We went to Carlsbad caverns today, twice. First, we got up at the crack of dawn and skipped breakfast so we could get there in time to get our timed entry ticket. Because COVID they recently decided to lima entry be selling only 1,000 timed entry tickets a day on an in person, that day only, first come first served basis. So it’s not like we were all bunched together in line, oh wait, it was exactly like that, for about 30 minutes. And they just announced they would be switching over to an online reservation system like every other place, including other national parks, starting next week. Missed it by that much. Then we drove back to town to get breakfast because nothing was open at the park and then we drove back out to the park to actually do in (down?) the cavern.
Some say the Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground; I’m sure those same people would say Carlsbad Caverns is just a big hole underground. They wouldn’t be wrong, but they wouldn’t be right, either, as it is so much more.
Carlsbad itself is a small town at heart. I like small towns and the people who live in them except for one thing – they are slow drivers. The speed limits are ridiculous – 25 MPH through the main part of town, even on a highway with a 75 MPH speed limit outside of town (I’m loving the speed limits in the wide open spaces of the Southwest). And then they all go 5 under the speed limit, and ooze away from any stop, and sit at stop sign long enough to read War and Peace. They pull out in front of you and don’t accelerate, camp in the left lane, and in general act like taking all day to go anywhere is the fun of driving. Trust me small town drivers, driving well is the fun of driving, and driving more slowly than conditions warrant is not driving well.
And on that bombshell I’ll end the post.
