Tales of the Wild Wild West

04/11/2026

04/11/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18mQJEpTXS/

04/07/2026

Until 1986, Great Basin National Park was known as Lehman Caves National Monument. Lehman caves is the longest cave system in Nevada, and is chock-full of speleothems, or cave formations. Less tunnel-like and more like a gallery of delicate china, its 2.3 mile length is more bang for your buck than many other caverns. The caves are still a premier draw to the Park–but with human traffic and tours comes the need for maintenance. This winter, the artificial lighting system within the caves is undergoing a renovation. The current lighting was installed over fifty years ago and has slowly succumbed to the will of the cave. From October - December 2025, rangers, volunteers, and cave experts alike were hard at work demolishing the old system in preparation for the new. Long, hard hours of hammering, drilling, chiseling, and hauling tons of rock. Presently, the new lighting system is carefully being installed, making sure that the age-old speleothems remain undisturbed. Current plans are for lantern tours of the Gothic Palace to begin Memorial Day weekend. The full cave will be open with the newly installed lighting system in late summer, 2026. A big thank you to the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act for making this much needed project possible.

Photo Credit: Gimli at Home by Jack Straton

03/27/2026

Celebrating my 10th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

03/23/2026