I had read about this in a brochure. I leaned toward the light, squinted once, then opened my eyes wide. In the world of cave tours, guides do not have much to show to the layperson, precisely because there is not much to see. Earlier that morning, I had toured a more popular part of the cavern called, appropriately, Big Room. At one point I stood above a black hole.
Life needs light.
If you think about this too long while you are below, your heart will thump a little too fast. We landed in the El Paso airport in the morning, rented a car, drove 166 miles to Carlsbad, made a reservation for the Lower Cave, then toured the Big Room while we waited. Carlsbad, I am told, provides some of the best Twilight Zone ever. To see it, when you first arrive you must walk into the cave through the natural cave entrance rather than take the elevators down. The narrow switchback trail descends 750 feet in one mile, and visitors walking down single file seem to fade like spirits in an opium-induced William Blake painting.