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Idaho (middle of nowhere/caves)
Aug. 31st, 2011 04:21 pmIdaho has these stunningly beautiful places, and then these...er, NOT so stunning places. If, in the words of so many nonnative English Eurovision songs, "Lava's all you need," we are set for LIFE. Today I drove out to find where the Civil Defense caves were. Firstly, they were a lot further away than I thought. Well, maybe not so far, but given the extremely bumpy road, it took a long time to get there. Second, wow, they were in the middle of NO. WHERE. You would not want to break down without anyone knowing where you were.
It's a really good thing they put up signs or we never would have found it.
The sign explaining the cave is interesting. Basically, it explains the geology (fast-moving lava flowed here, cooled around the outside, the lava ran out, and you are left with a long, tubular cave). There are no stalactites or stalagmites in lava caves, just large, chunky rocks. There's ice in the cave year-round, and you can do a whole hike inside there. Also, the sign explains how back in the Cold War, the government went looking for natural caves to use as nuclear hideout spots. They never ended up using this one (maybe because it's RIDICULOUSLY FAR FROM ANY HUMAN SETTLEMENT, ahem), but it's a fun, out-of-the-way place to visit. As you can see, there are a lot of rocks:
And here, the mouth of the cave itself.
In other Idaho news, bears are big this year. Last week there was ANOTHER hiker killed by a grizzly at Yellowstone. Apparently, earlier this summer, a mother bear chased someone on a bike in a subdivision near Driggs. Like, this woman was on her bike in a populated area, and suddenly she was face to face with a grizzly bear. She escaped because she was on her bike, but the news article says others have seen the mama bear and cubs wandering the area. Yikes. Also, a guy in northern Idaho was charged with a misdemeaner for shooting a grizzly--who was after his kids. I'm basically anti-gun, but hey, if a mother bear is allowed to defend her cubs, I think it's only self-defense for a dad to shoot a bear to protect HIS cubs.
Lava fields aren't bear areas, though, so that wasn't a concern today. Snakes and sudden sinkholes into the earth, yes--but no bears.
It's a really good thing they put up signs or we never would have found it.
The sign explaining the cave is interesting. Basically, it explains the geology (fast-moving lava flowed here, cooled around the outside, the lava ran out, and you are left with a long, tubular cave). There are no stalactites or stalagmites in lava caves, just large, chunky rocks. There's ice in the cave year-round, and you can do a whole hike inside there. Also, the sign explains how back in the Cold War, the government went looking for natural caves to use as nuclear hideout spots. They never ended up using this one (maybe because it's RIDICULOUSLY FAR FROM ANY HUMAN SETTLEMENT, ahem), but it's a fun, out-of-the-way place to visit. As you can see, there are a lot of rocks:
And here, the mouth of the cave itself.
In other Idaho news, bears are big this year. Last week there was ANOTHER hiker killed by a grizzly at Yellowstone. Apparently, earlier this summer, a mother bear chased someone on a bike in a subdivision near Driggs. Like, this woman was on her bike in a populated area, and suddenly she was face to face with a grizzly bear. She escaped because she was on her bike, but the news article says others have seen the mama bear and cubs wandering the area. Yikes. Also, a guy in northern Idaho was charged with a misdemeaner for shooting a grizzly--who was after his kids. I'm basically anti-gun, but hey, if a mother bear is allowed to defend her cubs, I think it's only self-defense for a dad to shoot a bear to protect HIS cubs.
Lava fields aren't bear areas, though, so that wasn't a concern today. Snakes and sudden sinkholes into the earth, yes--but no bears.
