By Curtis Holloway
BMW CCA New Mexico Chapter members and friends met in their BMWs at the East Mountain Public Library in Tijeras, NM on Saturday, September 19, 2026 for the 2026 Karl Fox Memorial Fall Tour to Carlsbad Caverns. After a fuel stop in Vaughn, the group headed south across the open plains to Roswell for lunch at the Cowboy Café and then visited the International UFO Museum and Research Center which is focused largely on the 1947 Roswell incident and later supposed UFO incidents in the Unites States. Then it was on to Artesia to stretch our legs along West Main Street and take in the town’s bronze sculptures: The Trail Boss, The Vaquero, The Rustler, The Foundation, the First Lady of Artesia, and the Derrick Floor. After 266 miles of southeastern New Mexico roads, we checked into the Hampton Inn in Carlsbad and got together for dinner at the local favorite, Yellow Brix.
On Sunday morning we drove the last 26 miles to Carlsbad Caverns National Park for a self-guided audio tour. Jim White, then a teenager, first explored the cavern in 1898 with a homemade wire ladder, and he named many of the rooms and formations still known today. The site became a national monument in 1923, a national park in 1930, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The highlight was the Big Room, about 750 feet underground. At nearly 4,000 feet long and 255 feet high, it’s the largest cave chamber in North America. The audio tour was very informative and well worth it given that the park is not offering guided tours during the weekend. The 2.5 mile hike was on a paved path with guard rails and lighted areas to accommodate all of the visitors. We finished the tour and headed out to lunch in Carlsbad before heading home.
A special thanks to everyone who joined the tour!
