The Oregon Caves

    We got up and Jane and I took Herbie and Sparky over to the dog park. Then we started our long drive toward Oregon Caves National Monument. We arrived and were told we would have to wait a couple of hours until the next available tour.
    We located a campground and hung out at our site until it was time to leave and head back to the caves. We reached the cave entrance and immediately the air felt damper and colder. The steady temperature in the cave was 44 degrees. We started into the cave. Looking back, the whole excursion wasn't as hard as I anticipated.
    I captured a few moments in the cave, but some of it was simply to dark to photograph. Here is one of my favorites:

    Another one of my favorites was the heart in the cave. If you look closely you can see the heart:

    Another interesting part of the tour was the story behind it. Here is what I got out of it. Elijah was hunting with his favorite dog Bruno when suddenly Bruno took off on a scent. Elijah of course probably thought Bruno was on the trail of a deer or something. Turns out Bruno was after a bear.
    Bruno chased that bear straight into the cave. Elijah, with his six sulfur matches closely followed because Bruno was his best hunting dog.
    A little while into the cave Elijah's last match went out. He groped about and followed the river out of the cave. His dog was waiting for him there. Of course people learned of Elijah's story and probably wanted to see the cave for themselves.
    We advanced further into the cave and saw some excellent sights. It was very interesting, and I am glad we made the stop.
    When we emerged from the cave, Jane, Mom and I took a trail. Dad went back to get Claire who had opted out of exploring the cave and was waiting for us in the visitors center.
    Dad didn't realize the trail was a loop, and while we enjoyed a leisurely hike up and down a gorgeous mountain with a beautiful landscape and an intricate trail:

    Dad, with Claire laughing in tow wearing her flip-flops, was rushing to catch us or as he thought meet us on the hike. Going down the mountain, Dad said they ran. He carried Claire's purple and green pack on his back and was blasting the song crazy train by Ozzy Osbourne through his phone.
    Jane, Mom and I were waiting on the bench when a sweat drenched Dad and a laughing Claire came back down towards us. Dad had a lot to say about the hike he thought was NOT a loop.
    We climbed into the car and drove back to our camper. We had a camp fire and enjoyed a few s'mores before calling it a night.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose