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So long California! On to something new. We got the bus rolling, said goodbye to the wet redwood coast and headed northwest with Grants Pass Or. as our ultimate destination by the end of the day. But not before stopping along the way for a little spelunking!
Ever since our visit to Karchner Caverns in southern AZ. we have become enamored with crawling around underground. Oregon Caves National Monument was somewhat on the way, so naturally we could not resist.
Turning off of SR 199 we found a visitors center with signs saying “cave information”. We really didn’t have much info on Oregon Caves NM. so we stopped. Good thing too. The info gal warned us not to drive the motorhome up the road. It would be fine if we just left it in the parking lot for the day. She said the road going up into the mountains where the cave is located are is pretty tight. She wasn’t kidding. We probably could have made it, but it would have been tough. As it was, Renee and the kids were feeling a little woozy after all the twists and turns.
After the 45 minute trip in, we hit the ticket counter just ahead of a very obnoxious women and her family. You know the type, you hear her before you see her and what you hear is irritating not only you, but everyone in the general vicinity. Renee and I turned to each other with panic in our eyes and said “oh no, she is going to be on our tour. Each tour was two hours long! We were told they only had three spots available on the next tour (1:45pm) through the cave, so we would have to take the 2:00pm tour. Thankfully, she numbered three, including her kid and husband and was able to take the earlier tour! We gave each other telepathic high five! Thankful for the bullet we dodged, whew.
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The cave tour started with our Ranger/tour guide being very canned and distant. He never really put any personality into it at all. Luckily, the cave was very interesting. It was very cool and moist. Many types of formations can be seen here. Soda straws, columns, bacon and other speliotherms abound.
Many of the formations were damaged by prior viewers of the cave. This cave has been around for over a hundred years and the early tours actually encouraged people to take a souvenir home with them. All along the main path you can see evidence of people breaking off the delicate soda straws. You can even see in this picture where a geology professor and his entire class signed their names on this "flow stone" wall. Many are still highly legible and you can see dates from the 1940’s before this practice was stopped.
Ever since our visit to Karchner Caverns in southern AZ. we have become enamored with crawling around underground. Oregon Caves National Monument was somewhat on the way, so naturally we could not resist.
Turning off of SR 199 we found a visitors center with signs saying “cave information”. We really didn’t have much info on Oregon Caves NM. so we stopped. Good thing too. The info gal warned us not to drive the motorhome up the road. It would be fine if we just left it in the parking lot for the day. She said the road going up into the mountains where the cave is located are is pretty tight. She wasn’t kidding. We probably could have made it, but it would have been tough. As it was, Renee and the kids were feeling a little woozy after all the twists and turns.
After the 45 minute trip in, we hit the ticket counter just ahead of a very obnoxious women and her family. You know the type, you hear her before you see her and what you hear is irritating not only you, but everyone in the general vicinity. Renee and I turned to each other with panic in our eyes and said “oh no, she is going to be on our tour. Each tour was two hours long! We were told they only had three spots available on the next tour (1:45pm) through the cave, so we would have to take the 2:00pm tour. Thankfully, she numbered three, including her kid and husband and was able to take the earlier tour! We gave each other telepathic high five! Thankful for the bullet we dodged, whew.
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The cave tour started with our Ranger/tour guide being very canned and distant. He never really put any personality into it at all. Luckily, the cave was very interesting. It was very cool and moist. Many types of formations can be seen here. Soda straws, columns, bacon and other speliotherms abound.
Many of the formations were damaged by prior viewers of the cave. This cave has been around for over a hundred years and the early tours actually encouraged people to take a souvenir home with them. All along the main path you can see evidence of people breaking off the delicate soda straws. You can even see in this picture where a geology professor and his entire class signed their names on this "flow stone" wall. Many are still highly legible and you can see dates from the 1940’s before this practice was stopped.
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While the cave has had it’s share of stewardship issues in the past, the park service has stepped up and now takes great pains to keep it from further deterioration. The tour route has been recently reconstructed. Removing asphalt that fouled the water and replacing it with concrete and other materials that have less of an impact on the cave are part of the work performed. We came across volunteers picking lint with tweezers off the rocks along the tour route. It seems that lint promotes the growth of algae and bacteria, which in turn attract outside insects into the cave, altering it’s natural state.
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We finished the cave tour and opted for a short hike up the mountain above the cave. We were rewarded with some extraordinary views of the surrounding Siskiyou Forest and the Illinois Valley.
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After walking for the last 3 hours without anything to drink, we went into the "Chateau" for some refreshment. The Chateau is a well preserved, turn of the century hotel, that is still operational.
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We drove back down the valley to the rv and loaded up for the final drive to Grants Pass. We arrived at the campground and set up. Our site was located right on the bank of the Rogue River just above a small beach. The temp was maybe 83*, with a nice breeze! Gorgeous!
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