A Cave, Dunes, and Petroglyphs- A Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this week’s post on a cave, dunes, and petroglyphs. Hope you like the photos!

We visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It was like the Florida Caverns, multiplied by a zillion. Eerie, fantastic, fantasmic, wonderful, unearthly- I could go on but the point is made. We spent three hours in the caverns, three unforgettable hours. Our only disappointment was that the bats had not yet arrived.

This photo mostly shows stalactites in Carlsbad Cavern. This photo cannot give a sense of scale- these structures are massive.

This was an attempt to give a sense of scale- note the silhouette of a human figure at the bottom of the lighted area.

A stunning three-hour drive through a mountain range brought us to Alamogordo.

Street art was carried to new heights in the town of Artesia. This bronze sculpture was on the side of the road.

Susan eats pistachio ice cream in front of the world’s largest pistachio sculpture.

After stopping to visit the world’s largest pistachio statue, we went to White Sands National Park. It’s just as fantastic as the caverns, in a totally different way- blasting sun, blowing sand, heat, wind, light. Lots of people there, having fun in the dunes. We took some hikes, then headed to see the petroglyphs.

A sand dune at White Sands.

The happy campers. It’s like our second honeymoon!

People ride plastic discs down the dune faces.

Susan enjoys a rare piece of shade at White Sands.

Three Rivers petroglyphs site has thousands of symbols etched onto rocks. A short hike brings one to them. Counters can try to keep track of how many they’ve seen. The number will be large.

Petroglyphs at the Three Rivers site are more than 1000 years old.

More petroglyphs, with the Sacramento Mountains in the background.

The moon hangs over the mountain in this view from our campsite at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, south of Alamogordo.

Barrel cactus blossoms, lovely things.

Sunset from our campsite at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.

Today’s plan is for a drive to another part of New Mexico and some new adventures. Be here to see them next week- same time, same channel!

Thank you for reading this week’s post on a cave, dunes, and petroglyphs!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or take a trip!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.