We woke early, Meg ran, and we had a quick breakfast so we could maximize our time at Carlsbad Caverns! It was a cool morning, which prepared us for the cool damp of the caverns. After purchasing our parks pass (yay!), we decided to take the Natural Entrance instead of taking the elevator directly to the Big Room: 1.25 miles long and 750 feet of descent. After 90 minutes and hundreds of pictures on the descent, we made our way efficiently around the Big Room, taking a few hundred more pictures: it was truly awe-inspiring.
Since we had taken a bit more time than planned at Carlsbad Caverns, we stopped for a quick burrito lunch and then we drove 125 miles (and 5,500 feet in elevation) to Cloudcroft, NM, where the lobby cat welcomed us to the charming Summit Inn. We had a brisk (it was 57 degrees out and windy) al fresco dinner at Dave’s Cafe, and then wandered Burro Street before heading back to the room to sort through all the pictures!
