Oregon Caves NM and Redwoods National Park

Oregon Caves National Monument is a bit of a misnomer.  There’s really just the one cave.  But it’s definitely unique.  Instead of being limestone (like most caves) the rock has metamorphosed into marble.  We went on a ranger-guided tour (which is the only way to see the inside of the cave) that lasted an hour and a half.  There were about eighteen people in the group, so it was a bit cramped at times.  There were quite a few places where you really had to crouch down to squeeze through the passages – the lowest passage was about 45 inches and kind of felt like doing the limbo.  One lady had to ask to leave the tour because she was claustrophobic and also couldn’t handle all the stairs (500 stairs take you up about 230 feet).  But the rest of us enjoyed exploring the half mile of passages through the cool caverns (literally “cool” – the cave temperature is a constant 44 degrees).

The cave was discovered in 1874 and tourists have been exploring the cave since the 1880’s.  Things were different back then – people were encouraged to take souvenirs (stalactites and soda straws) and even to sign their names on the marble walls!  Although that kind of thing is frowned upon nowadays, the old signatures have been preserved thanks to the cave’s natural process of calcification. 

Left: Cave Graffiti; Right: Yep, that is a bat

We went from walking around under the earth to walking among giants at Redwoods National Park.  Coastal Redwoods are the world’s tallest trees, growing as tall as 370 feet.  They are simply awe-inspiring.