Weather once again killed any chance I had for hikes. The drive back from Tombstone to Benson switched between rain and sun depending which cloud was overhead at the time. It’s a flat drive with no danger like going up the mountains so I found it enjoyable to watch the drama unfold across the sky as it stretched to both horizons.
As usual the strongest storms were located exactly over my next destination. These were seriously powerful with dime-sized hailstones, flash flooding, thunder, and zero visibility for brief periods. If you are down in the southwest and want some rain just send me a plane ticket and I’ll surely fix your droughts.
Once it calmed enough where I wasn’t getting smacked by hail I departed the truck and made my way indoors to check out Kartchner Caverns State Park. This was recommended to me by my dad’s co-worker Richard and was definitely worth the trip if you are into caves and geological formations. Turns out it’s the park’s 20th anniversary too!
You’ll have to pay a fee to take the guided tour of the caves. Sadly, there is no photography allowed, though it probably wouldn’t have mattered anyways as it is extremely dark (not even my camera would have picked it up). Instead all I can share are the educational displays. Check out the official park website here to see what the caves actually look like.
One very interesting diorama was of a Shasta Ground Sloth, an animal believed to only inhabit more northernly regions. Fossils were found during exploration of the caves and dates back 80,000 years.
Many other fossils have been discovered inside the caves and range from horse skulls dating back 36,000 years, extinct pronghorn antelope, and more recent animals like coyotes and rodents within about the last century.
The tour begins with boarding a small trolley cart and heading up into the hills to the cavern entrance. Not much to look at from outside, just looks like a bunker or fallout shelter. (Note this photo was taken after the tour when rainstorms had cleared up)
Here’s the most zoomed shot I can share of the cavern entrance from a distance. Again, no cameras or photography so this is as close as it gets. Regardless, if you are in Benson, Arizona for some reason and have a few hours to kill I would highly suggest making the trip.
For me it’s back to the hotel in Benson for one more night before heading much further east. Much more interesting scenery to come very soon and I finally get to do some hiking? Stay tuned!
Lat = 31.8399487 , Long = -110.3504715 -- Show at Google MapsAuthor’s Note: Due to many reasons – none of them very good – I’m posting this from the future in March 2022. Actual visit date/time December 9, 2019 3:45pm. I’ll backdate it later so as to maintain chronological order. I’ve got an overwhelming backlog of photos to process which is probably why I procrastinate. Hope you enjoy them all the same.