February 2018

Richard and I have been in many caves but this one was truly amazing! We arrived at 10 am for the 90 minute, 1-mile King’s Palace guided tour. It was $8 for me and $4 for Richard…well worth it! We took the elevator from the visitors center down 750′ to the main rest area (gift shop and reataurant) where our tour began. Ranger Rick was our tour guide and he was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable.

He took us through the Green Lake Room, Kings Palace (830′ below the surface), Queens Chamber and Papoose Room. All amazing! Every so often we would sit and rest and he would tell us stories about the history of the cave. The initial discovery and exploration was done by a 16-year old cowboy named Jim White (there is that name again!) who saw the bats flying out of the cave and thought it was smoke. He went to investigate and discovered the amazing cave. Unfortunately the bats were wintering in Mexico while we were there so we did not get to see the thousands of Brazilian free-tail bats leaving the cave at dusk (early Spring-October). After the tour ended we walked around the Big Room, which was the size of 14 football fields! So amazingly beautiful.

I took lots of pictures in the cave but you really have to see it. to believe it.

Two of my favorites formations were Painted Grotto and Chinese Theater.

After riding the elevator back up to the surface we got in the car and did the 9.1 mile Walnut Canyon Desert Drive on a gravel, loop road. It was a bit narrow and twisting but not too bad, with some beautiful scenery. This is Richard’s favorite cactus, Cholla Cane, used to make walking sticks.

This was such a classic cave, with stalagmites, stalagmites, soda straws, draperies, popcorn, and more, everywhere you looked. They did a fantastic job with the lighting and trails to really enhance the cave’s natural features. It was a great experience and a must-do if you are anywhere near the park!