Carlsbad Caverns - A Side Trip

 

Because we'll be able to complete all of the activities at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in our allotted time, we had a couple of extra days to do something else. It made the most sense to start checking out Guadalupe Mountains National Park which is just down the road. After attending church Sunday morning, we took a drive out to Dog Canyon - the northernmost section of that park.

There's not a lot there - a ranger station (which was closed), a small campground, a trailhead for back country hiking, and a short nature trail. The drive out was through rolling desert hills - actually part of the Lincoln National Forest - and took 1 1/2 hours from the town of Carlsbad. Maybe we're here at the optimal time of year, but this desert is actually quite beautiful.

Have you noticed my new hat? I guess I need some practice taking selfies while wearing it.

This area was a little more stark compared to the last hikes we took, so not as many wildflowers, but it was still beautiful in its own way.

We spent an hour at Dog Canyon - hiking the Indian Meadow Nature Trail and eating a picnic lunch - before heading back to the hotel.

After visiting Dog Canyon, there was still plenty of afternoon left, so we decided to accept the invitation received at church to visit Sitting Bull Falls, especially since it was only a 30-minute detour in our drive. We also discovered it was part of the national forest system, so our America the Beautiful pass provided entrance. That's a good thing, because the parking lot was totally filled, and we didn't get out of our car. Instead, I found some pictures on the internet. It does look like a beautiful place to visit; too bad so many other people had the same idea today!