Pacific Northwest - Day 6

I've decided to alter my plans. The Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park, the place I thought would be my next destination is 5 hours from Seaside, making the inevitable trip home even longer. I don't think I can face that much driving. My little car does not have cruise control and my right foot is angry with me. Sorry rainforest.

So Instead, I drove around the northern tip of Oregon, crossed the river back into Washington, and headed east towards Mount Saint Helens.

Ape Cave is a lava tube formed long ago by Helens' eruptions. I've been in a lot of caves (spent a night in one in college) and have walked through a lava tube in Hawaii so Ape Cave wasn't a totally new experience. But it was still pretty cool. Wish I had brought a better flashlight instead of the tiny, half dead one I found in my glove box. The weak light made things a bit slow going, but every once in a while someone would walk by with a lantern and I'd leech off their light for a bit. Much of the time I didn't hear or see anything but the dripping of water from the ceiling and the scraping of my shoes on the rock. I kept thinking of the movie, “The Descent,” and the cave creatures. With a little bit of stage makeup, some false teeth, and a practiced lurch, someone could have a lot of fun down there.

And here's a photo of the entrance. And that's all for now.