In Great Basin National Park. The park's Lehman Caves guarantee a year-round temperature of 50 degrees, no matter how hot things get locally. When calcium carbonate-rich water squeezes through fissures in the walls, it gradually forms a limestone disc. The crown jewel of the cave, the table-sized shield hangs high above our heads, with its stalactites draping down like the cords to a parachute. Thousands of other fantastic and whimsical shapes fill the cave.
Porous bulbs resembling giant turnips grow on the ceiling.
When ferreted out with the beam of a flashlight, they give off a caramel-colored translucence. Soda-straw stalactites blanket whole rooms. The guided hike wanders along the subterranean passageways for six-tenths of a mile. At every turn, some new and strange shape captures the imagination. Unlike Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, or Tucson's own Colossal Cave, you get a real feel for a caving experience here.