I was fortunate to serve as a groomsman for one of my good friends at his wedding in Murphys, CA. I previously blogged about the town here. The wedding was a success and a great time, but I was able to sneak away for some wine tasting and a little caving at Mercer Caverns. The caves are a quick drive north of downtown Murphys.
The caves were discovered by Walter Mercer in 1885 and were named after him, of course! He was looking for gold, but found a much more profitable business in selling tours of his cave to miners for a pinch of gold dust. Before electric light, the tourists would hold candles on boards in their mouth to light the way. The above picture shows aragonite crystals on the cavern walls that were made famous when presented at the 1900 Paris World Fair.
This cave is a bit more rustic and cramped than the other caves in the Sierra Foothills, but it makes for a different tour. You feel much more like an explorer dodging rocks and squeezing through tight spaces. The tour is pretty short, but it is full of all sorts of cave bacon, popcorn, and ice cream. I guess the early cavers always were hungry thinking about food. Enjoy the rest of the pictures below.
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