Yesterday we drove to California to see the Lava Beds and caves. There are over 500 discovered caves and 24 of them have been made accessible to the public. We started out in the
Mushpot cave, which is lit along the path with red rope lights. Every now and then there are displays with buttons you can push and lights accent certain areas and features of the cave. A few spots got a little low and my claustrophobia got the best of me. I made it almost to the innermost part of the cave, but took
Annalina back to the front to wait for the rest of the family.
Annalina did not like the darkness(neither did I) and she was a bit worried about slipping (so was I), and as she wimpered aloud, I was pretty much doing the same thing silently, so we decided to be cave buddies and stuck together the rest of the trip. Adrienne was very into the whole cave thing. She, Jake, Joseph and Richard were fearless. My feeling is that if you have to get on your belly to wiggle through to a deeper area, that we just aren't meant to go that far it. That is just my opinion but I was happy they had fun. And no, they did no belly crawling this trip!
Annalina, at the entrance of the cave
Next we went in the Indian Wells Cave. I loved this one. It was big and open and not very deep. There were beautiful ice formations and icicles. I am proud to say I went as far as the path would allow.
Hmmm, perhaps I should not mention it was only about 300 feet to the end of the path??
Annalina and I attempted the Sentinel cave with the rest of the family. This is the only one that goes through to another cave entrance. We got a ways in and there were bridges going over deep crevices, and large holes going who knows how deep. Everything was very well done and safe with hand rails, but
Annalina slipped on some ice and hurt her thumb and was just not interested in continuing on. I have to admit I was somewhat relieved to be her buddy so we both went back and let the family continue on without us. I don't like caves and I am not sure what I was thinking suggesting a day at the cave. The photos are incredible and they can be fascinating and beautiful, but I am not comfortable being so enclosed in such a dark place with water dripping on me. And when the sign at the beginning of the cave talks about collapsed areas, I tend to freak out, even though it is talking about collapses that happened during the creation of the caves.
We headed back to the visitor's center for lunch. We had packed sandwiches and chips and the weather was beautiful for eating outside. Afterward everyone but Annalina and I went off to explore a couple more caves. We had fun blowing bubbles, watching the video about how the area was formed and hiking around on the many trails near the visitor's center. Adrienne was the photographer since I was not along. She got some great photos!
Richard and the older kids wanted to try a more difficult cave called the Golden Dome cave. After creeping through some pretty short tunnels it leads to a large domed chamber that shimmers like gold due to bacteria that grows on the ceiling. It sounds like a gorgeous place, but check out the ladder descending down into the earth. I was grateful Joseph was not along to try that cave.
We could have spent several days exploring the area, there is much more than just caves, but we wore everyone out and decided we will just have to come back another time! As it was, Joseph fell asleep about 5 minutes into the drive home, and he almost NEVER falls asleep in the car!
Annalina, at the entrance of the cave
Annalina and I attempted the Sentinel cave with the rest of the family. This is the only one that goes through to another cave entrance. We got a ways in and there were bridges going over deep crevices, and large holes going who knows how deep. Everything was very well done and safe with hand rails, but Annalina slipped on some ice and hurt her thumb and was just not interested in continuing on. I have to admit I was somewhat relieved to be her buddy so we both went back and let the family continue on without us. I don't like caves and I am not sure what I was thinking suggesting a day at the cave. The photos are incredible and they can be fascinating and beautiful, but I am not comfortable being so enclosed in such a dark place with water dripping on me. And when the sign at the beginning of the cave talks about collapsed areas, I tend to freak out, even though it is talking about collapses that happened during the creation of the caves.
We headed back to the visitor's center for lunch. We had packed sandwiches and chips and the weather was beautiful for eating outside. Afterward everyone but Annalina and I went off to explore a couple more caves. We had fun blowing bubbles, watching the video about how the area was formed and hiking around on the many trails near the visitor's center. Adrienne was the photographer since I was not along. She got some great photos!
Richard and the older kids wanted to try a more difficult cave called the Golden Dome cave. After creeping through some pretty short tunnels it leads to a large domed chamber that shimmers like gold due to bacteria that grows on the ceiling. It sounds like a gorgeous place, but check out the ladder descending down into the earth. I was grateful Joseph was not along to try that cave.
We could have spent several days exploring the area, there is much more than just caves, but we wore everyone out and decided we will just have to come back another time! As it was, Joseph fell asleep about 5 minutes into the drive home, and he almost NEVER falls asleep in the car!
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