Colossal Cave Mountain Park is nestled in the southeastern hills of the Tucson Metro area. Having lived in Tucson while I was attending the University of Arizona, I had been to the cave before, but this experience was completely different as I was able to see it through the eyes of our boys.

As we turned onto the paved road to enter the Park, the desert mountain hills greeted us as we drove up to the entrance booth. Since Colossal Cave Mountain Park is owned by Pima County and occupies over 2,000 acres of foothills, our nominal daily park use fee goes towards maintaining the park for current and future generations.

Our history lesson started as we walked from the raised parking lot down stone lined paths towards the entrance to the cave. The paths and trails were completed by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC), which was one of many federal programs started under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1930s. Young men from all over the country worked on many conservation projects like Colossal Cave.

One of the improvements the CCC made to the cave was the wide; easy to navigate entrance we were going to use to start our underground exploration. We met our tour guide, Ms. Jen, and she ran through the tour rules with an easy smile and friendly voice. Our tour would take about 45-50 minutes and descend as well as ascend almost 70 feet of stone walkways installed by the CCC. Ms. Jen told us exactly how many steps we would be taking, but you'll just have to go experience it for yourself to see how many we took during our trek.

As we started walking down, we were informed that the cave is technically not a dry cave but rather a dormant cave. Depending on the amount of rain the region receives, Colossal Cave could see some activity but the conditions that created the cave could not be recreated. Nevertheless, the cave is teeming with many varieties of insects and bats. As we descended, we noticed that the cave was a lot cooler than topside. One of the interesting facts about the cave is that the temperate and amount of humidity remain constant.

Continuing on, Ms. Jen pointed out unique geological gems such as stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations, some named after the shapes they resemble. The path was well lit, but small crevices and holes were dark or had deep shadows from the installed lights. At the bottom of the tour, we encountered the "living room" and heard tales of how the early explorers would use the area as a base camp as they explored the accessible areas of the cave. At the conclusion of Ms. Jen's explanation, Zane said out loud, "That looks like a coy-yote" sure enough, as we all turned to what he was pointing at, we saw the shape of a coyote head howling. Ms. Jen said that she had never seen that formation before, and Zane was so proud that he made his discovery. We started our climb back up amazed at not only the natural beauty, but of the history of the cave, ranging from native American storage area, to outlaw hideout to its final version as a historical natural wonder.

Our fun didn't stop when we left the cave tour as we traveled down to La Posta Quemada Ranch to partake in a horse drawn hayride and try our hand at sluicing for minerals and gems. The ranch house is an adobe brick house that had shaded patios. It was perfect for our lunch that we ate from the grill located next to the ranch house. After lunch, we walked to the stables and were greeted by two cowboy ranch hands that were going to drive our hayride wagon. We were treated to a quick tour of the ranch grounds then returned to the ranch house to try sluicing. This involves taking dirt and running it under a trough of water to see what minerals or rocks might be located in the dirt. We received our sluice dirt from the ranch gift shop and started looking for riches. We didn't find gold, but we walked away with an assortment of semi precious gems and unique rock types found in the area. On our drive out of the park, we thought about our adventure both below and above ground. The history is amazing and like most jewels, they are priceless.

This week's prize is a Tucson Newspapers Dining Card and a $25 Gift Card at Zona 78. Winner contacted on July 14.