Our last summer hoo-rah!

With one weekend left during summer vacation and the Oregon rain turning on like a faucet, we took advantage of our days off and headed east to central Oregon. The weather report promised no rain, and although it wasn't exactly warm, at least it was dry. I wasn't ready to give up summer quite yet. Sometimes Oregon weather can be so abrupt--once the rain starts, it never stops.

We decided to explore the geologic wonders of central Oregon, which consist of lava rock, lava rock, and more lava rock. I say this somewhat in jest at my experience there when I was in 8th grade. Our school decided to organize a special three-day field trip for the 8th graders at the end of the year. They took us to central Oregon and we explored the area. By the end, we all were so sick of looking at lava formations we thought we would puke. Now that I'm older, I can more appreciate the area and it was fun to revisit the places I had been in my youth.

We took the kids to the Newberry Caldera, which is the same type of formation as Crater Lake. Inside the caldera are two lakes (Paulina Lake and East Lake) and several obsidian flows. At the edge of the caldera are a pair of twin waterfalls that are very pretty. We hiked through one obsidian flow, which the kids thought was about the coolest thing ever (and it really is). The flow is a mixture of obsidian and pumice (which Dallin kept calling hummus). As you walk through it, you feel like you're walking on another planet so the boys were imagining they were superheroes gaining their superpowers from the obsidian. It was all I could do to refrain from taking home an obsidian rock for my garden.

After that we headed to the Lava River Cave where we walked beneath the earth for over a mile to get to the end. Caves are so amazing and are one of my favorite things to explore. At first, Grant was petrified and thought the cave was creepy, but we showed no mercy and he eventually got used to it. Although, he never let go of Jason's hand. Towards the end, Jason and the kids crawled on their hands and knees to reach the place where sand fills the cave and you can go no further.


The next day we headed further southeast to Christmas Valley to see even more natural wonders like Hole in the Ground, Fort Rock, Derrick's Cave, and Crack in the Ground. They were all unique formations in their own right. We rock climbed, cave explored, and go so dusty and dirty it was ridiculous. I'll say that Derrick's Cave (another lava tube) was amazing, although a bit creepy being so far out in the boonies with not a soul in sight.

My favorite place was Crack in the Ground, which was just that--a big fissure in the bedrock that created a crevice almost two miles long and up to forty feet deep. It reminded me of the canyons in southern Utah that are super narrow and fun to explore. We didn't get very far into the Crack when we realized it would be slow-going. There were lots of boulders to climb over and around and we were running out of daylight. When Karina fell into a pile of stinging nettle plants, we knew it was time to go. She was screaming and her arm, hands, and forehead were covered with blotches. I had to pack her out and scrounge in the car for Tylenol and hydrocortisone cream. It wasn't long before she was better, but it makes you realize how vulnerable you are in the middle of the wilderness with five young children!