![]() ![]() That’s just in the earliest parts of Colossal Cave, too.Įventually, you’ll encounter even more outlandish and dangerous characters. Then you’ll encounter obstacles that gradually increase in difficulty, such as catching a shy bird, figuring out how to get across a massive chasm, avoiding a bunch of dwarfs who will throw sharp tools at you, or how to get the treasures that a hungry snake is guarding. No problem, that’s what our trusty lantern is for. The first task is making sure you have enough light for your excursion. Things get far more difficult once you’re actually inside the cave. The wellhouse is where you’ll safely stow all the treasures you find, as well as where you’ll be reincarnated if you perish. Although, that’s by far the easiest part of the whole journey. From there, you’ll have to do some exploring to even find the entrance to the cave. Inside are several items that you can choose to take, or leave behind for later, but it’s up to you to figure out which items are important and when you’ll need them. Instead, you’re greeted with the sight of a small, brick wellhouse. There’s very little hand-holding in Colossal Cave, to the point that you don’t even start in the titular cave in the beginning. Different tools for different adventures. Or in this case, some keys and a lantern. Much like with the original The Legend of Zelda, all you really need is a sword and an urge to go forth and explore. But you know what? There’s a beauty in its simplicity. That’s all you have to go on before you’re off on your adventure. You play as an unnamed, silent protagonist, who is only told through a screen of text at the start that you are to try to navigate through the depths of the colossal caves and obtain the treasures within. There’s very little in terms of a plot in Colossal Cave, as was typical for games in that era. Reservations recommended for tours.Fans of the original will recognize this immediately. Just keep your eyes peeled for gold-filled railroad bags, and don’t forget to look out for Fang and his sneaky stalactite brothers.Ĭolossal Cave Mountain Park, 16721 E. Whichever underground adventure you choose, Tucson’s caves are a fun way to escape the desert heat and explore a hidden side of Arizona unknown to most visitors. Spelunking enthusiasts can visit two other major cave networks in the Tucson area: Kartchner Caverns State Park, easily accessible on a day trip, and Peppersauce Caves, for more adventurous travelers. Picnicking and camping are also available in campgrounds created by the CCC. The park complex has stables offering trail rides, a petting zoo with fuzzy llamas and stubby goats, a butterfly garden, and a meet and greet with Cienega and Shelly, two desert tortoises. The 2,400-acre Colossal Cave Mountain Park is now about more than just the caves. Cocktails and campsitesīecause it takes about 1,000 years for a stalactite to add an inch to its length, the Colossal Cave Mountain Park isn’t waiting for geology to take the lead in adding features to the attraction.Ĭolossal has recently expanded its visitor options to include ladder tours to more inaccessible spots intermediate and advanced “wild cave” adventure tours, complete with headlamps and helmets toddler tours, where kids are welcome to squall like fruit bats ghost-hunting night tours and candle tours for the brave and Friday and Saturday happy hour tours with beer, wine and bright pink prickly pear margaritas. Their pickaxes and other tools are preserved along with Native American artifacts in display cases along the tour route. This public service project during the Great Depression sent dozens of young men to live in tents in the desert and construct the cave pathways and visitor center that are still in use. ![]() More recent (and more verifiable) human interest stories about the caves include a look at the Civilian Conservation Corps’ role in developing the caves as a tourist attraction in the 1930s. At night are the howling sounds just the wind escaping through small passages, or are they the mournful cry of a railroad bandit on an eternal search for lost loot? ![]() Visitors are left to wonder whether there are Wells Fargo mail bags filled with gold coins hidden in one of the side caverns. In ensuing gun battles, some were killed, others caught, but the riches were never recovered. The bandits made off with the loot and were tracked to these caves. ![]() One wild but true cave story is how in the 1880s a gang in the area stopped and robbed several cash-rich mail trains. Wild West tales abound about these caves and perhaps provide more entertainment value than historical accuracy. Colossal Cave tours highlight not only the natural history of the destination but also the human one. ![]()
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