2024 Memorial Day El Paso Trip
This content was automatically generated by gpt-4o-mini (No human review). The original post is in Chinese.
Two weeks ago during the Memorial Day long weekend, we visited three national parks near El Paso, which was a follow-up to our total solar eclipse trip in April. At that time, I was overwhelmed with work, relationships, and commuting, and the stress got so bad that I fell ill before the trip, causing me to miss these national parks. To make up for that regret, I bought a ticket for a month and a half later, and cuihao accompanied me to revisit these places. The biggest challenge of this trip was the hot weather; the temperature outside was around 35 degrees in the afternoon, making hiking quite uncomfortable. Coupled with pre-trip anxiety, I even considered canceling the trip and going somewhere else, but I’m glad we ultimately went ahead as planned.
Day One Parks Ranch Cave
On Friday morning, we took Southwest Airlines flight LGB-ELP WN2772, landing in the afternoon around 1 PM. After picking up the car, we drove straight to the Guadalupe National Park Visitor Center. Due to the extreme heat, we didn’t hike the Trail (and thus skipped White Sands National Park).
Next, we went to check out Parks Ranch Cave, the only cave on BLM land in the area, and the only one that you can freely explore without needing a permit. Parks Ranch Cave is the second longest gypsum cave in the United States, stretching 6.6 km underground. Some areas are quite narrow, requiring you to crawl on your stomach, and there are spots with standing water that you need to swim through. The longest gypsum cave in the world is in Ukraine, measuring 232 kilometers (here’s a list). Since we didn’t bring helmets or other caving gear, and lacked sufficient experience, plus the darkness inside was genuinely frightening, we only ventured a little way into the cave (the red line part on the map), spending about 15 minutes round trip. We saw a bat (it was even flying around the cave entrance when we exited) and some spiders. It was quite cool inside the cave.
After that, we went to Walmart in Carlsbad to buy food, checked into our Airbnb early, watched YouTube videos to learn some caving tips, and even found an interesting blog about the PARKS RANCH CAVE adventure.
Day Two at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
On the second morning, we arrived at the Visitor Center around 7 AM to queue for tickets to the King’s Palace Guided Tour. At that time, there were already 5-6 people ahead of us. The Visitor Center opened at 8 AM, and we successfully obtained a limited number of walk-in tickets, allowing us to cancel the online tickets we had painstakingly secured earlier. We had tried for several days to grab online tickets, but they were sold out within seconds each time, with only one successful attempt for a single ticket.
Our schedule for the day was as follows:
- 90 min hike Natural Entrance Trail to Big Room
- 90 min King’s Palace Guided Tour
- 90 min Big Room self tour
- 45 min Underground Ranger Talk
- 60 min Re-enter Parks Ranch Cave
- 90 min Bat flight program
Specifically, we first spent 90 minutes hiking down the Natural Entrance Trail, descending 750 feet, stopping along the way to take photos until we reached the Big Room. Then we participated in the 90-minute King’s Palace Guided Tour, led by two Rangers, one at the front and one at the back, with 24 visitors in total. This tour experience was absolutely fantastic; the entire group was given three candle lamps, and all other lighting was turned off to experience what it was like for the first people entering the cave. At one point, all light sources were turned off, and we listened to the natural sounds of the cave (the sound of dripping water) in complete darkness. The leading Ranger was excellent, sharing many introductions and stories, prompting us to think about various questions. The overall atmosphere of the cave exploration was immersive, and I highly recommend it.
After the tour, we took the elevator back to the surface to bask in the sunlight and feel the warmth of the ground. We had a simple lunch (it was really cold inside the cave; we didn’t bring down jackets, just two long sleeves and a down vest, and we were still cold). After lunch, we took the elevator back down to the Big Room and spent 90 minutes exploring it on our own. The Big Room is indeed vast; although it isn’t as beautiful as the King’s Palace, it is a huge interconnected cave that doesn’t feel claustrophobic. Eventually, we even started to feel sleepy, probably because we had been in the dark environment for too long without any light.
Back at the warm Visitor Center, we watched a short video about the park and coincidentally found a Ranger Program, so we decided to join. A retired Ranger shared his experiences of working in this national park for six years, exploring caves. His presentation was great, lasting 40 minutes, and the PowerPoint was rich and interesting. In the end, I bought his book of the same name and got it signed (along with a “Happy Caving” blessing).
Before sunset, we visited Parks Ranch Cave again, checking out all seven entrances and retracing a section we had walked yesterday, going a bit deeper this time. We spent about 30 minutes inside, walking until we saw some puddles, but we could still stand upright at the end, although it seemed to start getting lower ahead. We walked 330 steps and took about 6 minutes to exit from the deepest point. Among the seven entrances, the one we entered yesterday was the easiest; the others were quite small from the start, requiring us to crawl on the ground, while some allowed us to crouch or bend over. We had learned some basic cave exploration knowledge the night before and brought more light sources, though we didn’t have helmets. We identified all seven entrances using the map, so we were a bit bolder today than yesterday. In one cave, we crawled about 10 meters in, and I was in the front when I suddenly saw a small snake facing me just one meter away, which scared me so much that I quickly turned around and left. Besides that, we saw some spiders and a few lizards. The experience of walking through Parks Ranch Cave was very different from Carlsbad Cavern; one was small, narrow, and eerie, while the other was magnificent and grand. Carlsbad Cavern is well-maintained, with many visitors and staff, and plenty of artificial lighting, so I felt completely relaxed and enjoyed the natural wonders. In contrast, Parks Ranch Cave felt wild, narrow, and complex, with no one around, making it quite frightening, giving a true sense of adventure (wanting to explore further while simultaneously feeling scared and wanting to get out quickly).
Finally, we returned to Carlsbad Caverns National Park to participate in the Bat Flight Program. This program required everyone to refrain from using phones and other electronic devices and to keep quiet, as it could disturb the bats’ emergence. That day, the wind was strong, and there were many visitors, including a bunch of kids and some rude parents, so the group couldn’t be particularly quiet, making us unsure if we would see any bats. The Ranger first shared many interesting facts about bats for about 30 minutes, and then we quietly waited for the bats to emerge. After about 10 minutes, they started to come out in small groups. The scene wasn’t as spectacular as I had imagined, but it lasted a long time, continuing until 8:30 PM, when it was so dark that we could barely see the bats flying out in droves.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is truly amazing. Today, we participated in three programs, all of which were great, with enthusiastic staff and an excellent experience. Caving is fascinating; from sea caves to land caves, it feels like opening a new door to explore an unknown world. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is definitely a highlight of this trip.
Day Three Guadalupe National Park
On the third day, we woke up early again because we were going to hike Texas’s highest peak, Guadalupe Peak — with an elevation of 2,667 meters. To take advantage of the cooler morning weather for hiking, we arrived at the trailhead at 7 AM, only to find it completely full of cars! We had to move our car to the farther Visitor Center parking lot and walk back, starting our hike at 7:30. It’s worth mentioning that this trailhead actually has drinking water and extremely clean flush toilets, which is quite a luxury. The trail is of moderate difficulty, much easier than the San Antonio Peak Hike we did before the trip. The trail is very clear, the ground conditions are good, and the slope is not steep. There were many visitors, but they seemed to be moving quite slowly. At first, there was no shade, but today the wind was strong, so it wasn’t too hot. Later on, we found some shaded areas that were very cool. The scenery along the way was quite nice, with views of El Capitan and other surrounding mountains. At the summit, there is a metal triangular monument that is great for photos. Many people were resting and eating at the top, leaving behind quite a bit of trash, so we pulled out a garbage bag and picked up a lot of orange peels along the way. It’s clear that the visitors on this trail not only had average hiking skills but also average manners. The descent was easy, but in the last hour, the temperature noticeably rose, and the experience declined significantly; it was hot, and we just wanted to get back to the car quickly.
After finishing the hike, it was just past 1 PM when we returned to the Visitor Center to cool off in the air conditioning and figure out how to spend the afternoon. However, this Visitor Center was particularly small, with no little movie to watch, and the other visitor centers were even smaller, making it seem much less impressive compared to Carlsbad. We initially considered whether to go back to explore Parks Ranch Cave, but ultimately decided against it since it would take nearly four hours to drive from here to the vicinity of White Sands National Park. So, we visited a nearby museum and then walked a short trail, but it was too hot to continue. Additionally, we stopped at a few viewpoints along the road to take pictures of El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak before driving to El Paso.
Upon arriving in El Paso, we happily went to eat at Texas Roadhouse. We all agreed that after spending most of the day hiking in the hot summer, going to a restaurant for a big meal was the normal thing to do instead of spending time exploring Parks Ranch Cave. We were very satisfied with the restaurant and didn’t feel regretful about not visiting Parks Ranch Cave (mainly because it was quite scary…).
Since some areas of White Sands National Park were closed recently, we didn’t go to see the sunset there, but later realized that it had actually reopened. In any case, by sunset, we were already lying down in the hotel.
Day Four White Sands National Park
On the last day, we woke up early to avoid the heat, but unfortunately, White Sands National Park opens at 7 AM. So we timed our entry and hiked into the desert. Early in the morning, it was actually quite cool in the desert, but the temperature rose quickly afterward. We spent 2 hours walking 5 kilometers, and in the last hour, we definitely felt the heat. In the desert, we saw some insects (ladybugs, crickets, ants) and lizards, as well as many animal footprints and desert plants. Overall, White Sands National Park is quite average; it would be a better experience if visited at sunrise or sunset. Otherwise, spending about 2 hours there is sufficient. After finishing our hike, we stayed at the visitor center for a while before driving back to El Paso airport.
Summary
This trip was actually a great experience, and it didn’t cost much. For two people over 4 days and 3 nights, including flights and car rental, we spent a total of $1112. The preparation was minimal; I only started packing at 10 PM the night before the trip, which is why I didn’t think to bring serious cave exploration gear like helmets. However, the high temperatures had very little impact; the caves were cool, and they can be visited year-round. For hiking in the desert and mountains, as long as you wake up early enough, you can avoid the heat. I’m really glad I didn’t cancel this trip and strongly recommend Carlsbad Caverns National Park to everyone; it truly is a unique, spectacular, and enjoyable national park.
