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Closest City: Mountain Ranch
State: California
Country: United States
My pre-birthday "surprise" trip
Let me start this one off by saying that this experience has now made it on my “Favorite Activities That I’ve done”… ;)
On friday, October 31st, Francisco, Alvaro and I headed out on the mysterious trip that was planned out for me as a pre-birthday surprise. Francisco had given me a few clues here and there but none of them would make any sense to me and I could not figure out what he had in store for me! The curiosity was killing me! :) All I knew for sure was that I had to wear clothes and shoes that I wouldnt mind damaging or have destroyed. Now that off the bat is pretty odd… I mean, we’ve done some pretty crazy trips and activities but nothing thats ever ruined my clothes! hahah. Well I was stumped!
So where was I?… On friday we take off and I still had no clue what my surprise was! I did know there was mud and caverns involved because Alvaro accidently mentioned it. hahah. As curious as I was to know what we were going to do, part of me did NOT want to find out until it was time to actually do it! I LOVE surprises! :) On friday night we ended up sleeping in the car… we found a lovely spot in the emergency room parking lot. hahah. unfortunatly for the boys, they didnt sleep too comfortable… thats what happens when youre tall. :P now this is where being small comes in handy! I was sharing the backseat with the rest of our supplies for the weekend. I managed to snuggle up and make myself comfortable! :) so I didnt mind sleeping in the car that night!
The next morning we go to a small, local restaurant and order a hardy breakfast. the weather wasnt too bad. I mean it was a bit nippy and drizzling every once in a while but nothing too bad. After breakfast we start heading towards the “secret” location. When I found out we were going to go on a cave tour I was exstatic! I LOVE caves! :) Ive always wanted to go in one but ive never had the chance. Here was the perfect opportunity!:) Francisco had chosen for us to do the Middle Earth Expedition. We were going to have the chance to explore 80% of the cavern system from the east entrance to the western most exit. The circuit is about a mile long. I was super excited!!! Then it was time to gear up. Knee pads werent required but highly, HIGHLY recommended. Thats because we would soon be crawling and squeezing through tight spaces between the rocks!
Going through the Middle Earth Expedition was going to be mostly walking through nearly knee deep, sticky cave clay and enjoying the incredibly beautiful scenery. The remainder of the trip consisted of exploring the horizontal fissures in the “Cave of the Quills” area and a quick, 70-foot rafting trip across “Tom’s Lake.” The trip would conclude with passages filled with “goo,” more beautiful crystalline rooms, and then ascending ladders to sunshine and showers.
After leaving California Caverns we headed over to Yosemite National Park. It wasnt part of the plan but after hearing that people were getting robbed at gunpoint at the campsites near the caverns, we were sure we didnt want to stay there… yosemite is amazingly beautiful!!! It never stopped raining while we were there BUT that didnt take away from its beauty!
So after doing all the crazy belly crawls, rafting through the little lake, trying to find your way out of a dark cave covered in the sticky mud, trying to balance yourself on a fragile catwalk in order to spare any major damage to your body, contorting your body to fit through holes and cracks in the walls and climbing a 70 foot ladder to get out of the cave, i have to say it was a blast! Its not as tough as i thought it would be but the stalagmites, stalactites, bacon, the straw looking things coming out of the ceiling and the crisp clear water all made this experience something truly amazing!
I have to admit this had to be one of the best pre-birthday surprises Ive ever had!!! thanks hunnie ;)
del.ico.us
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Member Comments:
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Traveler Said...
Awesome trip! You guys truly got into the thick of the cavern. There are caverns in Sequoia N.P. (Crystal) and Kings Canyon N.P. (Boyden). Both are guided along a boardwalk and not nearly as interactive, but they also don't require a changing clothes -
Traveler Said...
Good tip about the campground (gunpoint...yikes!), do you recall the name of it? -
Tropigal Said...
What a GREAT adventure!!! I love surprises too! -
trainwreck517 Said...
Very nicely written Yohana. Must say, it was a blast!
Traveler: The name of the campground was "Angels Campground" in Angels City, CA -
Francisco Said...
WOOOOOOHOOO! :P