Obama family awed by 'cool' underground cave in New Mexico
Source: Associated Press
Obama family awed by 'cool' underground cave in New Mexico
10:55pm
Associated Press
Eyes wide open and head tilted upward, President Barack Obama appeared awed today as he toured an underground cave at a national park in New Mexico - part of a family vacation that's also designed to draw attention to America's natural wonders.
Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, spent part of the afternoon at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, one of two national parks the First Family is scheduled to visit on a long Father's Day weekend away from Washington.
"How cool is this?" Obama exclaimed as a National Park Service employee led the family on a tour of the Big Room, an area nearly 243 metres deep into the limestone cavern that nature carved out of the Guadalupe Mountains.
. . .
Coming at the end of a difficult week, the trip gives Obama an opportunity to tout his record on open-space preservation and promote administration programs aimed at boosting foot traffic through the more than 400 sites in a national park system that turns 100 in August.
Read more: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/obama-family-awed-cool-underground-cave-in-new-mexico
(Short video at link.)
bluestateguy
(44,173 posts)I've always been so impressed with how professional and knowledgeable the NPS rangers are on the tours.
Especially since I tend to keep them on their toes by asking a lot of questions
whistler162
(11,155 posts)are in side a cavern?
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)a full guided tour of the Caverns. On a visit in the late '90s, I was disappointed that you could only rent an audio thing and do the tour on your own. I do understand that between technology and the very vast number of tourists, such a change is probably inevitable, but I still remember a lot of that tour from so long ago.
I love visiting caves and caverns, and have had the good fortune to visit a reasonable number of them.
burrowowl
(17,645 posts)Also, the parking lot so be paved with porous paving since the caves are drying up and it is screwing up the caves.
KG
(28,752 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)ancianita
(36,133 posts)left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)They were personable and interesting and interested, she (National Park Service public affairs specialist Valerie Gohlke) said.
They are a beautiful family. They were extremely awed by the cave. It was just an absolute delight. They were just like being with a normal family.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,364 posts)I'm sure the normal throngs at Carlsbad and Yosemite were denied access during the privileged visit.
SharonAnn
(13,778 posts)It's no different for the Obamas than it was for previous presidents.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)"Air Force One landed at Roswell International Air Center after 1 p.m.,
and Gov. Susana Martinez (R-NM) greeted the President and his family as they disembarked."
Gov. Martinez (R-NM) was "too busy" to meet Donald Trump on his recent visit to Albuquerque.