Kartchner Caverns

Ever since Anna Lee heard about the discovery and opening of Kartchner Caverns, they have been on our must-see list.  The two men who discovered them were committed to keeping the caverns safe, healthy and secret.  It took over a decade for them to reveal their discovery and get Arizona to enact the appropriate legislation.  The area is now a state park with a nice campground.

We have been in over a dozen caves including Carlsbad and Mammoth, but this experience was  the best because of the special care being taken to keep this cave alive, thriving and in pristine condition.  Not only are no photographs allowed, we couldn’t take in a purse or pack.  To get into the caverns, we were escorted through four sealed doors and instructed to only touch the floor and the metal railing during our visit.  We had to anchor our sunglasses to be sure they did not fall off.  While this may seem controlling, it is to prevent hair, skin, oil and dirt on us from being passed onto the formations and damaging them.

We took two tours. Our first tour was of the Big Room, a massive room filled with outstanding formations both familiar and new to us.  Seeing the gleam and glisten of stalagmites, “fried eggs,” and soda straws over a yard long elicited exciting responses from everyone on our tour.

Our second tour, The Throne Room, took us closer to formations.  We watched water drop from the tip of straws, learned that a stalactite is a plugged up straw, and viewed the paths created by the two original explorers.  Words do not describe the beauty of these caves.  Neither do photos, as they are not allowed.  Instead we substitute pictures of exhibits found in the Discovery Center.

Soda Straw


Fried Egg  

We know you have been eager for our first food photo.  Jerry found Mi Casa on Trip Advisor.   It is a little yellow cottage set way back behind a chain link fence, not the most appealing of settings.  The seating limitation is for twenty-eight.  The food choices are the traditional tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc, with the Southwestern choice of red or green (chili peppers).  What we got was the most mouth-wateringly delicious Mexican food we have had.  Yes, this beats the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City.

 For dessert Jerry ordered their signature carrot cake (which Anna Lee normally does not like).  It was big enough for four people to share but we greedily kept it for ourselves to continue to enjoy on another next day.      

        
We have been in contact with several friends who live in or are traveling along our route.  We already mentioned our friends from home.  After we left Kartchner, we met with Joe and Bonnie, RV friends from our trip to the Canadian Maritimes.  We enjoyed catching up with each others lives and look forward to getting together during the summer