Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad, New Mexico

We left San Angelo, Texas on Sunday, March 19 and drove NW through the panhandle plains country. This area was once the domain of the Comanche Indians and was home to the vast, legendary cattle ranches. Our drive took us through Big Springs, Texas, Hobbs, New Mexico to our destination of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Caverns. We did travel secondary roads and have found them, for the most part, to be well paved and easy to make time on.

Upon reaching Carlsbad, we decided to bypass the private RV parks in Carlsbad . The parks were right off the main road and the sites were close together. Many people prefer the private parks because they have full hookups, laundry and some have WiFi and cable TV.

We drove north about 10 miles from Carlsbad to Brantley Lake State Park. It is located 4.5 miles off the main road and had large sites with lots of space between them. Each site had a table with a cover built over it with a rock wall facing the SW. We presumed the wall was a shelter from the wind. We were located on a hill above Brantley Lake and did experience some winds. Our site was on the edge of the campground with a view of the lake below.

Even though it’s a hot, dry, and windy environment, there is an abundance of wildlife here. We had rabbits, road runners and a variety of different birds in our campsite. There was suppose to be a porcupine in the campground, but we didn’t see him.

Our weather was warm (high 80’s) during the day, but cool (40’s) at night.

On Monday, March 19, we drove 20 miles SW of Carlsbad and visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We took the elevator down 750 ft., since it was advised that the path down was steep. The limestone caves are some of the world’s largest. The Big Room is 8 acres and has a 255 foot ceiling. We saw impressive stalagmites, stalactites, soda straws, draperies, etc. (Note the picture. One of us enjoyed this more than the other.)

There are ranger lead tours of many of the caves, but we decided to take the self-guided tour. We used a rented audio guide that explained the formation to us as we walked along. It was a very easy walk on a well maintained walkway. It was a cool 56 degrees and wet in some places, so a jacket and rubber soled walking shoes were a must.

Our Golden Age Passport (age 62 and older) has paid for itself many times over, since it allowed us into the park and caverns for free.

The next day was devoted to reading and short hikes on the trails around the campground. We’ve promised ourselves a little kick back time.