Colossal Cave

Wednesday I had a good start to my day. I drove down towards Tombstone, but decided on the spur of the moment to follow the signs to something called Colossal Cave a few miles outside Tucson. I'm very glad that I did, as this was the best cave I've seen so far in the US. Not only was it the right size to be "manageable", but I was in a group with just four other people and a very knowledgeable and nice guide, named Dennis.

The injuns used the cave's main entrance area, probably for ritual purposes and/or storage, as lots of artifacts were found just inside the opening, but nothing further in, except the mumified corpses of two dead young males. Possibly their disapperance was a warning to the others, so they did not venture any further. Later the cave was a hideout for train robbers, and there's a story that there may be 72,000 dollars in gold and silver hidden somewhere in the cave.

The cave was dug out and prepared for proper tourism by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a work project during the Great Depression. The whole area is a State Park today, and has more stuff than just the cave (although I didn't bother to see them). The price might seem a bit steep at $5 for entrance and then another $13 for the cave tour, but I thought it was worth every penny.

All Colossal Cave pics here.











The landscape around the cave.