Potty BEFORE you start your decent :) and other Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM Warning Or Danger Tips

There are restrooms before you enter the caves, and one at the rest area undergound. But during the long hike down into the cave from the natural entrance, or during your walk in the Big Room - no facilities!

So be prepared and just take a moment to 'relieve yourself' BEFORE you wander 72 stories into the depths of the earth :)

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Website: http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm

I am only an amateur photgrapher, so if you are more knowledgeable than I - please feel free to share. But, I thought sharing what I learned during my jaunt into the bowels of the earth might help someone else .....

Between the 6 of us, all of our cameras were no longer able to work by the end of the tour ... 2 without battery power, 4 out of film. So, charge up and stock up before you begin your walk.

The lighting is subdued, and artistic lighting has been added to aid your ability to actually see all of the wonderful formations mother earth has provided for us.

Standard flash photography doesn't work well in the caverns. It tends to wash out the the amazing colors and textures of the formations.

Going without flash doesn't work w/out a tripod. The shutter speed is too slow for handheld work - the picture blurs :(

The compromise I found was putting my little camera on an alternate flash setting ... the one for red eye reduction. Since the flash is timed to go off BEFORE the shutter mechanism opens, you get the benefit of some light, without interfering w/ the image you are trying to capture.

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Website: http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm

Before you enter the caves from the natural entrance, rangers pull you aside, take your ticket, and give you verbal instructions .....

Don't touch.
Don't go off the path.
Don't take anything into the caves you can't take back out with you.
Don't take food, or fluids other that water with you into the cave.
Don't litter.
Don't throw coins into undergroud water supplies.
Etc.

The rangers are very clear: as long as you remain on the path, they will find you and help you if you are ill or injured. They will not go looking off path for you!!

The ranger who told me this story told me that in the past people have done similar things, been locked in for the night , died. They would panic, wander or run, and fall into the holes that lead to the deeper portions of the cave. Between injuries, and hypothermia, they wouldn't be found for quite a while - and very dead.

I did hear a story about a guy a few years ago who chose to go off path for photography excursion. He hid from the last ranger of the night - then decided he'd better not. He tried to get the ranger's attention, but that particular ranger was a deaf interpreter - and deaf himself. As a result, he didn't hear the guy. After this final round through the cavern, the ranger turned off the lights.

This guy, stayed calm. He was already back on the pathway, and felt his way until he found a bench. He just curled up and went to sleep. They found him in the morning - and took him off for medical treatment for hypothermia.

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Website: http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm

This is the desert, and therefore ... um .... HOT! Remember, no matter how uncomfortable it might be for you - it will be several times worse for a pet left in the car.

Because of this, the Caverns staff have developed an airconditioned kennel for your furred family member. For $4.00 a day, your critter will get care, attention, and a private cage. They can handle up to 30 pets at a time.

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Other Contact: http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.ht