Last stop on our 2009 summer vacation was to Carlsbad Caverns.  The cave offered a refreshing coolness from the heat of the summer sun.
 

 

We traveled deep into the earth . . .
 
 
 
and saw stalagtites, (Stalagtites hold "tight" to the cave ceiling) . . . and stalagmites (stalagmites "might" reach from the ground to the ceiling).
 
 
 
 
soda straws . . . and stone fairies!
 
 
 
 
Our favorite part was watching the bats leave the cave at dusk.