They wanted to spend the day enjoying nature. Instead, nearly 200 people wound up stranded at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, after heavy rains caused flash floods in the area.
Park visitors on Saturday were trapped by a rushing river that blocked access to the main road leading to the caverns and the visitors center.
According to KTSM, water as deep as 20 feet in places was reported to be roaring down the road, forcing visitors to stay put as water flooded their only way out.
"Responders are running calls for people stuck in vehicles that have attempted to cross," the Eddy County Office of Emergency Management posted to Facebook, along with video of the flood waters. "PLEASE think before attempting to go through low water crossings. TURN AROUND! DON'T DROWN!"
A shelter-in-place order was ultimately issued after flooding made the roads impassable. Nearly 200 visitors and staff were forced to shelter at the park's visitors center for about nine hours, KTSM reported.
The order was lifted until just before midnight and visitors were evacuated with assistance from New Mexico State Police, Eddy County Fire and the Eddy County Sheriff's Office.
Richard Cardoza, who was among those stranded, told CNN the drive out of the park was extremely dangerous.
"There were three or four places that, if they had not been escorting us, I wouldn't have gone through," he said.
"It was scary and we thought, 'Oh my God, are we ever going to get out of here?'" Cardoza's wife, Monica, added. "But thank God, we are safe."
The park remained closed on Sunday so maintenance crews could assess and clean debris from the roadway. The National Park Service reopened the park to the public on Monday.
It doesn't appear that any injuries were reported.
Located in Southeastern New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns National Park is home to more than 120 limestone caves and a portion of the Capitan Reef -- one of the best-preserved, exposed Permian-age fossil reefs in the world. The park also contains one of the few protected portions of the northern Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem.
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