The sun will come up tomorrow, but first it must set the night before.  As I stood at the Grand Canyon Caverns, Peach Springs Az on a warm summer night in June, the sky was turning the most magnificent colors.  It appeared to be beckoning to this old truck to come once more down Route 66 to touch the reds the yellows the hues of blue and purple.  The truck seemed to be Dreaming Of The Days On Route 66. 

The Grand Canyon Caverns are huge, on the outside is a Dope on a Rope exhibit. The caverns were discovered in 1927 and for a quarter you could have yourself lowered into the caverns with a flashlight.  Makes me a little nauseous just thinking about that. 

You see I am highly highly claustrophobic, my brother when we were young would in play, lock me in a cupboard in the laundry room. Yes, my brother and I do not have a particularly good relationship today.  But back to the caverns, I am highly claustrophobic for me to even go in the caverns where it could become pitch dark and the elevator may not work is a feat of overcoming my fears. 

Whenever possible I do this, I ski down huge mountains, I go into caverns, I try new foods.  It feels good to overcome my fears.  And as much as I love the beauty of the caverns, marvel that they built a place for concerts down there, that people can spend the night in the caverns it the fact that I am overcoming my fears that spears me on. 

Creatures have died in there a big bear, a bob cat mummified and other poor animals that fell in the opening over the years.  The mummified bob cat is a big highlight of the tour.  The tour guides are interesting and keep you moving.  It is an uphill climb in parts, so not for the feeble or mobile restricted. 

You descend in an elevator about 200 feet, claustrophobic in elevators, so begins the adrenaline and then it opens to the caverns.  One of the first things you notice is all the barrels and stockpile of goods. The cavern is a nuclear bomb shelter.  Given you could go blind after 30 days of darkness, I may take my chances above.  

All in all, the Caverns are vast, there is no shortage of air as my rational brain keeps telling me,  the air comes from the Grand Canyon, a rather large place and not highly likely to stop supplying air to the caverns, but still that tiny part of my brain that houses my fears says I am in a cavern!  The caverns in Peach Spring AZ are connected to the Grand Canyon, hence the name, some brave spelunker figured this out years ago.

The Caverns have been welcoming guest for almost a hundred years now.  You can dine in the caverns and as mentioned stay the night.  One of these days will fight those fears and stay the night, one of these days.  Fears even the small ones, can hold you back and although the sun will come up tomorrow, no one knows how many sunsets they have left.