the hole a tree and a whole lot of rock

we decided to take the 12 mile dirt road to the lava cast forest.  it was nearing the end of the day and rain was yet again flowing off and on.  

this was the big excitement of that trip

yep a hole in the ground.  not just any hole though a hole left by a tree that has finally rotted away from the lava.  you see some of the trees survived the lava and created these casts in the lava fields like this cool looking tree 

i love these twisted trees and took many pictures no worries you wont see anymore at least for now. hahaha

the area suggested to walk around in was about a mile each way we went about 1/4 of a mile and started watching the sky and decided time to head back.  so this last picture was of the field.  see that bit of rain in the background mountains?  yep rain and we barely made it back to the car and it was once again pouring on us. 

and with that no more lava pictures at least for now we have another trip planned soon for the same area but will be going a little bit further south to a lake a special lake and also a little to the west to a quilt show. 

this is the lava lands with the view of lava butte.  I was amazed at how different it looked on both sides.



 the visitor center at the top of the butte was closed to visitors but we could see the other side of this volcanic area.  I was bummed about that I bet the view was great.  but with crummy weather I guess it was just as well.

life emerges

from the lava fields springs life struggling to live



Like all of us with struggles in life we push forward through all the dirt and rocks we succeed.

the pathway through the lava fields week #11

this is a piece of obsidian.



For me I try to follow a path that leads me to new discoveries.  some days that path is through a lava field and some days that path is around the block.  whichever way I go I try to make the best of the situation rain or shine hot or cold

what path do you follow?  find out a few others here:

obsidian

Obsidian is a dark natural glass formed by the cooling of lava.  this was at the newberry volcano area for more information please go here.

there was obsidian all over the area it was amazing to see.

our day

today is my 24th anniversary and this is my hubby.  One of our favorite things to do together is to explore new places. recently we went hiking in the rain at the newberry volcanic area near Bend Oregon.  this is at the obsidian flow area in JUNE yes JUNE and there was still snow.





unfortunetly the weather was not on our side if it wasn't pouring rain then it was cloudy but a blah cloudy so the sky didn't turn out very well.

twisted

crazy looking twisted trees.  they become twisted to conserve any amount of water they could squeeze out of the lava ridden ground.  some of these trees are 6000 years old.



the weather was horrid pouring rain off and on and just plain blah outside so not the best of pictures but I just had to take a walk on the trail and check out the trees and the lava fields.

purple

I love purple yes yes I do.  something about it really attracts my eye.

so when I saw this flower in a bed of lava rocks in central oregon in the pouring rain I had to take a quick shot.

only two shots of it and this was my favorite  I blew it up to get a little more detail  anyone have any idea what flower it is?



here it is originally:

lava river cave

we went to the Lava river cave near bend oregon and had more fun than we thought we would.  it goes down about a mile with varying heights.  Near the end it was barely 4 feet high.  Sometimes rocky, sometimes smooth and sometimes sandy from being worn down.

This is near the entrance:







This was a crack in the ceiling above us at one point



really really wished I had brought my tripod.  why oh why do i forget that almost everytime.  I had to steady this on my knee but it gave a cool effect:



is it dark??? for $5. you can rent a gas lantern (the yellow glow you see in the shots) and well worth it.  helps heat the hands too.  ok everyone sing it.  hi ho hi ho its off to work we go:



near the end of the mile long tunnel.  can't go any further so we don't spread any kind of disease to the bats in the cave: I am short but this was very very short.



it remains about 42 degrees in the cave and ice forms in some spots:


our lantern behind a chunk of ice:

the light go to the light.  yes you really do need to at this point to get out of the hole.



was a lot of fun to see.

have you ever been in a lava cave?

ever see a bat in person??


some info on the cave also there is a link at the top for more information: