  1 LAVA RIVER CAVE |
 2 This lava tube was formed about 700,000 years ago... |
 3 ...when lava, after oozing down a mountainside, froze on the outside. The lava then escaped at the foot of the tube, leaving it partially empty. |
 4 In 1915, loggers discovered this entrance |
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 6 We enter down a very slippery cascade of fallen rock |
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 11 Gypsum effloresces on the cave roof |
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 13 It's cold enough near the entrance to see our breaths, but the exertion keeps us warm |
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 15 After the pile of scree, we find a relatively flat lava floor |
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 18 We encounter rocks that have exfoliated fom the arched roof... |
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 21 ...and rocks that were carried along by the lava when it flowed |
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 25 The lava floor is full of ripplea and waves |
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 34 I don't know what these are either |
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 39 The cave briefly splits here into two channels... |
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 42 ...which rejoin here. Spelunking through the other channel requires squeezing through this narrow throat. |
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 50 Near the lower end, the floor gets smoother and less obstructed |
 51 ..but with an increasing number of low spots |
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 63 Three-fourths of a mile down, we come tothe end of the cave |
 64 It is possible for a caver to squeeze through to one more small room |
 65 ...but not us! |
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 67 We head back |
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 78 Sunlight once more! |
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 82 We stop for lunch in Flagstaff, at the Beaver Street Brewery |
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 86 ...where I'm the only one with room for dessert |
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