Peach Springs, AZ - The Lost Cavern

Walter Peck was returning home from a card game. As he navigated through the dark desert he stumbled across a large hole in the earth. The next morning he returned with a crew, ropes and lanterns ready to explore further. With a rope around his waist he was lowered 150 feet into the ground to uncover some shiny golden flakes. Immediately he through he had struck the big one. Peck purchased all the surrounding land as he sent off his little golden rocks to be authenticated.

However, alongside many of those golden rocks lie some human bones of 2 Indians and a saddle that had been trapped in the cave many years previous. The media ran with it. Soon rumors circulated about prehistoric cavemen found inside the cave. Meanwhile the tests on the golden rocks were complete and they concluded the cavern was filled with nothing more than “shiny rocks”. So here was Walter Peck stuck with a huge cavern of nothing valuable. Well, except for those “cavemen”

Many believe Walter soon capitalized on the false story of the cavemen and began charging tourists to be roped down the cave to witness the remains of the “cavemen” to make up for his “busted” purchase.

Today the caverns are know as the “Grand Caynon Caverns” even though they are some 50 miles away from the natural wonder. The reason for the name however is somewhat legit. The air inside the caverns actually comes all the way from the Grand Canyon via an intricate underground natural passageway.

The caves do have some marvelous trappings in time. Many animals over hundreds of years have found themselves trapped in the caves much like the 2 indians. Many of the remains were naturally preserved and can be seen today.

Another thing lost in the caverns is the videotaped footage and interviews taken by Gene for a Hometown Tales video segment.