Up bright and early this morning, Dennis and I were able to get tickets for the "King's Palace" cavern tour for 10 AM today.  While waiting, at 8:30 we started the "Natural Entrance" self-guided tour.  That tour is about 1-1/2 miles, beginning with entering the gaping hole in the ground from which the bats exit.  The well paved pathway leads, down, down, down 800' or so beneath the surface.  The formations, tastefully illuminated, are fantastic.  Much more impressive that I expected, far surpassing Mammoth Cave and the other smaller ones I've visited in the Eastern US & Europe.  But that hike was a killer.  I had no idea it could be so difficult to walk downhill 800' in one mile.  It didn't help that I'd already abused my feet with poorly fitting shoes before leaving home.  And my leg muscles didn't much like it either!  But it only took us an hour to make the tour.

Fortunately, the guided tour began where we ended the un-guided one and there were benches available for me to rest a while.  Then we started another mile hike -- but mostly level, only down 80' and back up at the end.  That portion of the adventure was even more impressive -- it's really hard to believe that dripping water could create the fantasmagorical formations we saw.  By staying near the front of the group of 40, I had no choice but to keep plugging along on my exhausted legs. :-)  Fortunately, climbing back up the 750' to the surface was done by elevator, through a shaft excavated in 1931.  Else I'd still be down there!

Dennis made a LOT of photos, but this is not the place to show them.  I will, however, reluctantly, post the one we had a bystander make of us before some of the scenery.  I should warn you, though:  A part of the tour was an extended period of sitting in absolute darkness.  It's obvious from the photo below that I was still enjoying that episode -- but the bystander made only that one picture -- at least Y'All can see Dennis awake:

Tomorrow morning we'll be off to Almagordo & Holloman AFB, where we'll probably spend the night.  Then on to White Sands NM and eventually visit Hal Kading in Las Cruces.

Y'All stay tuned.

Ken & Dennis