Sunday, November 05, 2006

Oregon Caves National Monument

Sunday 9/24/06 - 2nd Day of Vacation

After a leisurely breakfast we unplugged and headed towards the Oregon Caves. We had received varying advice on taking the RV with attached trailer up to the caves. Our plan was to drop the trailer or the RV and trailer somewhere in Cave Junction. We stopped at the Caves Information Center in town. After talking to a ranger we decided to the leave the RV and trailer in the parking lot. It was another gorgeous day so a motorcycle ride sounded good.

The road from Cave Junction to the Caves is only 20 miles; but the last 8 or 9 were very curvy. It was fun on the bike - but we were glad we'd left the motorhome behind. The view from the parking lot is amazing. Too bad I didn't take a picture. We arrived just in time to take the next tour of the cave.

The 90 minute tour was great. There were lots of steps, and a few tight spots with low ceilings. About 1/2 way through the tour I felt kind of weird being 200 feet below ground. Especially when the people behind us started talking about earthquakes! It's hard to take pictures in the cave. Some areas you can't use flash. Plus our tour was pretty large and it was hard to get in the right position to take good shots. But still... it was worth it to see the amazing granite caves.

If you do the tour be sure to dress warm. The temperature in the cave year-round is 43 degrees. I recommend you go on a weekday... I'm sure it won't be as crowded.

After the tour Dave and I hiked up the ridge (Cliff Nature Trail). The views were incredible. Dave took pictures of Earl and his wife and then Earl took pictures of us. Thanks, Earl! Our adventures made us pretty hungry. We decided to have lunch in the Chateau Cafe. It's an old-fashion diner type cafe. The food was good and the ambience incredible.

The bike ride down was nice and a lot faster than it would have been in the Tioga. Dave had the bike loaded up and we were on the road by 3:00. The drive to Prospect was beautiful. Rode along the Rogue River most of the way. We started a new book on CD "Water for Elephants". It's very interesting.

Arrived in Prospect about 5:00. We stayed at the Prospect RV Park. It's very nice and clean. Large sites and friendly host. We really enjoyed the golf cart park tour and being able to pick our pull-thru site. No cell service, though (Sprint or Cingular).

Had leftover tacos for dinner. Tasty and easy. We read for awhile before watching the rest of "The Doors".

Oregon Caves National Monument http://www.nps.gov/orca/

Prospect RV Park http://www.prospectrvpark.com/



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