Cool down underground

Many of us run off to the mountains or the beach when we get sick of summer in the desert. But with soaring gas prices and high-season resort rates limiting travel options, you might consider another way to beat the heat: Go underground. Visit a cave, take a mine tour, check out a Cold War-era missile silo or simply go into the basement of a building. We've burrowed around the area to find some underground sites where you can be cool and entertained at the same time: Colossal Cave

Here's the main thing you need to know about Colossal Cave, southeast of Tucson: "It's 70 degrees in the cave every single day of the year," says Mara Martin, tour supervisor at Colossal Cave Mountain Park. "It's an instant cool-off within 10 feet inside the cave," Martin says. That alone might be worth the entrance fee. But visitors see a rich variety of stalagmites, stalactites and other cave formations on the guided cave tour, which lasts 45 to 55 minutes. "You'll walk up and down 363 stairs on the tour and cover a half-mile," Martin says. "Your normal everyday attire is fine, but wear comfortable walking shoes." No reservations are needed for the cave's general tour. "The longest you'll wait for a tour is 30 minutes," Martin says. "And there's an air-conditioned gift shop and snack bar." Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. Admission to the park is $5 per vehicle. Tour prices are $8.50 for visitors 13 or older, and $5 for youths 6 to 12. Kids 5 or younger get in free. Wild cave tours, ladder tours and candlelight tours are available by reservation. From East 22nd Street, follow Old Spanish Trail southeast about 15 miles to the cave. Call 647-7275 for information or reservations. Queen Mine Tour

You want to cool off? You want to really cool off? "It's 47 degrees inside the mine," says Angelica Coronado, a spokeswoman for the Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee, southeast of Tucson. The tour, which takes visitors into a no-longer-operating copper mine, lasts about 75 minutes. "You go 1,500 feet straight into the mine," Coronado says. "They give you a hard hat, a rain jacket, a belt and a light. . . . You ride in a little train, but there is some walking. You go up and down 32 steps, and there's also 300 feet of level walking." A tour guide describes the techniques and equipment used in the mine. If 47 degrees sounds cold, bring warm clothing for the tour, Coronado advises. Tours begin at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily. Admission, including tax, is $13.03 for visitors 16 or older and $5.43 for youths 4 to 15. Kids 3 or younger get in free. From Tucson, take Interstate 10 east, past Benson, and exit onto Arizona 80. Follow Arizona 80 to Bisbee, go through a tunnel just prior to entering Bisbee and take the second exit. Go right and up the hill to the Queen Mine Tour. For information or reservations, call 1-866-432-2071. Titan Missile Museum

A visit to this museum south of Tucson might be a cooling experience nowadays, but it was the hot seat for those who worked there during the Cold War years. It was one of 54 Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile sites in the United States - sites primed to deliver death and destruction across the seas on a tense moment's notice. The only one of the sites left intact, the museum now houses the shell of a Titan II and the intricate array of equipment built to launch it. Guided hour-long tours take visitors deep into the missile silo for a close-up look at what was once top-secret hardware of warfare. The temperature underground is similar to "quite normal" room temperature with augmentation from an evaporative cooling system, says a museum spokeswoman. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The last tour of the day begins at 4 p.m. Admission is $8.50 for visitors from 13 to 61 years old, $7.50 for those 62 or older and $5 for youths 7 to 12. Kids 6 or younger get in free. The museum is at 1580 W. Duval Mine Road. From Tucson, take Interstate 19 south to Exit 69, the Duval Mine Road, and head west. Cross South La Cañada Drive, and the museum is on the right. For information, call 625-7736. Coronado Cave

If you want to lose the tour groups found at popular sites such as Colossal Cave or Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson - but keep the cool temperatures - then Coronado Cave might be your place. Coronado Cave, at the Coronado National Memorial south of Sierra Vista, has no paved walkways, no lights and no tour guide. Visiting is a self-guided experience. But, as with the so-called tourist caves, Coronado's 68-degree temperature is a little slice of underground heaven. "It's a good place to escape the heat, and being a natural undeveloped cave, it's an interesting contrast for anyone who has been to a place like Kartchner Caverns," says Coronado Memorial spokeswoman Mavis Walker. Visitors must pick up a free cave permit at the Visitor Center and walk a three-quarter-mile trail to the cave entrance. While the cave doesn't pose technical terrain, it is, well, dark - and visitors are advised to carry two light sources per person. The cave consists of two large rooms, totaling about 600 feet in length. Your flashlight beam will reveal limestone formations, including some stalactites. Walker recommends allowing about three hours to hike to the cave and tour it on your own. Guided tours can be arranged through the memorial. Visitor Center hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last cave permits of the day are issued at 4 p.m. From Tucson, take Interstate 10 east toward Benson and exit onto Arizona 90 to Sierra Vista. From Sierra Vista, go south 13 miles on Arizona 92 to a signed right-hand turnoff for Coronado National Memorial. Continue five miles to the Visitor Center. For information, call 1-520-366-5515. Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center

The center qualifies as an underground site - given that it's buried beneath the University of Arizona mall just north of the Main Library. It includes classrooms, auditoriums and academic-advising offices. But the Information Commons area is perhaps the best place to chill out in underground air-conditioned comfort. The Information Commons, which is open to the public during the day, has a lounge area with upholstered chairs on the lower level, and banks of computers on several higher levels. "I like to come here and study," says Chet Cave, a UA senior in regional development. "It absolutely feels cooler to me down here. "I was planning on going to Starbucks, but I came here because there's a feeling of coolness down here," Cave said. Krista Jacobson, of the UA Office of Student Computing Resources, says the 250 computers in the Information Commons are open to public use as long as they're not being used by UA students. "It's usually pretty easy to find an open computer during the summer," she adds. For information and hours of operation, go online to www.library.arizona.edu or call 621-6440.