We packed up the trailer to move on to Harris Beach State Park, today. But, first we stopped at The Shasta Caverns for a tour.
“Three tours in one,” the marketing brochure says. First, a boat ride across Lake Shasta. Then, a steep bus ride up the hill to the mouth of the cavern. Next, a fascinating tour of caverns filled with stalagmites (bottom –up), stalagtites (top – down), and all sorts of amazing formations shaped like peanut brittle, bacon, spaghetti and popcorn. Why did they name them after food, I wonder? Anyway, the caverns are a system of tunnels and open spaces that are bridged by narrow, vertical stairs and walkways. The guide said that we walked about 700 stairs. That seems about right. It was completely amazing. The boys asked lots of questions and were very interested in the formations. It was an awesome morning.
Early morning boat ride
Lots of stairs to and from chambers filled with formations.
'Bacon' formations
'Spaghetti' formation - These names are making me hungry...
Now, we are making the long drive back to Harris Beach in Brookings, OR. As the crow flies, we are not far but, we have to travel up to OR, then back down into CA, then back up HWY 101 into OR. It is a bit out of the way but, the memories of our first days at Harris Beach are wonderful and the weather on the coast is supposed to be clear for a day or two so, we are going back to enjoy it again.
The plan is to stay two days, then up to Florence for a day of tidepooling and maybe some crabbing, then home to Portland. These are the last few days of our vacation. Ugh, I’m sad. The kids will be, too when they figure it out. They are having a blast. I hate to tell them yet. One day at a time…
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