On Tuesday, Heidi and I, along with another seasonal ranger Jeff, made the two-hour trip to Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California. Jeff had to have some work done on his car, so he dropped his car off in Klamath Falls on the way, then tagged along with us to the Lava Beds.
The Lava Beds lie within a shield volcano, and are basically hollowed out lava tubes that are now caves. We stopped in the visitor center first to pick up a map, get some info on the park, and to check out flashlights. We probably went into about 6 or 7 of the lava tubes, some more easy to navigate than others. Some were also closed due to bats that were nesting in them.
It was amazing the temperature difference between the 90 degree air above ground and the maybe 40-50 degree air in the caves. A lot of the caves led you into pure darkness, while others had “sky lights” along the way. It was a lot of fun to navigate our way through them, and a little nerve-wracking at times when you had to duck low or find your footing in the dark.
After a couple of hours of exploring on our own, we joined a ranger-led hike at 2:00. It was neat to be the ones taking the tours, when we are usually the rangers leading the tours. Our guide was Erin and she was a student studying geology, so she was really informative. She led us through the Hopkins Chocolate Cave, which was named after the man who found it, and the fact that the walls of the cave look like melting chocolate. At the end of the cave was a lava garden and a rock bridge that made for some great photos.
A thunderstorm rolled in just at the end of our tour, which also gave us even more great photos. We never really got rained on, but the thunder rumbled in the distance. As it turns out, Crater Lake got hit with this system that rained down about 3 inches of hail! Glad I wasn’t on boat tour duty yesterday.
On our way back from Lava Beds, we stopped for dinner in Klamath Falls at this delicious Thai restaurant. After dinner, we went for a grocery run and then headed home. All in all, it was a full day but a lot of fun.
Today I was on the late boat tour shift. We once again had a chance of storms, so all Wizard Island tours were cancelled. Luckily, the weather held up, and my two tours had no weather issues. We saw a bald eagle today, and the sun even came out toward the second half of my 3:45 tour. Tomorrow I’m scheduled for a Wizard Island tour, but the weather still looks to be a little iffy, so there’s a chance I’ll be giving just the standard tour.
Before I sign off for the night, I want to thank my mother-in-law Terri for the awesome care package that I received from her today. She sent me a big box filled with assorted candy, tea, hot cocoa, mosquito wipes & an Off clip-on kit, complete with refills and batteries. It totally made my week! Such fun to get mail from home, especially when it’s mail filled with yummy treats. Thanks Terri!!
Good night from Crater Lake!
My Crater Lake Summer 