On
our recent trip to Denver
(see previous postings) we stopped in Gooding for a visit with son, Clint, and
family. Saturday, Clint and I along with
Nellie had a great time exploring a couple of caves located in the lava fields
northwest of Gooding. I had visited the
general area a year before with Clint looking for some geocaches. Most of the geocaches in this area are placed
by one person and judging from our lack of success in finding them, I think
they are gone. We found only 2 out of 6
attempts on this trip and the two we found were hidden by someone else.
The
first cave we visited was called Dead
Horse Cave. It had a large opening and extended back a
couple hundred feet or so. It was very
large inside almost like a small auditorium.
Some years back one of the local service clubs in Gooding had built some
concrete steps and benches in the cave.
The
second cave was Teapot
Cave and probably one of
the neatest caves I have ever seen. We
had the choice of taking a very rough road or hiking the 2+ miles to the cave
and we decided to walk. We saw several
large craters in the lava field on the way there and climbed through one
looking (unsuccessfully) for a geacache.
The cave has a very small entrance (about 3’x4’) and opens almost
immediately to a 15’ chute down to a lower level. On that level is a small bench above a large
round cavern with the floor about 8 or 10 feet below.
You have to climb down this fairly abrupt cliff to the bottom. At this point there is good visibility because
of a round 50 foot diameter hole high above in the ceiling of the cave. We found an owl and a pigeon down in the
cave. There was a little grove of ferns
growing directly under the hole in the ceiling.
Clint looks across the lava fields.
That looks fun! Does Clinton live near Craters of the Moon? What are the items behind you in the cave? A couple signs?
ReplyDeleteYes, it was fun.
ReplyDeleteI think it's about 80 miles from Gooding to Craters of the Moon. We thought about taking that in but decided against it because of the driving time. We'll definitely do it later.
The items in the cave are a plaque telling about it and a register to sign.
After the posting I noticed I had no pictures of Nellie in the cave and I thought you'd probably ask if she made it down. Yes, she did but I had to give her a boost part of the way up the cliff to get her back out - No Fear Nellie.
Mike took great pictures of this adventure. I could have gone -- sure I could have -- but the round trip walk would have been tiring and Mike would have had to boost me out of the cave, too. Also, spelunking is not quite my thing -- just a bit claustrophobic. Instead, Elisha and I enjoyed shopping the thrift stores in Gooding. I wonder why small towns have thrift stores and if they are lucrative.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the one picture where it looks like Nellie is "photo bombing". Too funny! Is camping allowed in that area? That might be a fun destination--we could fly into Boise and go from there.
ReplyDeleteWhat's "photo bombing?" I agree that she looks funny in that one picture in which she appears.
ReplyDeleteThe ever credible Urban Dictionary (online) defines photo bombing as "the fine art of ruining other people's photos, usually by running in the background or making a silly face."
ReplyDeleteDoesn't she look like she's running in at the last moment? I might have to print it--I've giggled more than once.
I think I wouldn't be in the caves, either. I think I'd even pass on the thrift shops. I'd be home making a pot of soup to eat when everyone returned. Muffins anyone? :-)
ReplyDeleteIf it had been my kitchen, I might have cooked, but since it wasn't and we knew we were going out for dinner, I didn't make muffins and soup. Besides, it wasn't quite cold yet. Today is a muffins and soup day, but two weeks ago it was still quite warm.
ReplyDeleteWhen Clint returned, he and Elisha made a delicious apple pie using phyllo (sp) dough.
I hope you didn't think I was saying you should have cooked! I just meant caves are not my thing and neither is shopping so my preference would have been to say I'd stay home and cook. :-)
ReplyDeleteNo, I was making small talk -- just like you were. And I was (hopefully) just making an analogy about the change in the weather. A nice bowl of soup would be good for supper tonight. It's always good to hear from you.
ReplyDelete