We left California this morning heading to Oregon Cave National Monument in Cave Junction, OR. The road up to the Cave was narrow and twisty, not recommended for trailers or RVs, so we made arrangements to drop the trailer in Cave Junction. Our stop for the night was another 30 miles up the road at Grants Pass. Although a bit nervous about doing it, we parked in a church parking lot that the visitor's center recommended. After securing it the best we could, we drove up to the cave.
This cave is unique in a couple ways, first it is one of only a few marble caves in the world. Also, it is relatively small and requires a tour guide. It is not as well known as other caves or visited by as many as Carlsbad or Mammoth and did not come under NPS control until 1909; although discovered in the 1860s. As a result, many stalactites and stalagmites were broken and stolen.
Not apparent to the public is the bio-sphere significance of the many species of plant and animals life supported in the cave. The hike through was pretty strenuous with all the steps and crouching required, but was interesting. The following pictures depict some of the formations we saw.
After the cave, we returned to the trailer, found all was well; hooked up and went on to Grants Pass. The park we selected was nice but noisy due to its close proximity to I-5. Tomorrow we head to Crescent, OR.
September 19, 2013 - Thursday
Today we are headed to Crater Lake. The route was confusing as there are several roads to choose from, with Lynn giving a different route than Mapquest and Garmin. We are not sure if we picked the best or shortest, but we got there around 1PM. We again dropped the trailer, with permission, so we could drive around the park.
Crater Lake is actually an old volcano, Mt Mazama, that erupted about 8000 years ago. The mountain was originally over 12,000 feet tall. When it erupted magma and ash spewed in all directions for hundreds of miles, then the dome fell into the crater that was formed when the magma chamber emptied. The crater then filled with water from rain and snow to a depth of 1200 feet. The rim is about 7500 feet tall, so the top 5000 feet either fell in or blew off.
Crater Lake has no out flow. No water leaves and no rivers can flow up the sides of the caldera. The result is a lake with the purest water there is. Its clarity is over 100 feet! Average water temperature is 38F. Due to this purity, the water is bluer than the sky. There is an island called Wizard Island, that was a mini-volcano that erupted shortly after the big blow. Since it pokes up out of the water, its total height is about 1500 feet. Check out the pictures below, which do not do this place justice.
These pictures are taken on the 33 mile Rim Road. Not much here for hiking as the only trail, the Cleetwood trail, takes you down to the lake. Ha, that sounds like fun doesn't it? No, we did not take it. In the summer there are boat rides out to Wizard Island departing at the bottom of this trail. We are convinced the intent of this trail is to weed out the weaker of our species!
Now,you might ask after seeing these pictures, "Wow, where does all that water come from?" Well they get an average of 43 feet of snow per year. In most winter months (yes, starting in October) there is 10 feet on the ground. The place finally opens fully in late June. The next picture shows a stick they use to know where to plow.
Next is a self portrait...
Another interesting feature, actually outside of the rim, is a collection of spires formed by the molten lava. They are very unique to this area.
We returned to where we dropped the trailer, picked it up, and drove on to Crescent, OR to see more volcano related stuff.
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