The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

My year-long USA camper road trip/sabbatical continued on from Winslow, Arizona to Moab, Utah. Early October 2018.

Rain.  Yes, it rains in the desert.

After an all day drive from Winslow, Arizona - through beautiful desert country in the Four Corners area of the American Southwest, I arrived in Moab, Utah in the middle of a major rain storm . . . record rain and a danger of flash flooding.  I wanted to stay a night in a motel rather than in my camper . . . dry and warm. I Googled motels in Moab, looked up quite a few: all expensive and showing FULL . . . but one . . .

 

As I neared the town of Moab the rain increased, streaking the red cliffs.

 

The red rock formations got wetter and wetter as I approached Moab.

 

I discovered desert rock formations become even more fascinating when they are wet.

 

And the rain continued to come down harder and harder. When I arrived at the only motel showing vacancies in Moab, I found out that the last room had just been taken, but I could come back the next day and stay for two nights.  I booked it and went up the highway for 51 miles to Green River, Utah, on Interstate 70 where I found a room for the night.

 

Driving north on Highway 191 out of Moab in a driving rain storm.

 

Water poured off of the mesas and buttes.

 

After a Sunday night in a Green River, Utah roadside motel (where I was able to watch an NFL game), I drove back to Moab to check for motels there . . . still in a light rain.  I found one and sat out the day on the internet and watching Monday Night Football, as the rain became heavy all day.  The next morning it was cloudy, with clear spots, so I headed to an RV park and bought a slot for camper next to a German couple who had been on a one year camper road trip in the USA.

 

Moab is the "Outdoor Adventure Capitol of the USA" . . . and also a very interesting old mining town.  I stopped in a gems and fossil shop to look for dinosaur fossils for my grandson at a place that had lots of antique mining equipment laying about . . .

 

 . . . an old mine winch . . .

 

 . . . a water wagon that once services a long forgotten mining operation.

 

The good people in the rock shop advised that I go and see Dead Horse Overlook State Park, about 20 miles out of town  . . . and through fantastic high desert chaparral country.

 

The small paved road out to Dead Horse Overlook was GRAND!

 

The sky became very dark and I was worried that I would lose another day in bad weather . . . I pushed on to Dead Horse Overlook.

 

As I neared the overlook I knew I was in for something truly wonderful.

 

Now and again I would get a glimpse through the roadside shrubbery of a grand landscape . . . .

 

When I finally arrived at Dead Horse Overlook I parked right next to the precipice of this amazing sight! The grandest view I have ever seen!  I was parked out on a ridge that jutted out into this spectacular canyon! There was a 300 degree view from where I stood. This view is looking north.

 

I walked across the road to this south facing view of the mammoth canyon!

 

Potash evaporation ponds could be seen in the distance in the south side view.

 

I was left speechless by the grandeur of this place . . . and so were the 15-20 other tourists there . . . walking around very slowly with their mouths open . . . in complete silence.

 

Astonishing beauty.

 

I walked along the south edge toward the outermost point of the ridge . . . 

 

A meandering Colorado River cuts its way through the red rock.

 

At last I stood out at the end of the ridge  . . . with the entire canyon below . . . 

 

Looking north from the ridge point I could see the storm clouds gathering on the far canyon rim.

 

Indescribable beauty.

 

The rain moved rapidly across the canyon.

 

The rain came swiftly . . . I ran to my camper.

 

I hated to have to leave this incredible place  . . . I slowly drove away from Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah.

 

Back down the road through the rain toward my motel room in Moab . . . too cold and wet for a campground . . . 

 

Hard rain on hard flat rock.

 

The next morning broke bright and sunny.  I left my motel and found a nice RV park at the edge of town, got a space, set up, and set off on my bicycle.  As it turned out, my RV park was at the beginning of a long and paved bike trail that led out of town and up into the red rock canyons.

 

The trail was beautifully paved and at a not too steep grade.  Perfect.

 

The views coming up the bike trail out of Moab were spectacular!

 

The cut-off road to the Arches National Park was just outside of town . . . .

 

I thought about going into the Arches National Park, but the road was always busy . . . and so was the Visitors Center.  I couldn't imagine seeing anything more impressive than Dead Horse Point overlook.

 

I must have been a geologist in a previous life.  My college roommate was a 'geomorphologist' and I guess I got the geology interest from him.  This scenery fascinates me no end.

 

Layered rock outcrops lined the bike trail.

 

Layers of ancient, solidified mud (?) along the way.

 

The geological formations seemed to completely change every 200-300 meters.

 

I stopped often (especially when the bike trail got steep) to snap photos and drink water.  I packed a nice lunch too.

 

A lovely spot to stop and be amazed by the geology of this fabulous place.

 

The opportunities for dramatic nature photos were endless.

 

At one point just out of Moab, the canyon widened out as the Colorado River crossed under the bike path. It was the best bicycle bridge I had ever seen.

 

Such a wondrous place for a long bike ride.

 

There were only occasionally patches of large plant life . . . 

 

I rode my bike on up the very long steep uphill trail . . . noticing more "cactus" type plants the higher I went.

 

More and more geological changes.

 

Rocky desert portrait.

 

Rocky desert flora portrait.

 

After riding uphill all day I was getting ready to turn back in the late afternoon . . . after I climbed this last steep hill.

 

My last steep climb.

 

At last I reach my 'this is far enough for the day' point . . . and it was beautiful. I consoled myself with the knowledge that it would be all downhill to my RV camp site in Moab.

 

I felt that it must get pretty windy and dusty up here  . . . and turned around right here . . .

 

And downhill I went . . . and saw the very first bike rider all day . . . a woman from South Africa.  She stopped and we asked each other where we were from.  I said Bangkok, Thailand . . . and she laughed.  On we rode, she uphill, and I coasting back to my camper.

 

The bike trail ran next to Highway 191 for a short while on my way back.

 

And back across the Colorado River bike bridge . . . 

 

My last stop for a photo of my bike and a stone cliff . . . not far from my Slick Rock RV Campground (very nice place with very nice people working there).  The next morning I would wake before dawn . . . and before coffee . . .  for the long drive over the Rocky Mountains to my next destination: visiting an old high school friend in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

I headed out of Moab on my birthday on highway I-70 heading east to Colorado . . . this was the last view of Utah . . . snow on the mountains . . . little did I know that I would drive across the high Rocky Mountain passes during the very first snow storm of the season . . . but that is another story.

The first Khao Yai week-end . . . . small roads and beautiful temples.

As my university has called off live, in-person instruction, I have been making my lessons at home and posting them online.  This has had the hidden benefit of allowing me to physically be wherever I want to be, as long as I have a computer and a good internet connection. So twice in the last month my wonderful wife and I have gone up to the mountains of Khao Yai, 2 1/2 hours northeast of Bangkok.

 

We visited friends at Toscana Valley in Khao Yai.

 

Khao Yai is a region at the western end of Sankamphaeng Mountain Range and is a heavily wooded area with a fair amount of natural environment still with wild animals, such as elephant and tigers, in the Khao Yai National Park.

 

Although Khao Yai is known for the National Park, much of the region is developed for weekenders from Bangkok to escape the city hear (especially in the 'cool season').  There are many, many small resorts and tourist activities sprinkled around the beautiful countryside . . . as well as an interesting assortment of Buddhist Wats.

 

So, while my wife played golf at the beautiful courses in the area, I explored the small roads to see what I could see. . . . 

 

I had fun following 'points of interest' signs . . . and seeing if I could get to the hilltop temples I could see here and there in the landscape.

 

Wat Sanaamsai is a giant white Buddha statue on top of a hill.  To get there you have to climb up hundreds of stairs.

 

Hundreds of stairs and hundreds of bells to be rung.

 

I am often amused by the cartoonish monks who adorn Buddhist shrines and altars in Thailand. I decided to light some incense and candles before I embarked on the hundreds of steps.  Fortunately, some nice people pointed out that I could drive all the way to the top if I wanted to.  So I drove up.

 

In addition to a fine mandala, there was a wonderful view across Khao Yai from the top of the stairs.

 

I was glad that I hadn't walked up the stairs!

 

A fantastic giant Buddha image looking out over the valley.

 

I loved this row of Buddha statues in the many symbolic poses.

 

So many beautiful Wats in rural Thailand, and it seemed like there were more than the average number here in Khao Yai.

 

Such a pretty setting for this hilltop Wat.

 

Back out driving on the small farm roads through a great variety of agricultural crops.  These were planted in quite a few fields . . . but I have no idea what they were for.

 

Even out on the smallest rural roads there are little stalls for Thai street food.

 

I saw a temple on a hill top and drove along very small rural lanes until I found the entrance.

 

I eventually found the Wat entry . . . and drove up the steep hill.

 

The road did not go all the way to the top.  I parked and found the steep steps to the top.  I opted to take a service path that wound along the side of the steep hill.

 

The walk up to the temple had wonderful views out over the surrounding farm land.  Some say this area looks like the Italian countryside around Tuscany.

 

I arrived at last on top to discover a very fine, new Wat.

 

Magnificent. Wat Pa Phu Hai Long.

Buddhas of all kinds atop the hill.

 

A grand view.

 

I love these stone balls that have been covered in gold leaf by pilgrims.

 

Such an interesting contrast of shapes and textures . . .

 

I left a donation at the beautiful altar.

 

I was sorry I had to leave this wat . . . it was so beautiful up on the hilltop.

 

I enjoyed my walk back down the hill from the temple . . . and admired the view.  Many people say this region of Thailand reminds them of Tuscany in Italy . . . yes, it does.

 

I saw this little fellow near the car park.

 

We stayed at the guest house at the Tuscana Resort, an Italian-themed development for mostly Bangkok week-enders.  Beautiful.

___________________________________________________

A Second Week-end Trip to Khao Yai: A Buddha Cave and a Floating Market Garden

Another week-end out and about on the country roads of Khao Yai while my wife played golf.

 

Just a village Wat along a country road.

 

Such a wonderful, and brand new temple.  So new, in fact,  there was no sign and no marking on GoogleMaps.

 

There are an abundance of Wats to see in Khao Yai.  This one on the way to the Magic Caves.

 

A beautiful multi-roofed staircase leading to a hilltop Chedi and temple . . .

 

I opted not to walk up the hundreds of steps to the top of the hill. The caves beckoned.

 

My GPS took me to this place.

 

My GPS makes perfect artistic decisions sometimes, for next to the hill was this fantastic corrugated building hung with an aging banner of some long forgotten festival.  Textures to dream about!

 

Road dust obscuring a sitting monk image . . . and corrugation . . .

 

The other end of the banner held another fabulous image.

MAGIC CAVE LAND

After snooping around for a while I found the cave entrance located inside Wat Tham Trai Rat, a woman approached me and showed me a card that said she was an official guide for the Magic Cave Land.  I asked how much it cost (in Thai)" and she answered in English, "Something or nothing." She took out her keys and we walked in the cave.

 

And down we went under the Earth into a colorful and wondrous world.

 

Not long after the Buddha altar grottos began to appear. Magnificent!

 

Ad on in to the cave we walked. Of course there were colored psychedelic lighting throughout!

 

Buddhas, monks, and hermit statuary throughout.

 

Some of the Buddha altars were more formal . . .

 

I'll bet this place was on the Hippie 'must see' list!

 

It seemed like wherever you looked there would be a Buddha statue in a nitch in the rocks.  Wonderful.

 

Although the cave is not completely full of amazing rock formations, there are enough to make anyone with an interest in geology interested.

 

There were some fascinating flowing rock formations.

 

After about 39 minutes of walking and stooping through narrow and low passages, a sign in the dim shadows appeared . . . I thought, "this is going to be interesting" . . . 

 

"Interesting" is an understatement.  Truly a wondrous thing to see deep in a cave in Thailand.

 

Not only 'cave man bones' but the bones of animals and perhaps other humans were embedded in the stone display.

 

We caught up with a big family here . . . they were rubbing the bones and then spreading the 'bone spirits' around their heads . . . so, of course, I did the same. Very therapeutic.

 

As there always are, pots for making donations to the upkeep of the caves and nearby wat. I left coins in each.

 

At one point there was an opening in the cave ceiling and a perfect light shaft shown through . . . I wished it had fallen on a golden Buddha . . . but it didn't.

 

My favorite Buddha altar in the cave. Magnificent.

 

Astonishingly beautiful cave Buddha altar.

 

Colorfully lit passages . . .

 

Passing from underground room to room and 'discovering' new vistas and Buddha altars.  Extraordinary!

 

After a 90 minute 'tour' underground we at last came to the stairs leading out.  It was a very interesting experience in a low key kind of way.  The cave was very low key, not at all an over-developed tourist attraction.  It is, after all a Buddhist temple.

The Khao Yai Floating Market

I stopped in at the Khao Yai Floating Market and was greeted by this old Chevy pick-up.  Nice.

 

Another nice, funky old Vespa with a side-car at the entrance.

 

Although it would be fair to say that the Khao Yai Floating Market is a bit of a 'tourist trap' . . . it is not without its charms, beauty, interest, pretty gardens, and photo opportunities.

 

You enter the 'floating market' through pleasant gardens before walking 100 meters down a hill to the pond (not a river) they dug for the water feature.

 

I didn't have a map of the layout, so I followed the signs . . . OH! COFFEE! I'll have to check it out . . . but first . . .

 

I started along this wooden boardwalk to explore the old buildings. Very pretty.

 

The actual 'floating market' does not actually float.  It is a manufactured replica of a traditional Thai floating market [my photos of a real floating market can be found here].  It looks nice, but is not authentic.

 

Before the pandemic, one assumes, Bangkok week-enders would flock here for food, a little shopping, and to enjoy the gardens.

 

At 10:00am on the morning I visited the Khao Yai Floating Market I was the only patron.

 

Fortunately there was ONE little food stand open selling my favorite papaya salad (sum-tam).

 

A side order of sticky rice and puffed rice cakes (and a CokeZero) made a nice snack.  It was delicious.

 

I cold see that it would be nice to while away a hot afternoon in a hammock here . . .

 

There were a few antique items setting around to create an old-timey feel.

 

The wooden boardwalk was a thing of beauty (to me!). It was a little strange to be in this place all alone . . .

 

I was fascinated by this old barber shop . . . I wondered if a real barber occupied it as a business during more touristy times.

 

All the little shops along the boardwalk were closed . . . on to the gardens.

 

This is good. I love flower gardens.

 

A vast and wonderful hillside garden greeted me!

 

They had a good eye for color.

 

I followed a black butterfly around for a while . . .

 

Sunflowers are such a happy sight . . . always.

 

A sunflower is an amazingly complex thing.

 

A sunflower is one big flower filled with many, many smaller flowers opening up in rings around the center.  WOW!

 

Each sunflower is quite unique.

 

Someone thought it was a good idea to plant sunflowers in the rose garden . . . it sorta worked . . .

 

Many different flower beds winding up the hill to what I hoped was an open coffee stand.

 

Beautiful colored whispy fronds.

 

The flower gardens were quite extensive and well-maintained, considering the wet season had yet to begin.

 

Up on the hill were a row of lounging huts . . . places to spend the day.

 

The coffee shop was open . . . and the coffee was delicious.  There were pleasant places to relax while enjoying the coffee (and a brownie) too.

 

Two couples in their 20s showed up and took photos of each other in this heart-shaped 'frame.'

 

It was hot, and it was time to leave.  I walked back down the hill under the cover on these wonderful stairs.

 

Shadow and pattern . . . on the stairs down . . .

 

I passed this along the way . . . I have no idea what the plan was for it . . . but it was very interesting.

 

And back along the pond . . . 

 

 . . . and across a very rickety bamboo bridge . . .

 

For some reason, there was an old fashioned schoolroom set up.  I suspect the developers were collectors of all kinds of old stuff, and this project was a good place to display it.

 

And at last I was back to the Strawberry People and the park exit. It was worth the nominal entry fee for a nice morning of photography and coffee.

 

And we finished the day at our friends house for a magnificent BBQ in Toscana.

A 'photo ramble' blog entry in four parts: The Old Town of Petchaburi, The Buddhist Temples (Wats) of Petchaburi Town, Two Old Fishing Ports in Petchaburi Province, and Salt Pan Workers in Petchaburi Province. 

PART 1: THE OLD TOWN

Petchaburi is a provincial capital located between Bangkok and the beach towns of Cha Am and Hua Hin.  It is a very small city that I pass by whenever I go to Hua Hin for a beach getaway from the pace of urban Bangkok . . . but I never stop to see what is there . . . until my old friend, John Stiles, and I decided to take a "photo ramble" there last week. [The 11th century Wat Mahathat Worawihan in the background.]

Petchaburi is only two hours away on good divided highway from home . . . and seemingly in a different decade.

 

We arrived and parked, as we planned to spend the day on foot.  At first look, Petchaburi looks like a lot of old Thai market towns. An old, somewhat worn out downtown area with lots of 'street life' - civic culture.  In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds". 

There are some interesting old buildings with a lot of character . . .

 

 . . . and ample material for one of my favorite photographic subjects: old door portraits.

 

A magnificent old door with its life story written all over it.

 

Old Thai market towns have a special dilapidated charm I really enjoy.

 

A corner coffee shop. We stopped here for iced coffee with milk.  Very good.

 

The Petchaburi clothing shops spill right out onto the sidewalks.

 

Buddhist votive offerings shops near the main city center Wat (temple).

 

These old wooden shop houses are slowly disappearing in Thailand's larger towns and cities.

 

Our casual stroll brought us into an area of old alleys and a wet market.

 

We were literally stopped in our tracks when we rounded a corner into this narrow alley . . . and found a street full of art. Fantastic!

 

This was such a whimsical painting, made more so by the actual, real door knob that had been mounted in the wall!

 

The wall art was wonderfully integrated into the structures of the alley.

 

Dragon art . . .

 

A drayman starting his rounds in front of a fish mural.  Wonderful!

 

There was a 'missing building' in the art alley . . . no problem: paint the revered former King of Thailand on the exposed end . . .

 

There seemed to be a "pet" theme across much of the alley art work.

 

Scrumptious and stylish . . .

 

A wall of sweet kitties.

 

None of this Petchaburi alley art was signed, but we guessed that these two lovely people were the artists.

 

Refreshed with Art, we walked on through the alleys of old Petchaburi town.

 

There were many very old shops in Peetchaburi . . . from a time before big box franchises and bar code stock control.

 

I had the feeling that this woman has been sitting in this auto parts shop for a very, very long time.

 

A city fabric shop . . . with cushions and plastic door mats.

 

My friend John among the basketry taking candid street photos.

 

Our wanderings brought us to the Petchaburi River, which bisects the city.

 

We stopped here for a delicious lunch of noodle soup.  Gotta love Thai street food!

 

We left the old town and its interesting old alleys to explore the many Wats.

 

PART 2: THE BUDDHIST TEMPLES

 

Wat Khoi on the outskirts of Petchaburi, near the hilltop Wat.

 

Wat Khoi is a very special and architecturally unique Wat.

 

Wat Khoi is in the shadow of the Petchaburi hilltop Phra Nakhon Khiri (Khao Wang).

 

There is a very beautiful Kuan Yin statue in the garden of Wat Khoi.

 

Wat Khoi had these amazing. worked metal bas reliefs of Thai people across a wall.

 

The 500 year old Wat Sa-Bua was once a center of Buddhist evangelism in southern Thailand.

 

Two kind Wat Sa-Bua monks opened up the ancient Wat for us to take photos.  Thank you. 

 

This black Buddha statue is said to be even older than the Wat, +500 years old.

 

An amazing tree on the Wat grounds . . . and a monkey!

 

Wat Sa-Bua is built up against a wooded hill with many monkeys scampering all over!

 

This ornery fellow let me know I was getting close enough.

 

The rocky hillside behind Wat Sa-Bua haad fantastic old chedis.

 

A beautiful and highly revered chedi.

 

We enjoyed our time at Wat Sa-Bua, but walked on up the road to see more Wats nearby . . .

 

The area near the hill attracted many monkeys . . . some ventured out into the nearby neighborhood on a monkey elevated highway!

 

Yep, just a monkey hanging out on your roof.

 

We drove up a small drive along the hillside hoping it would take us to the uppermost temples, but the road did not go all the way up.  No problem, we found Wat Rattana Trai on the way.  

 

There was a marvelous old Wat at this hillside Buddhist compound.

 

The beautiful arches and lighting made for perfect portraits. [Your humble photographer.]

 

John and I took turns posing for portraits.

 

I appreciate old doors, but this one was very special . . .

 

Exquisitely inlaid door panels.

 

There were many chedis up the hillside behind Wat Rattana Trai. So interesting.

 

We walked back out through the beautiful arches to move on to the city center . . . and the big Wat there.

 

Near the center of the old city we found the gate to the 11th century Wat Mahathat Worawihan.

 

This ancient Wat had amazing old structures as well as new buildings, like this one.  These are living, contemporary places of devotion, not abandoned museums.

 

And we were not disappointed in the ancient temples still in perfect repair.  So beautiful.

 

Lovely artistry.

 

A large Buddha image in one of the many small temple buildings within the grounds of Wat Mahathat Worawihan. 

 

The Wat temples were very crowed that day with devotees on Makha Bucha Day, a celebration of the ideal Buddhist community started by Buddha Gotama.

 

This temple entry . . . . stunning artistry.

 

Gorgeous Buddhist art.

 

There were many monks around the Wat on this special day conducting blessings to the followers.

 

This monk arrived at the temple and asked the 20 or so devotees to leave for a few minutes while he vacuumed.

 

A 1000 year old window. Magnificent.

 

An ancient founders' marker stone tablet.

 

In our wanderings a round the Wat we came across this interesting building.

 

Inside we found the monk meeting hall where the monks would gather every morning to take teachings from the Abbot.

 

PART 3: THE FISHING PORTS

 

Rather than drive back to Bangkok, we spent the night just outside of Hua Hin.  We woke up early to catch the sunrise along the road home. We stopped on this bridge over a canal for wonderful sunrise photos.

 

Looking west along the same canal in the hot and humid misty Thai morning.

The next morning heading back to Bangkok along the tiny local farm roads, we happened upon two fishing ports, the first of which was very small.

 

I love these colorful Thai wooden fishing/squid boats.

 

The first roadside fishing port was very small and seemingly very poor.

 

These fishermen festoon their fishing boats' bows with colorful streamers for good luck.

 

Where you have fishing boats and fish . . . you have cats.

 

There was a primitive charm to this old, unnamed fishing port.

 

The second port we 'discovered', Moo 2 (Bang Tabun, Ban Laem District, Petchaburi Province), was an industrial fishing port. Bigger boats, lots of warehouses and clean, orderly docks.

 

A very busy port with boats coming and going all the time.

 

A delightful nautical scene.

 

Industrial squid boats with their outrigger bright light booms folded in. They catch squid by putting out very bright amber or green lights to lure the squid to the surface where the deck crew scoops them up with net scoops on long poles.

 

There were only a few of these small boats here.

 

I could have stood on this bridge watching the fishing boats come and go all day.  But we needed to move on.

 

Before leaving the Moo 2 fishing port we explored a nearby Wat with amazing carvings on the roof ends.

 

PART 4: SALT PAN WORKERS

 

Back on the small coastal road we drove into a salt pan area with many white egrets.

 

We saw many of these old salt warehouses bursting at the seams out in the salt pans as we drove along . . . and wondered if there would be salt harvesting.

 

It wasn't long before we found the salt workers toiling in the heat to remove the salt, two baskets-full at a time.

 

Damp salt cones, raked by a previous crew, await portage.

 

Hard work: scooping damp salt into your baskets and lugging it out to the road . . . but still a friendly spirit.

 

The 'salt boss' keeping track of basket loads . . . many Thais wear these masks when working in the sun . . . they do not want their skin to become dark.

 

There was a steady line of salt porters delivering their loads from the pans.

 

No reason to not be colorful and stylish . . . .

 

Reflecting on our experience, we had a wonder-full 36 hours in Petchaburi city and province.  Did I really just say that?

On my early October drive from Sante Fe, New Mexico to the Formula One race in Austin, Texas, I stopped to visit the famous Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico.

 

During my childhood my family moved throughout the western states of the USA. I remembering seeing signs along Route 66 imploring passers-by to visit Carlsbad Caverns. I finally made it 50 years later!!!

 

I was not disappointed! I paid the entry fee and took the elevator to the depths of earth.

 

The cave is well-known for its many calcite formations such as this column and array of stalactites. (**)

 

Although I did not bring a tripod for these long exposure, low light photos, I was able to brace my camera on the guardrailings. Low light photography is my favorite.  [These are all ISO bracketed 3-shot captures from a Fuji X-T2 camera, post-processed in the Luminar HDR software. I was happy with the shadow detail and not having the brightly lit areas 'burned out.]

 

Giant columns of dripping calcite.

 

A 'waterfall' of stone.  Amazing.

 

The spiky ceilings were captivating.

 

I would not want to be down here in an earthquake!  First, you would be iimpaled by these needles and then crushed by the millions of tons of rock above you.

 

Some of my photos were dictated by the location of the guardrail. But it didn't matter: there was something interesting in every direction.

 

It was very dark inside the caverns (possibly to prevent the growth of mold).

 

Creepy, creepy formations everywhere.

 

A cascade of flowing rock . . . it seemed to be in motion . . .

 

The many 'off limits' side passages invited my curiosity . . .

 

The guardrails in this photo gives you an idea of how huge some of the large caverns were.

 

Nicely lit coves.  I am glad they used the same light tone throughout (The stalactite caves in Gibraltar succumbed to a revolving color wheel light effect . . . horrible!)

 

And deeper and deeper I went into the caverns . . . The climate of the caverns is described as "humid tropical" . . . I felt like I was back in Bangkok!  Nice!

 

And deeper and deeper I went into the cavern.  I visited in early October, so there were very few tourists on the day I visited. Normally, 450,000 people visit the cavern every year.

 

There was a crystal clear underground stream running through one of the big rooms.

 

The cavern path is several miles long.  At the other end were 2000 feet of stairs to reach the surface.  I made the decision to turn back after about a mile so that I could take the elevator back up. 

 

I had a wonderful two hours exploring the Carlsbad caverns. I highly recommend it . . . even if you have to wait 50 years.