Visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Entrance to the Visitor Center

This is one of my bucket-list stops, and it was great!  It’s pretty amazing going down the stairs at the entrance to think about how the guy who discovered the caverns would have experienced it.  Imagine that as soon as he was the bottom of the entrance, there would have been almost no ambient light and he continued exploring even deeper with only the light he could  bring with him.  Along the way he  would have been navigating through loose rock and boulders.  Today, of course, the caverns are lit well enough and the path is paved with a guard rail to keep visitors from straying off.

Cave Boob

The trip through the cave is about 1 1/4 miles and with a steep descent that works out to be about 79 stories.  It’s pretty easy to do though, and there is an elevator at the bottom that I rode up back to the visitor center.  I think my favorite formation was the Cave Boob (my name for it).  There are other formations that are more visually interesting, but this one made me giggle like a fifteen year old.

Old Wooden Staircase

At one point in the cave, they have left an old wooden staircase that was used by visitors to the cave long before the paved trail was put in.  (Maybe before it was made part of the national park system).

El Cosmico–Marfa, TX

Campsite at El Cosmico

Day 9:  I got cleaned up after four days of primitive camping and jumped on my bike to tour the area.  I wanted to stop by the Chinati Foundation before they closed today.  The Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum based on the ideas of its founder, artist Donald Judd.

After visiting the Chinati Foundation, I road my bike into town to have a look around.  It was pretty late in the day, and there wasn’t much to see but it did feel good to spend an little while pushing my cycling muscles.

Day 10:  The plan for today was to spend the morning at Fort Davis National Historic Site, which is about 20 miles or so north of Marfa.  Fort Davis is a partially restored military post that protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road.

After Fort Davis, I had to get some photos of this campground and some other local sites.  This is one of the most unique camping areas that I think I’ve ever seen.

 

Around Marfa Texas

Actual Contact	Ride Into Marfa	Actual Contact
Marfa Lights Viewing Area	Marfa Lights Plaque	Presidio Landmark

Around El Cosmico Campground

Campground Map	Tent Camping	Bushtecs
Shared Cooking Area	Hammocks	Bathhouse
Shower	Jupe (right) & El Cosmico	‘49 Mansion
Teepees	Yurts	Safari Tents

Visiting Fort Davis National Historic Site

This site, run by the National Park Service, is just north of the town of Fort Davis.  At its peak, Fort Davis was a major installation with over 100 buildings and more than 400 soldiers.  The main mission of the fort was to safeguard travelers against the Comanches and Apaches, especially along the San Antonio – El Paso road.

I started my visit with a stop at the ranger station which is located in a building that used to one of the enlisted barracks.  The next building is also one of the old enlisted barracks.

The barracks have several exhibits that show how the soldiers lived, as well as some of the equipment and weapons that were used at the site.

Further down the path, is the commissary, which is also furnished.  There is a good description of the logistics that the officer in charge of the commissary had to consider to keep the commissary running.  While many of the issues that he had to deal with are similar to supply chain factors that we have to consider today, their remote location made the job of planning, shopping, and shipping to keep the commissary full challenging.

The next building that has been restored is the Officer’s Kitchen and Servant’s Quarters.  As was common back then, the kitchen was separated from the living quarters for safety from fire.  Also of consideration was the heat during summer months and any unpleasant cooking odors.

After the kitchen, the Post Hospital is the next building that I visited.  This one has also been restored, and has many interpretive exhibits to show how the base personnel (and travelers) were treated for illnesses or injuries.  Every time I see displays like this, it makes me really appreciate the improvements in health care that have happened over the past couple of hundred years.

There are a couple of more restored buildings at the historic site, and each has interpretive exhibits to illustrate how the soldiers and officers lived on this base when it was active.

At the end of the tour, I went back to the ranger station and talked for a little while to the ranger.  I was curious, because of the size of the fort, if they had a palisade wall or something similar.  He said that they did not, and for two reasons.  The first is that the Comanches and Apaches didn’t attack the fort (they would have been significantly out manned).  The tribes in the area did make raids, but there were no battles at the fort.  Another reason is simply because their isn’t very much wood nearby.  He pointed out that a lot of old west movies show forts with palisades, and said next time to notice the countryside around the fort and ask the question “where did they get the wood”?

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