What If You Could Travel in the TARDIS…?

If you’re familiar with the long-running British sci-fi series Dr. Who, you know that the Doctor’s TARDIS can take you to any time and place. Maybe you have dreamed of being the Doctor or having the Doctor show up and invite you on an adventure.

Have you ever thought of books as your TARDIS?

I know my suggestion is somewhat of a letdown. You want to have actual adventures with other people in distant times and far-flung corners of the galaxy, but I’m telling you to substitute that desire with books.

Of course, even rabid readers like me know there is a difference between reading about something and experiencing it. But if you can’t hop in a TARDIS, books are some of the best substitutes around.

Want an example? Read Carlsbad, Caves, and a Camera by Robert Nymeyer. Nymeyer was an amateur speleologist who, after working for famous cave photographer Ray V. Davis, explored and took photos of several wild caves in the Carlsbad, New Mexico, area, primarily during the 1930s. In his book, Nymeyer takes you on adventures that you will never otherwise have, even if you are a caver.

And if you’re not a caver, Nymeyer will enchant you into wishing you were one:

Faintly, far ahead, I caught the gleam of white stalagmites. And it was at that moment that something sneaked up from behind and bit me, something unseen and insidious, but potent, nonetheless. The bite was painless, and I wouldn’t realize its import until hours, or days, or maybe even weeks, later. It was the cave bug. And it injected me with a cave-hunting virus that I was never to shake off. Through the rest of my years the lure of these dark, mysterious realms beneath the earth would remain with me, the thrill of anticipation of what might lie ahead around the next bend of the corridor, the utter quiet and peace and solitude, the unearthly beauties they held. To me there is more to crawling into caves than “just because they’re there”; to me it is the promise of what they hold that lures me, the mystery of what might be found, the glistening wetness in the cool, quiet chambers, the fantastic charm of their decorations in millions of forms and types, the ever-present element of danger that might be encountered anywhere in the darkness. To me, there is no greater adventure.

Nymeyer definitely had adventures, getting lost in one cave, going deep into another and discovering he didn’t have the strength to climb back up, getting hit by falling rocks in yet another. Sometimes the effort wasn’t worth it, because a promising-looking cave would end up being small and with no formations of interest. But he and his friends went caving again and again, because there were moments that made all the danger and disappointment worth it.

A great shape loomed up before us, but even when our lights dimly outlined it we still could not believe what we saw. Something that huge simply could not have been built up by dripping water. We felt that we had certainly found the world’s largest stalagmite. …

Fluted section upon fluted section its massive brown shape reared up into the darkness. Twenty or more feet in diameter at the base, it swelled progressively for another twenty feet, then tapered gradually to a rounded point just connected with the ceiling. With the aid of a rangefinder on one of our cameras, we measured the distance from the base to a spot on the ceiling … Eighty feet! No wonder we could hardly believe our eyes! … Draped around its base were great folds of onyx, deep enough for a man to step completely within. A light behind a fold revealed beautiful transparent shades of rich browns and deep reds.

Through his book, Nymeyer documented many caves in his area that no one else had recorded. Sometimes vandalism meant that no one will ever again see what Nymeyer was lucky enough to capture on film. In fact, the end of one chapter on a particularly beautiful cave nearly brought me to tears. After graduating from college, Nymeyer talked with a friend about the possibility of a trip to the cave. His friend discouraged him and then broke the bad news.

“I kinda hate to tell you this. You know that guy that polishes and sells cave formations?”

“The one who offered me twenty-five dollars to take him…?”

“Yeah.” Tommie’s voice mirrored his disgust. “Well, someone sold out to him for five dollars and took him to the cave. And, Sam [Robert’s nickname], he wrecked it. There’s hardly a formation hanging or standing. He just stripped it clean. Anything that could be sledge hammered down is gone. …”

We will never see the wonders that Nymeyer and his friends beheld at that cave, except through Nymeyer’s eyes.

You can visit many of the caves Nymeyer mentions in the book. First and foremost, Carlsbad Caverns is well worth a visit if you are able to make it to that corner of New Mexico. Also, the park offers guided tours of “New” Cave, now called Slaughter Canyon Cave, as well as back country permits that will allow experienced cavers to explore some of the other wild caves on park property. Other caves are accessible if you can find an area guide.

But whether or not you can travel to New Mexico to visit a cave, only Nymeyer’s book can take you to the wild caves around Carlsbad, New Mexico, in the 1930s. Hop in his TARDIS and prepare for an adventure like no other.