But what they had done was enough to prompt the United States Government in declaring the site a National Monument. On October 30, 1923, Secretary Work announced that President Coolidge had proclaimed the area a National Monument. Now it was official. If the government proclaimed it as a National Monument, it must be worth a visit. So thought many people throughout the land as they read about it in the many national magazines that ran descriptions of the Caverns based on Dr. Lee's findings. My father's original holdings consisted of 20 acres. Now that the government had taken over, the size was increased to 700 acres. Spurred by Dr. Lee's first exhaustive article in the National Geographic in January, 1924, people began to travel to this underground land of wonders. Diplomats, governors, people of all walks of life wanted a first-hand glimpse of what had been found. There were no adequate facilities with which to accommodate them. Silk hats in guano buckets didn't look exactly right. Improvements were in order. Dr. Lee reported how preliminary his work had been. More exploration was needed, and as a result he returned to the Caverns in the spring of 1924 in order to further extend the work he had started when he first saw them. Exploration began the middle of March and lasted for six months, during the heat of the summer when it was as high as 115 in the shade--and, as Dr. Lee says, there was no shade. Yet inside the cave it remained about 56 degrees, which is constant the year around. During this time the party played host to the Governor of New Mexico, the Governor of Texas, the Director of National Parks, and many other high ranking dignitaries. Dr. Lee and his party set up their camp at the mouth of the Big Cave, using tents and the rough board shacks left by the fertilizer company years before. Their closest source of water was a spring about a mile away and their supply had to be carted by horse or burro. While working in the cave the members of the party used kerosene torches, but upon discovering that these gave off more smoke than light they abandoned them in favor of gasoline lanterns. In order to safeguard themselves, they would unravel balls of twine as they explored remote sections and passageways. In this way they could always find their way back to safety. Some of the members of the party were hesitant to wander far from the well-worn trails, apparently afraid of the unknown and admitting their weakness. Others allowed their curiosity to dominate their fears and were continually searching for new finds. The party obtained its supplies from Carlsbad, about 28 miles away, and during the summer months the fruits and vegetables were kept in a special "refrigerator" in the cave where the cool, even temperature was put to constructive use.