Lava Butte and Lava River Cave - July 30, 2018

Lava Butte is in the Newberry Volcanic National Monument near Bend. We explored an informational trail on the side of the Butte but didn't get to the top. Saving that for another day because it's over 100°F and we have a cooler adventure planned for today.

The cave is 42°F inside and it is 100°F outside. That's a nice 60ish degree temperature change. The cave is open in the summer but closes in the fall and winter to protect the bats that hibernate inside. We listened to the warnings about white nose syndrome and prepared our headlamps, lanterns and flashlights.

It is a mile in the pitch black darkness to the end.  There are places James and I had to duck a little, but mostly it was very, very large inside. Meta made it the mile to the end and hitched a ride part of the mile back out.

Lincoln was playing with the gloves i told him to put in his jacket and left them home.  Good thing his Spiderman sweatshirt has fuzzy, warm pockets.

Agate Beach - July 24, 2018

We wanted to go to a lighthouse on the way to Lincoln City, but it was lost in the fog. So we had our lunch on the windy, windy beach.

Jesse James sighting!

Oregon Coast via Mary's Peak waterfall - July 23, 2018

We decided to go to the Oregon Coast this "weekend". We didn't have a reserved campsite and we didn't make it to the coast before bedtime. So we spent the first night at an empty 6 space campground on Mary's Peak. 

This morning, we found a pretty waterfall along the peak road and eventually made it to the coast to search for tonight's campsite.

Basecamp for our coastal adventure.

Sunny on the coast, foggy on the water, cold wind everywhere.

Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Rock Hounds - July 21, 2018

Richardson Rock ranch. We found Thunder Eggs! The Oregon State rock.

 StateSymbolsUSA.org ........

Official State Rock of Oregon

 Oregon designated the thunderegg as the official state rock in 1965 after the rockhounds of Oregon voted it as their first choice.

Found chiefly in Crook, Jefferson, Malheur, Wasco and Wheeler counties of Oregon, each thunderegg is unique in pattern, design and color. Cut and polished, thundereggs reveal exquisite designs. They are a wonder of nature and are sought after and highly prized around the globe.

 According to legend, thundereggs were named by the Native Americans of central Oregon, who are said to have believed that these strange, agate-filled stones were thrown by fighting "thunder spirits" who dwelt on Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood (two of several snow-capped peaks high in the Cascade Range). The Native Americans believed these rival, jealous gods hurled large numbers of the round-shaped rocks at each other in fury during thunderstorms.

 Thundereggs are found in the rhyolite lava flows which spread over Oregon an estimated 60 million years ago during the Eocene Age. Geologists believe the round-shaped thundereggs were formed in gas pockets (bubbles) within the lava, which served as molds.

 The cooled bubbles were gradually filled by water percolating through the porous rock carrying rich quantities of silica (quartz). The deposits lined and in many cases filled the cavity, first with the darker matrix material, then the inner core of agate or chalcedony. The beautiful colors were derived from minerals present in the soil.

Lucky Lake - July 17, 2018

Meta's sleeping bag is next to mine, so her happy face is on one side. When Lincoln wakes up, he climbs in between James and I. So Linc's happy face is on the other side. They are ready for adventures.

At the end of our camping adventure at Cultus Lake, we hiked to Lucky Lake. The sign said it was one mile to the lake. James' GPS said it was closer to 1.5 miles. So instead of hiking 2 miles today, we hiked 3. It was a pretty lake at the top of a pretty hike. James and the kids splashed in the water, but it was windy and too cold to actually swim. Even in July!

Visiting Dad at work - July 14, 2018

Craft sticks - July 11, 2018

The green ones are chores. The red ones are adventures. Almost every day we pick one of each out of a jar.