Once in a Lifetime!
OK, this is really my second time, but this is my daughter's first experience getting to explore the inside of a lava tube. My daughter and I took a side trip up to the Mojave National Preserve to see this natural wonder. One of my Flickr friends turned me on to this place when he posted some pictures of it on his photostream. I knew I would have to visit here on my next trip to Joshua Tree. I was in my fifties the first time I explored the lava tube near Lassen N. P. and hopefully my daughter will get to pass the experience on to someone else. This is the photo my daughter and I chose to post for day three of our Joshua Tree road trip.
The two hour trip over here had one misadventure when I made the mistake of trying to pull off the side of the road and ended up getting stuck in the sand. A very good Samaritan, named Matt, came to my rescue by pulling me out with his tow rope. Yes, there are still a lot of good honest helpful people out there. I just got repaid one of my good deeds in a big way.
There is no sign telling you where to turn off the main road to get to the lava tube, a tiny sign telling you to turn left off the dirt road, again no sign where to park, and no sign telling you to walk another 200 feet up the hill to the opening. Luckily my daughter had the GPS on her phone turned on and she told me to stop because we had just passed it. Another family was behind me would've driven right past it if we hadn't stopped. It all just seemed to add to the adventure.
When we got into the lava
tube, the sunlight was still coming through the three holes in the roof of the lava tube very dramatically. We were lucky because there was a forecast of rain and the clouds were moving in quickly. I was able to just finish shooting the third hole in the tube when the light completely disappeared behind the clouds. By the time we were finishing our lunch, the rain was coming down. Someone was definitely watching over me on this trip.
(P.S. If you want to explore this lava tube, I had a GPS sensor on my camera and the exact location is on the map. Happy Clicking!)
Once in a Lifetime!
OK, this is really my second time, but this is my daughter's first experience getting to explore the inside of a lava tube. My daughter and I took a side trip up to the Mojave National Preserve to see this natural wonder. One of my Flickr friends turned me on to this place when he posted some pictures of it on his photostream. I knew I would have to visit here on my next trip to Joshua Tree. I was in my fifties the first time I explored the lava tube near Lassen N. P. and hopefully my daughter will get to pass the experience on to someone else. This is the photo my daughter and I chose to post for day three of our Joshua Tree road trip.
The two hour trip over here had one misadventure when I made the mistake of trying to pull off the side of the road and ended up getting stuck in the sand. A very good Samaritan, named Matt, came to my rescue by pulling me out with his tow rope. Yes, there are still a lot of good honest helpful people out there. I just got repaid one of my good deeds in a big way.
There is no sign telling you where to turn off the main road to get to the lava tube, a tiny sign telling you to turn left off the dirt road, again no sign where to park, and no sign telling you to walk another 200 feet up the hill to the opening. Luckily my daughter had the GPS on her phone turned on and she told me to stop because we had just passed it. Another family was behind me would've driven right past it if we hadn't stopped. It all just seemed to add to the adventure.
When we got into the lava
tube, the sunlight was still coming through the three holes in the roof of the lava tube very dramatically. We were lucky because there was a forecast of rain and the clouds were moving in quickly. I was able to just finish shooting the third hole in the tube when the light completely disappeared behind the clouds. By the time we were finishing our lunch, the rain was coming down. Someone was definitely watching over me on this trip.
(P.S. If you want to explore this lava tube, I had a GPS sensor on my camera and the exact location is on the map. Happy Clicking!)