we started the drive to carlsbad caverns national park. we couldn't find food on christmas eve. most stores were closed. the only quick thing we found was a tamale place called la nortena tamales factory.

we made sure to arrive on time, as 1:15 was our reserved entry time (you pay 1 dollar per person for the reservation) and the last entry to the cave was 2:30. you first go into an elevator, which goes down about 750 feet, and you enter what seems like a minecraft cave turned real. my fujifilm camera suffered in the low lighting, but it was so cool. the air was misty and cool, not stuffy, almost like a forest. there are so many unique shapes. God is an artist. it would also be the perfect place to film a horror movie. some parts go so deep down that it's pitch black.

there were two routes. one where you hike down through the natural entrance all the way to the big room, or you can take the elevator straight down to the big room loop, which takes about an hour and a half. after we got out we took pictures and appreciated the sunset.

we had to get to santa fe tonight, we had dinner at a hibachi restaurant called Tokyo. there are so many hibachi restaurants in the middle of nowhere, seems to be good business. we settled down for the night at a horse ranch airbnb in santa fe.