion up McKittrick Canyon which was filled with beautiful scenery including Texas Madrone trees which have a red color that is a natural fire retardant. We crossed several "disappearing creeks" and continued our hike to the grotto, which is a collapsed cave. After lunch, we visited the Platt Cabin. Wallace Platt built a beautiful stone cabin in the 1930s and it has been preserved as a historic site. We headed home and after some chill time, headed into Carlsbad for a glamorous dinner at El Jimador full of riveting conversation. We're excited for one more morning in Carlsbad Caverns before journeying back home.