Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

There are many reasons to go to New Mexico and the most popular is for Carlsbad Caverns and the famed bat flight. The cave is exceptional for its easy access underground with wide trails and self led tours.

Carlsbad goes for miles with different passages so it can be easy to find yourself alone and away from the large groups, once you get near the Boneyard, which is also the area where they filmed the original “Journey to the Center of the Earth” movie with Pat Boone in the 1950s. There’s also a cafeteria below ground where you can purchase lunch box meals, and an elevator for the way out.

Don’t be surprise if you get a drop of water landing on you during your tour, the cave is still active. Plan to stay around the cave entrance at dusk for the sensational bat flight that goes well into the dark.

Let’s go!

-Lisa

Coyote Buttes

There’s always been a joke in caving that there’s “no caves in Arizona” so to speak of. There were caves only they were secrets. It’s only appropriate that Arizona housed one of the best kept surface secrets. Don and I first went to Coyote Buttes twenty years ago. The place was so spectacular it became our secret Good Friday and Easter trip for years. No reservation required on this popular holiday. We always had the entire scenery to ourselves. We loving referred to the buttes as “Rainbow Rocks,” our code word. It was like visiting another planet with its fabulous colors and rock swirls.

We got a late start and were backpacking in the extreme 110 degree day with no shade in sight. Even though the place was wild (referring to not commercialized) I still paid an admission price when we reached the top of the mountain and I suffered heat stroke and fell into a deep crevasse. I was lucky my backpack served as a body brake and stopped my fall.

Our friends Dave and Carol ran out of water and spent the trip hiking the canyon looking for some. Eventually they found “orange buggy water” they called it. Don explained that those were shrimp. We also experienced the worst wind there. That’s the reason for the incredible rock swirls and spirals.

We hear Coyote Buttes is now accessible only via a lottery permit system and open to day use only. That makes it a lot tougher to get into than when we used to go there regularly. Why bother, when you can see it much easier right here.

Let’s go,

-Lisa

Yosemite National Park, California

Sheer cliffs and spectacular waterfalls make Yosemite an iconic stop in California. There are extreme activities, like climbing or hiking Half Dome, or just sitting around basking in the sun with the beloved marmots that always come out to visit. Don and I have seen many changes in Yosemite. When I first went there on our honeymoon in the 1980s one could drive into the valley, before the days of trams. But even then, the green valley grasslands had sprinklers turned on, an unusual site in this beautiful land of waterfalls in early June. We have since gone there many times, but my favorite memory of Yosemite still lingers. And that was the time we were in Paradise Valley and were sang to by a loud chorus of frogs that we couldn’t see but could clearly hear.

Let’s go!

-Lisa

A cave in Colorado

Before I got married, the only reason I visited Colorado was for the snow skiing. Now I know there’s much more to this mountainous state, and for me it’s for the underground. Picture this, the most beautiful hiking country that leads to an impressive cave. The flowers along the way were incredible with my favorites, Columbines in purples and yellows, all growing wild on the mountains. I was in Heaven before we even ventured into the cave, our reason for the trip. Of course living at sea level and hiking in the high country makes for a more difficult climb while trying to catch my breath. But there is something to breathing all that fresh mountain air that can rejuvenate the body and spirit.

Let’s go!

-Lisa