It was an early start for the fourth Oil Leak Tour, when 6 E-Types, an XK-140, an XJ8, and a BMW M3 drew out of the Inn of the Governors in Santa Fe at 7:20am. As it turned out, it wasn't quite early enough! The plan had us driving on rural roads from Santa Fe along the Turquoise Trail, through the Coal Mining town of Madrid, before joining the I-40 and US-285 freeways south to Carlsbad, and on to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It is a 340 mile drive, and contrary to the usual Oil Leak philosophy, there was a schedule to meet. To enjoy the best experience at the Carlsbad Caverns, it is best to walk down into the caves through the natural entrance, rather than take the elevator down. However, to take the walk down, you must be at the entrance before 2pm. So, any minor problems encountered on the route put this schedule at risk. As it happened, we had two. Firstly, one of the cars driven by Drew and Mary became separated from the rest while leaving Santa Fe in traffic, and later David's E-Type refused to start after a break at the end of the Turquoise Trail. Lloyd kindly stayed back to help David get his car started, and they were able to catch up with the group in Roswell along with Drew and Mary. However, by then it was clear that the planned lunch stop in Roswell was going to have to be cut short to get to the Caverns by 2pm. In the end, the drivers of the last car got to the cavern entrance with only 1 minute to spare...
Earlier, the drive on the Turquoise Trail (NM-14) proved to be very pleasant. There was no traffic once we got out of Santa Fe, and the road was interesting as it wound through the hills. I have no photos unfortunately, as I was too cold to operate a camera! The drive down US-285 to Roswell and then Carlsbad was through a flat featureless landscape with only rare signs of civilization. Indeed, this nearly resulted in more than one car running out of fuel on the stretch into Roswell.
The highlight of the day was the Carlsbad Caverns. The cave complex is around 750 feet underground, and we chose to walk down through the single natural entrance.
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| The pathway leading into the cave entrance |
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| The paved pathway performs a series of tight switchbacks as it descends steeply into the ground |
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| Along the path many cave formations are highlighted by lights |
It took a round one hour to descend the 750 ft to the large cave chamber, known as the Big Room. It is a natural limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 ft long, 625 ft wide, and up to 255 ft high. It is the fifth largest chamber in North America. It is hard to describe how awe inspiring the whole spectacle is, and the amount of work it must have taken to make it possible for visitors to see it. Photographs do not do it justice. My photographs are worse still. These are the best of a bad bunch...
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| Massive stalagmites several stories high reaching up to the cave ceiling |
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| Stalactites and other curious structures hanging from the cave roof |
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| Structures that took thousands of years to form |
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| Bizarre shapes and colours |
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| Lloyd walking through a collection of strange rock formations |
It takes about an hour to 90 minutes to walk around the Big Room. Fortunately, you can then take the elevator up the 750 feet to the surface. Up until 1932, visitors to the caverns had to climb up and down a switchback of paths and staircases to access the caverns which must have been exhausting.
I would highly recommend that if in the area you visit the Carlsbad Caverns. We all enjoyed it, and it was the highlight of the day. The low-point of the day was probably when the fuel pump of Lynn and Jan's Series 3 E-Type failed on the way to dinner in the evening. However, foresight came to the rescue, as Lynn had brought a spare, and this seems to have cured the problem.
Tomorrow, Kjell and Scott will be setting off for home, while the rest of the group head for Marfa.
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