Timpanogos Cave

This was fun to take the kids to because we can see Mt. Timpanogos from our house and I had never taken the kids to the cave. It's only 1.5 miles, but it's pretty steep. It also climbs to almost 7,000 ft in elevation, so if you live at Sea Level normally... there wasn't quite enough air. Since we live at 6,200 ft. we didn't notice. All the kids did great! There was minimal complaining and the cave was great.

On our way up. We left early in the morning and it was a little chilly. The chill didn't last long.

At the top.

Inside the cave. It's really hard to get a picture that does the formations justice.
The "heart" of Timpanogos. I was VERY disappointed that they no longer tell the legend of the heart of Timpanogos. There are a couple of versions. Here's one:

According to the legend, on a quest from his father a young Indian warrior named Timpanac met and fell in love with Ucanogas, a young Indian princess. As time progressed, this love caused the other braves to become jealous. In order to put an end to the jealousy, Ucnanogas' father proposed a challenge: the first brave to scale the highest peak of the mountain could claim Ucanogas as his bride. During the race, the braves ambushed Timpanac causing him to fall to his death.

When the young Ucanogas saw that her lover was dead, she offered herself to the Great Spirit to be with Timpanac. During the burial, the folds of her robes made a perfect profile of the mountain peaks; thus binding the two lovers together after death in Mount Timpanogas.

I can remember hearing this story as a kid and when you look at the mountains from straight on, you can see the Indian Princess lying on top of the mountains. Her hair makes Provo Canyon. Her heart lies inside the mountain. They also used to light up the "heart" with a red light. Umm... no more. You also can't touch the "salt and pepper shakers" anymore. It was still fun.