4 Peaks in 4 Days: Day 2 - Carlsbad Cavern, NM

Guadalupe Peak was just a few miles from the Carslbad Caverns so we decided to stop and check it out. The first photo is of the natural enterance and I posted one more as a representative sample of the caves. They were really quite cool. The night before we had stopped by to see the bats exit from the cave.  Although the Park wouldn't let us come as close as usual, we did see thousands of Brazilian or Mexican free-tail bats exit the cave.

Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) aka Purple Nightshade.

Desert Prickly-Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha) aka Brownspine pricklypear, Tulip pricklypear.

Cave Swallow.  There were hundreds flying all around the natural entrance.  Given the millions of bats in the cave and the swallows, I'm surprised that there are any insects anywhere near the cave. 

Canyon Wren. Also near the natural entrance into the caverns.
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