Inside the Ice Cave

After mastering the 80-stair descent, I found myself 100 feet under the lava. The first point of interest was the make-shift memorial where the bones of a prehistoric bear were displayed. The remains were discovered by Russell Robinson, the cave's previous owner, in 1963 after the ice had receded.

A walk bridge crosses the icy lake. In the early 1900s, Olympic ice skaters would train inside the cave. Thanks to the abundant ice, the nearby town of Shoshone once won an award for the coldest beer in the nation.

During the tour, I heard about several legends. The first one involves a curious 10-year-old named Alfa Kinsey who lived on a nearby ranch in the late 1880's. He was on a quest to find the lost family goat. Here's where the details get a little hazy.

One states that the goat was standing on the ice near the cave's entrance where there shouldn't have been any ice. Another one claims that when Alfa found the goat, he noticed cold air pouring out of a small opening in the ground. I'm sure there's other versions of this tale floating around on the internet.

Suffice it to say that the Shoshone tribe knew about the cave long before Alfa stumbled on it. To them, it was known as, "The Cave of Mystery." One of their legends claims that Edahow, the Princess of Light and Fertility, was buried in the cave under a mass of ice. The Evil Spirit of Darkness had lured her there.

The Shoshone believed the ice would one day melt and free her. Well, they were right about the ice melting but that's another story.

At this point in the tour, our guide directs our attention to a face in the ice. Could it be Princess Edahow or is it her rescuer? Is there more than one face?

By this time, my imagination was running wild. So much so, that I actually found a jack-o-lantern in the ice. Alas, I have no story to go with it.

Another area of the cave is devoted to people tossing coins into a pool of ice. One person must have thought about inflation and threw in a $5 bill. I just know that wish will come true.

Lava stalagmites

My favorite part of the ice cave was the gothic archway. Nature's architecture is truly amazing!