Oregon Caves National Monument

We hung a left and continued back into the interior—Oregon Caves National Monument.  Initially, I had planned for us to camp and explore Crater Lake National Park.  Reading the forecast—“cold with possible snow”—I decided to wait for a warmer time.  (We will definitely be back in the area; both Matthew and I love the northwest environment.)

Following my new plan—minimum of two nights in the same campground—Matt and I made our way up the very winding pass to Oregon Caves.  Since I had made reservations at a campsite a mere 8 miles down the mountain, I could justify going on the nighttime cave tour…a candlelight scary tour.  For those of you who know me, you are aware that I do NOT like “scary”.  If it weren’t for the “fun” (and with Matt, possibly “dangerous”) candle-lanterns, and my “safe place in the middle”, I would not have enjoyed it.  As it was, making sure Matthew kept the lantern away from his and others’ clothing and my vigilant monitoring of darker areas in the cave, I was only frightened five or six times.  (I heard later that my screaming actually frightened the tour guide—giggles!)

Our scary guides...

The next day, we drove up to see the caves during the day—the park has lights in the caves when not in “scare mode”.   We also did some hiking.  The trees--fir, spruce, hemlock, and cedar—tall and odiferous!  Breathing was intoxicating—yes, really!

The cave is marble--in typical limestone caves, a formation grows approximately 1"in 100 years.  In this cave, 1" takes more than 10,000 years.

A cluster of spiders (similar to daddy longlegs) at the exit of the cave