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Carlsbad, New Mexico

Into the Visitor Center I go for a little look-around.

Here we have a cool 3-dimensional map of the cave system, a cartoon of what not to do when touring the caves (yes, people like me best understand such information when displayed in cartoon format, thank you Carlsbad), the Visitor Center's theater, and today's programs.

Wow, there's no ticket line, it must be off season? Either that, or perhaps most folks never made it all the way to the Visitors Center, they were so taken with the beauty of the scenery on the way that they turned back? Regardless, I flash my National Parks Pass, get my ticket for free, then grab some information booty. Sweet, I think I'm now ready for some hardcore cave touring.

I'm heading out of the Visitors Center now, destination, the natural entrance to the cave system. Hey, what's this? I have to assess my hiking fitness? How do I do that? Is there a stress-test treadmill machine around here somewhere? Well, let's see, I have two functioning legs and I have the presence of mind to duck and not get hit in the head by a stalactite. So, I guess I'm good to go.

Out the door and on down the footpath. The adobe and stucco houses across the way were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early 1940s.