My cousins Jack and Gavin are visiting from Chicago. We (Mom, Dad, Tha tha, Uncle Colin, Jack, Gavin and myself) decided to go to Mt. St. Helen's.
The forest on the south side of the mountain was dense, but ash and cool lava could be seen through the green. Here is the entrance to Ape Cave. Do you see the stairs going down?
The cave was not lit, so we had to bring our own lights. We had head lamps and flashlights.
As a group, we decided to do the easy leg of the cave. It was 3/4 mi until we reached the end.
The cave got bigger and smaller, the path got smoother and rougher. Sometimes it was difficult to walk.
The cave also got cooler the farther we went.
This is Uncle Colin taking a picture of a natural lava formation. It is named "The Meat Ball".
We were glad to finally find the entrance and go back up to the hot forest.
When we resurfaced, there was a park ranger to answer our questions. We all drank some water.
After a rest, we headed to the north side of Mt. St. Helen's.
