OUT WEST ADVENTURES   Around the cabin and a couple of caves

It's our last day at the cabin.  We enjoy another great breakfast cooked by Nick.  Do laundry.  Betsy helps both Myra and Paula with computer and phone stuff.

 After a lunch of trying to clean out the refrigerator we head off to explore 2 of the things listed in "16 things to do within 16 miles."  They are caves that are very close together.  The directions are given from the visitor's center so we go there to start.  Turns out that the road we turn on to from the main road is straight across from the road to our cabin.  We just didn't know the name of that road.    The road starts as a paved road but we soon turn off on a dirt forest road.  Our destination - Bower Cave.  There is a small parking lot and a sign.  We go a short distance over an old lava flow.  Small flowers now dot the area.

 That's it?!    None of us dared venture down.  But the next cave is called Mammoth Cave.  Maybe it will be something we can go in to.


We drive down a few more dirt roads.  Hmmmm.  This parking lot is a little bigger and there are actually a few cars here and port-a potties!  We must be at a major attraction.  We talk to a couple standing by their pick-up drinking beer.  Their kids are down in the cave.  They point to where the entrance is.

 Oh! Now we're talking mammoth!  Nick, Betsy, Myra and I scramble down to the opening.  One side has a metal gate across it, straight ahead requires upper body strength to get up to the ledge where one can then crawl on back to who knows where.  Or you could go back up and climb back down through a small opening directly on to the ledge. None of us were up for either of those choices.  Betsy and Nick head back out.  But to the right there was a fairly large opening that one could go through just bent over.  Of course, I turn on my phone flash light and decide to explore a little.  After about 20' it opened up to a place where I could stand.  Myra came back too.

 Even though it was pitch black, with the flash, we could take some fun pictures.  We were laughing so hard, we figured the others would know we were fine.  But, they couldn't hear a thing from us and we couldn't hear them calling us to see if we were OK.  Betsy came back down to check.  She couldn't hear us until she was quite close.  Everyone was relieved when we came out with smiles on our faces.

Back at the cabin we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and big salad.

I haven't said anything about the hot tub that was in an enclosed porch at the back of the cabin.  Several of us enjoyed relaxing in the tub after hiking days.  Since it was right off of Nick and my room, I think we indulged more than anyone else.

The cabin worked really well as a base for the week.  It was a comfortable, roomy place to come back to each night.