"Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico" Carlsbad Caverns National Park by MarkJochim

Carlsbad Caverns is probably the most visited tourist site in all of New Mexico. More than 85 caves underlie the park, two of which — Carlsbad Caverns and Lechuguilla Cave — are among the largest and most magnificent underground formations in the world.

Carlsbad Caverns is actually a Permian-age fossil reef. Over a period of millions of years, sulfuric acid ate away at fissures in underground limestone and fossil shelves that were at one time under a vast sea. At undetermined dates partial cave-ins occurred and created immense underground chambers, like the Big Room — 25 stories high and a third of a mile wide.

The National Park is also home to the Carlsbad Caverns Wilderness Area, which at 33,000 acres boasts enough hiking trails to keep you busy for an afternoon, or a week. The park is part of the northern Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem, where grassland vegetation and desert shrub give way to pine woodlands at the highest elevations. You'll find a dazzling palette of desert flowers if you set out after a recent rainstorm. Wildlife abounds-with luck, you may see golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, even elk or cougar tracks.

I have many wonderful memories of visiting Carlsbad Caverns while on family vacations in the 1970s (when we lived in western Texas). I also remember seeing slides of visits my father made to the park in the 1950s while serving with the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss; this was before he returned to California and married my mother.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet been able to return to Carlsbad since moving to Albuquerque. I hope to get down there some day soon!