Spelunking and Random Pics 
Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 05:02 PM - Hiking/Camping
We had so much fun today! We explored a number of caves. We bought a small book that talks about each cave and has a map of each. That definitely came in handy on one of the caves. We both got pretty worn out faster than expected what with the crouching and sometimes even crawling. The visitor center let us borrow knee pads which were a huge help in the 'harder' caves. The caves are so neat! The walls, floor and ceiling show tons of evidence of the lava flow. Tomorrow we hope to finish the caves on the cave loop, then we'll start adventuring away from the loop. :)
Here are some random pics. I finally got the photos off of the smaller HP camera. For some reason the panoramic didn't show up. . . So that's sad. Oh well.

-Miranda


Me on the fire watch tower over Crater Lake. Our RV is parked down on the road below in the photo.

The ceiling/upper wall on part of one cave. They said this happened when the heat from the lava remelted some of the surrounding hardened rock.

Me sitting in a super neat area of the Juniper Cave. The white is mineral deposits. There were a lot of lower ceilings in this cave. Hence the knee pads being on. Also, we wore our bike helmets in all of the caves.

The same area of the cave, but the part we were heading towards. Give you an idea of what we saw. :) Click the photo to see a larger photo.

Just had to get a photo of Lucy in here with her new collar on. :) She got up and meowed at me right after I clicked this pic. Probably wondering what I was doing.

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Camping at Lavabeds! 
Monday, October 1, 2007, 09:45 PM - Hiking/Camping
Wow. Well, after a slow start this morning, We entered The Lava Beds National Monument through the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge. So Miranda got a chance to see a ton of birdies.. A PrarieHawk flew along side our driver window at about 25 feet away for a bit, that was intense ;)
From there we hiked the Captain Jack Stronghold trail. Pretty interesting location where 60 native men,women and children held off 600 American Troops in the late 1800's By using the terrain and caves in the area.
After finding a campsite, We had dinner, and then Went out in the dark for a walk to the nearest caves quick. We went down the Fully-Lit easiest cave first, it was awesome.. I want to go back to take video :) We'll see.
After that we went down the Labyrinth Cave. Wow. super cool. Felt like 3-4 city blocks worth of walking, croutching under some parts, scrambling over another smooth part. So crazy in there with the lava flows still in tact in some places.. Wow. Tomorrow we plan on hitting all of the easy and most medium caves in the Main part of park :)
-Joe


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Photos of Lucy! 
Sunday, September 30, 2007, 01:55 PM - Friends/Family
She apparently likes to sleep under the covers.. . So we didn't sleep great last night because when she did dive under the covers she either tried to curl up next to your stomach (then proceed to knead it with her little poky claws) or she went straight to your feet which tickles. So, we decided she isn't allowed under the covers. We'll see how that goes. :) Here are some pics! The lighting in the RV is awful and she was a bit too interested in the camera so I couldn't get very good ones.

-Miranda


Joe showed her the upper bunk and that has turned into her new favorite spot. I think she likes to watch out that front window.


Here she's climbing down from the top bunk.


This is her little area. She doesn't actually spend much time on the blanket, but it's there so she can check out the window whenever. She is spending most of her time in the upper bunk or in our laps.

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3 ENTITIES in this little RV?! 
Saturday, September 29, 2007, 08:43 PM - Friends/Family
Omg. .. Miranda has gone ahead and gotten us a New Family member.
Lucy is a white 1 year old Cat. Already Marking most of the RV as her own.
Within the first hour she explored most of the RV, Used the Littebox, and Ate some food. We hope she will be mellow enough to just "hang out" with us. We'll see what kind of terrors lay ahead .. . . . ;)

UPDATE: After waiting an hour at petco, We drove gently back to our Campground. Lucy Behaved very well. Im impressed so far.

-Joe

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Excitement about Lavabeds 
Friday, September 28, 2007, 04:38 PM - Hiking/Camping
I was looking at a Brochure for the lavabeds (Hundreds of Caves!) And read this one:
Catacombs Cave (6,903 ft/2,104 m)
This very long cave is easily entered but gradually
increases in difficulty. It is possible to walk upright for
approximately 800 ft (244 m) to the stairway, after
which the ceiling rarely exceeds 3 ft (0.9 m). A few
places exist where the ceiling height is less then 12 in
(30 cm). A cave map is highly recommended for any
group planning to explore the entire length, as multiple
levels and numerous side passages can be confusing.
This cave is not recommended for inexperienced
cavers.
Lava Beds Website

Nice :) One mile long cave, with some parts you have to crawl through!!
Yeeehaaawwww!!! We'll be heading there Sunday or Monday :)
-Joe

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