Something I learned on my roadtrip through the Wild West: Carlsbad Caverns was “discovered” (in modern times anyway) by a 16 y o cowboy in the early 1900s. He apparently observed the massive plume of bats flying out of the cave and rode his horse over to find the cave’s entrance.

As the story goes, he fashioned a ladder using wood and wire and dropped it into the hole climbing down over 60 feet with one hand holding a lantern. He mapped the entire cave, in the pitch black with just a lantern.

If you haven’t been to Carlsbad it’s pretty incredible and pretty terrifying that you’re one slip away from oblivion. Going in alone is wild. If you’re ever in New Mexico you can check it out. If you take the Natural Entrance cave you descend on this winded path from broad daylight until you’ve descended into complete darkness any daylight is just a tiny blip far above you.

I desperately tried to find anything - a book, a podcast, a tv show illustrating this story but the only thing available is a book the cowboy wrote about his experience and apparently he didn’t let facts get in the way of a good story so how accurate any of this is remains to be seen.

His ladders really are still down there, though!