Facet Two. Seeing the World on a Dime: Carlsbad Caverns

Vacation is a time to get away from your normal daily routine. The time off, away from everyday stresses, is suppose to help you relax so you can come back refreshed and recharged. Is this really going to happen if you just spent all of your savings on vacation? No! Does this mean you can’t go on vacation? Certainly not!

Some of the best get aways are exactly that: getting AWAY from the normal, and even away from the costly swipes of your credit or debit card. On the average day an American consumer spends between $30 and $60 on food and drink, alone. (Don’t believe me? Start adding up that $4 coffee, that $8 “value” meal, that $7 alcholic beverage…)Imagine what your daily expenditures are in total. What if I told you that you could spend LESS than that while on vacation? Not only that, but you will be able to see some amazing natural wonders of the world, learn about geology, ecosystems, desert life and more, and camp under a star-filled sky that is unhindered by excessive city lights?

It’s not a story, it’s a fact.

Time to add another facet to your life. Let’s go visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

Carlsbad Caverns

There was a time, not long ago (in the first half of the twentieth century) that caves were the thing to go visit. Landowners scoured their property for entrances to these money-making caverns, in hopes of offering tours to the public. Route 66 even boasted Mammoth Caverns in Southern Missouri as one of it’s main tourist attractions. It was in a time when the sciences were just beginning to understand the greater significance of karst topography, and a cave’s delicate geology and ecology. When the emerging science began to show just how delicate these places are, and that it took thousands of years another phenomenon took place that gave these geologists a deep breath of relief. The public started moving away from recreation into a busier, more technologically advanced world. Along with the fall of the mineral springs resorts and other places of natural importance, so too did the business of show caves. It seems America got too busy to go on vacation, or to even find times to relax. Instead we found time for therapists, psychiatrists and more doctor visits. I’m pretty sure these things cost more than a vacation, and are much less enjoyable.

Today, we know a LOT more about caves, and what they have to offer. We know that a single stalactite could take thousands of years to be deposited, and the cavern itself took thousands of years before that to form so that the stalactite even had room to “grow”. Responsible show caves take care to preserve the cave for all of it’s beauty. You won’t find soda straws and stalagmites for sale in cases at the entrance anymore, and the tour guides certainly won’t ask you to take home your favorite cave pearl. Today show caves do everything they can to protect the environment. They add in humidity controlling door locks (double, or more, sets of doors designed to minimize the loss of humidity in a cave), they carefully design pathways as to avoid disturbing any more of the cave than necessary, and they educate the public about the marvels of these underground sanctuaries.

If you go to Carlsbad Caverns you can visit a place just like this, and for next to nothing. This national park charges a mere $6 for entry through the natural entrance to the cave, a tour that can last hours if properly appreciated. Not only do they offer this, but also tours for the more adventurous spirit that go off-the-trail (they book in advance, so plan accordingly). The park itself is full of hiking trails with informative signs. The camping is on the cheap, the food is inexpensive (especially if you decide to grill, like any respectable camper should) and the views are fantastic whether it is day or night. The park is even pet friendly! While they don’t allow animals in the caverns, they do have a pet sitter at the visitor’s center where your furry friend can hang out in the AC with fresh water and food while you explore- for a $5 daily fee. The hiking trails are all free to roam and have fantastic views of canyons and mountains.

If you aren’t the “camping type” then just drive up to the cave’s namesake city, Carlsbad New Mexico, and get a hotel. I stayed at a fair hotel for only $35 a night, that included a free hot breakfast.

 

To read the first chapter in this series,Facet One,: Click Here

 

Carlsbad Caverns May 2010

 

Cave Pearls in Carlsbad Cavern's Rookery (on the Wild Cave Tour of Lower Cave)

 

The view from up top Carlsbad Caverns National Park

 

Carlsbad Caverns Dec 2009

 

The view of a canyon in Carlsbad Caverns National Park

 

Me, visiting Carlsbad Caverns in Dec 2009

 

 

Facet One. Seeing the World on a Dime: The Smithsonian Institution

There is a misunderstanding in the general public that to go on vacation you have to spend a whole lot of money. What many don’t realize is that some of the best places in the country to visit are absolutely free of admittance fees. On top of this, there are plenty of places that charge less than the price of a McDonald’s value meal for a whole day’s worth of fun. Lodging can be pretty inexpensive if you know what you are doing. The following are a few fantastic places to visit on the cheap, and a few tips on getting the full experience when your pocketbook is nearing empty.

Let’s be honest with ourselves: When stressed out, we tend to waste money on junk food, alcohol, unnecessary clothing and other empty fillers to make us feel better. These options only settle the nerves for a short period of time. Travel can be done on the cheap, and the benefits are far reaching.

  • -Allows you to “get away” from your daily stresses.
  • -Reconnect with nature or society
  • -Broaden your horizons to make yourself a well-rounded, educated individual

 

I don’t think I could ever finish that list, but enough of the work stuff. Time for pictures of beautiful places to go while spending very little.

This is the beginning in a series I will be publishing about getting away on a budget. Many of the most amazing places you can go to are free, or next-to-free. I will also offer tips on lodging on a budget, the best times of the year to see these places, and more.

Crystals and gems, the part of geology everyone can appreciate, have many facets to enhance their beauty and attract those who will cherish them for a lifetime. Life itself is a crystal, constantly growing with more sparkling facets everyday. Travel is an easy way to add facets to your own life, enhancing it with culture, knowledge, and an involvement in the greater place that is the universe. We all play our part, and each facet we add makes the world a brighter place.

 

The Smithsonian Institution

If you live in the Washington D.C. area you probably already know this, but for those of you that don’t: These museums are FREE to the public. A network of 19 (yes, count them, 19!) museums and the National Zoo, it would take weeks to go through every one of them and experience everything they have to offer. There is a museum for everyone. I am partial to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (as any geologist would) but I am also a huge fan of the National Zoo, where they care for a breeding population of Giant Pandas, Lions, and just about every zoo animal you can think of. I just visited the National Zoo a couple weeks ago, and was able to see the pandas, an entire gorilla family (baby included), a lion pride with cubs chasing their father around the enclosure, and many more. I learned a lot about animals, even saw some I never knew existed. The Natural History Museum is full of amazing exhibits and friendly staff. What else does the Smithsonian offer? Visit the Smithsonian Institution’s website by clicking HERE. You can find a museum or two or twelve to visit and be happy to know the admission cost: $0!

 

The entrance to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

 

The architecture of the Smithsonian Institution’s buildings, alone, is worth the trip.

A Gypsum Flower in the Geology wing of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington D.C.

Gypsum flowers are very delicate, and this one was particularly beautiful. They grow naturally in many caves around the world. I have been in many caves, but I have not yet seen one in a cave yet. I hope to sometime in the future.

Dioptase. A beautiful blue mineral at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

This was a mineral I had never seen before. I have started a blue mineral collection, and someday I hope to acquire one of these. This specimen was particularly beautiful.

 

The guard in the Hope Diamond exhibit.

The guards here are all smiles. They are very pleasant to be around, and seem to truly enjoy their job. This guard asked if I was going to take his picture and smiled for me. Every one of the guards at the Smithsonian seems to be in high spirits. Usually you have to pay a lot of money to go to a museum or any other attraction where you get such wonderful service. Not here: It’s FREE!

The Hope Diamond, in a temporary setting for Nov 2010-Nov 2011

 

The Hope Diamond is world famous, and to get a look at the gem you often have to wait your turn in line. Currently it is in a temporary setting to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this historic donation. For more information, click HERE.

The Orchid Exhibit for Spring 2011 at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Washington D.C.

Along with the permanent collections, there are many seasonal exhibits that are offered every few years, or even decades. If you have visited the museum before, you can see new exhibits every month or so. It was honestly some miraculous coincidence that the orchid exhibit was going on when I visited this year for Spring break. I have 5 Phalenopsis orchids, and have had many more that I care for. This was a real treat to see.

 

Human Bones from the Written in Bone Forensic Exhibit March 2011

Another seasonal exhibit, these are ACTUAL human bones. I was able to pick them up with my own hands, and with information that I learned at the Smithsonian, identify the sex of the human these bones belonged to by the sciatic notch. Pretty cool, right? Just call me Temperence Brennan.


 

One of the Giant Pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo. March 2011

I love these fluffy black and white bears.

 

 

Pandas like to sleep, so he hides his eyes from the sun. The Smithsonian National Zoo, March 2011.
Part of the Lion pride at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C. March 2011

Look at all those cubs!!! And the Dad was roaming around too, the cubs periodically enticing him to play with them.

A Poison Dart Frog, Blue, in the Amazon exhibit at the Smithsonain National Zoo in Washington D.C. March 2011