We only had one day in Bend, OR as it was a stopover we planned in order to break up a long drive on our way to Lava Beds National Park. There is so much to do in Bend, it’s really a destination all on its own. However, because we only had half a day available to do an activity we picked visiting the Lava River Cave which is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
The cave itself was made from a lava flow that hardened around the crust forming a roof. Lava continued to flow downward leaving a tunnel behind it, the longest uncollapsed lava tunnel in Oregon. It takes about 1.5 hours to walk the entire length of the cave and back, over a distance of approximately 2.2 miles, or 3.5 km underground.
Entrance to the cave is based on purchasing a timed ticket, which we had done easily in advance via the government website. When you first arrive, a Park Ranger briefs everyone on the history of the cave, the conservation efforts in the area (bats!!) and advice on preparation: pee beforehand, wear good quality closed-toed shoes, carry two sources of light, and dress warm, it gets very cold! Temperatures inside the cave stay at around 6 degrees Celsius (45 F).
One of my kids insisted on choosing clothing they felt was adequate even though I encouraged dressing warmer. Being cold for a long time while in the cave really dampened the experience for them so I ended up giving him my coat to wear overtop of his. Traveling in the RV means we don’t have the storage space to bring all the choices we might ordinarily have at home when it comes to clothing. This sometimes poses a problem when it comes to sensory needs or interoception and body awareness. If you don’t know, interoception is your eighth sense which helps you identify, feel or sense your body’s awareness of things like being hot or cold, hungry or thirsty, or even feeling tiredness or pain. If your interoception awareness is low, you may have trouble identifying what is going on inside your body and have difficulty responding to environmental, situational, or personal changes.
To make sure we address both sensory clothing needs and environmental changes in weather as we travel, we decided to take the following items for each kid beyond their capsule wardrobe;
- Good quality runners or hiking shoes
- Hiking sandals that could also get wet
- Rain Pants
- Rain Jacket
- A thin Down jacket that can fit under their rain jacket
- Fleece Sweatshirt
- Soft Underlayer pants and long sleeve shirt
- Hats – baseball and touque
This way we can layer as needed, and remove layers easily. We have quickly learned that regulating temperature while in an RV is a full time pursuit! Last night temperatures dipped down to -3 C (26 F) to 30 degrees celcius (86) this afternoon!
I’ve been spelunking a few times in New Zealand, and I caught myself immediately looking up for glowworms! While there was none to be found, gazing at the cave roof made me feel like we were inside of a soft-shelled cocoon the way the walls ribboned around us. It was incredible to see how some areas opened up into large caverns and others closed in so low we had to duck down to continue on.
The boys have never been in a cave before and “spelunking” was a new and exciting word for them! They each had a headlamp and explored quite confidently, Asher taking the lead. He was continuously moving forward, pressing into the cave itself and then would veer to the walls to inspect something that caught his interest and then was off again with an internal (and sometimes external) monologue keeping him company. He stopped only once to tell me,
I think this might be one of the best things I will ever do in my life.
Asher’s love of the wild things of the earth always inspires me, and seeing him get so connected with the cave was wonderful. He talked of nothing but the cave, and the bats, so when I stopped at the Visitor center to pick up the kids’ Junior Ranger booklets I picked up a tiny pin for his pin collection of a bat. The pin was a bit sentimental to me as well because my most favourite books that Asher and I have read together are the series; “A Boy Called Bat,” “Bat and the Waiting Game,” and “Bat and the End of Everything” by Elana K. Arnold. Asher identified so much with the main character that he ended up writing an email to the Author, who in her kindness wrote back to him! One day we hope Elana will write more books about Bixby Alexander Tam (Bat)!
It took us just a little longer than 1.5 hours to walk the entire cave. We stopped lots for pictures and discoveries and walked slowly to match Julian’s pace. Still sporting a broken collarbone and wearing a sling 24/7, we knew it was important that he didn’t fall while exploring the cave. In the end, 3.5km was a bit too long for his little legs and I ended up carrying him the last kilometer out.
Everyone was sufficiently tired enough to look forward to sitting in the Rv for a long drive. When we got on our way we talked about the cave and the different things it reminded us about. Just as the lava freely flowed down the hillside we conversed about Free Verse Poetry and how we can use it to express experiences in a different way than just creating a journal entry. I used to love writing poetry, and have about 19 volumes of free verse poems stored in box from my stint as a wordsmith in my late teens-mid twenties. I’m out of practice now, but becasue of that decade I spent writing poetry, I often still think in free verse.
Each of the boys spent time working poem about the Lava River Cave that I’ve been given permission to share below. Bringing art into our studies is another way to acknowledge what we are learning during our field trips and experiences. After our visit at the Painted hills in John Day for example, we spent time playing with pastels and drew our own versions of the beautiful ombre hills.
I went first into the darkenss I was looking for glowworms, potholes and bats The cave got thinner and grew bigger with rocks everywhere echo, echo, echo, echo We weren't prepared for the coldness my hands got numb dirty icicles on the walls It was exciting to be in my first cave -Asher
As I climbed into the cave I was consumed Darkness Water dripped from the ceiling as we moved on it got colder Our footsteps were left in the sand -Elias
As I went in I was swallowed by nothingness At first it was a bear then a butterfly The edges looked like biolumenescent light The trail looked like an old paved road We walked and walked it felt like we were going in circles When we got in the belly it was mute, black and cold but we continued Relief when we saw the light - Lane
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