1 ancient tropical inland sea = 2 spectacular places to check out

some history....

250-280 million years ago, a fabulous ancient tropical inland sea covered almost the entire center of the north american continent.  the 'western interior seaway' spanned from the sea of cortez to the arctic ocean, at its largest, it was 2,500 feet deep, 600 miles wide and over 2,000 miles long.







the end results...

#1 - Carlsbad caverns national park

Jim White is the cowboy credited with being the premier explorer of Carlsbad Cavern. He began to explore the cave as a teenager in 1898, using a handmade wire ladder to descend 60 feet into the cave. For more than a decade, he couldn't convince many locals that there was much to Carlsbad Cavern.

i am a dog, carlsbad caverns is a national park...you see where this is going, right?  my humans say we will be back to experience the daily "bat flight" that starts in the spring.  we couldn't experience the magic this trip,  cause apparently the bats are wintering in mexico...smart bats!

relief diorama of caves - natural entrance

the gate keeps people out during the daily bat flights - spring to october

natural entrance from outside

natural entrance from inside

on to texas, the guadalupe mountains national park...and the unexpected...SNOW!

here's me, figuring out this snow thing!

#2 - guadalupe mountains national park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park preserves one of the finest examples of an ancient, marine fossil reef on Earth. During the Permian period, about 265 million years ago, a vast tropical sea covered much of the region. Within this sea, calcareous sponges, algae, and other lime-secreting marine organisms, along with lime precipitated from the seawater, built up and formed a reef that paralleled the shoreline for 400 miles.

this was just a overnight stay for us this time, but being that it is only 40 miles south of carlsbad, and that the 'bat flight' is now on the 'bucket list'...we will be back, sans snow!

 

we are on the move...it's a dog life!