Kartchner Caverns-Big Room Tour

We went back to Kartchner Caverns yesterday for a tour of the "Big Room". All tours are with guides and they take the time to explain in detail how the caverns were formed and all of the various formations that are in the caverns. The Big Room is only open for 6 months a year as it is used the other 6 months by the colony of bats for the birth and nursery of their newborns. It is near the entrance which allows it to breathe and is not as humid as the Rotunda room which has air tight doors to keep it pristeen. The Big Room has these door also but the small entrance hole for the bats makes the difference there. The big room was near the entry which was made at a sink hole that the cavers found. They had to cut a bigger hole at the entry as it was only about 4 inches in diameter. They knew they had a cave because the air was coming from the hole and they smelled bat quano. The smell of bat quano is pure ambrosia to a caver as it is a telltale sign that there is a cave around.
We can only imagine the delight of these fellows as they made their way into the cave knowing that no human had ever been in there before them. When they got to the big room they just sat there in silence for a while soaking it in until they realized that they had entered a cave and no one knew where they were and if they had a mishap they would never be found! They left and made sure that someone they could trust with their secret knew where they were every time they entered the cave to explore.

This is a sheet which resembles a slice of bacon!
These stalactites resemble carrots!

All in all we had a marvelous time in the caverns. For those coming through the area, the park is about 9 miles south of Interstate 10 at exit 302 and it has a real nice RV park with power and water with a dumpstation nearby. The sites are large enough for big rigs.