On the Road - Day 5

At Panther Flat the large showers had water warm, a definite plus. After bacon and eggs we walked down to the stream and took photos of the swimming hole and water rushing over rocks - great sound. The mountain across the stream had a rock slide and rocks made for white water.

Because we awoke at 4 a.m. this morning, we needed a nap at the Collier Tunnel rest stop. Ralph Collier was a Siskiyou County Senator and California's "Father of California Freeways".

We crossed into Oregon (Rt. 199) and headed towards Cave Junction. In O'Brien got gas, only 2.87 per gal. (2.82 cash) and were told it got cheaper as you went north. In Oregon you cannot pump your own gas - gas station attendants have to do it. From there Vance drove the 20 miles of narrow and winding (no guard rails!) road to the Oregon Caves National Monument. 2009 is the 100th anniversary of the Monument being "set aside" by President Taft. 2009 is also Oregon's 150th anniversary.

The 90 minute guided Cave Tour was 6/10 mile long and included over 500 stairs (many steep, uneven, and wet!) Thank goodness we were mostly going up, as my knees hurt when going down. Had to bend and twist because of low passageways. The "caveman walk" is when you crouch with feet and knees apart and hands on knees. Hands support upper body so we didn't have such achy backs. At least I didn't get stuck which was my fear. When I felt claustrophobic, only once, I breathed through it. The cave interior temperature is 44⁰ F year round. Glad we had our jackets. We wound our way single file over metal bridges. stairs (both metal and stone) and partially cemented paths to chambers displaying various stalactite and stalagmite formations made from different mineral deposit forms - like soda straws, flow stone drapery, popcorn and moonmilk. Our guide told us that the drips that occasionally hit our necks are called "cave kisses".

At each stopping point our group would gather and hear about the history of how the caves were discovered, how limestone becomes marble by volcanic action, how people have damaged the caves with blasting and touching the formations, how, in the 1930s, a couple was married in a large chamber wearing caveman fur clothing, and other interesting tidbits.

We had a nice lunch at the Chateau Lodge next to the cave entrance.

Ended at Moon Mountain RV Resort, Grants Pass, OR. [Would come again. Mgr. Frank friendly and helpful w/wifi. HOT showers.]
Odometer 58,726.0 (106.0) Total: 583.2