We have looked forward to the kickoff for summer for some time! Kelvin and I took Friday off as the kids were off school for a four-day weekend, driving up to Klamath Falls, OR in order to visit a remote National Monument (Lava Beds) that we wanted to get to for a while, covered by Iver's fourth grade National Parks pass.
We were able to get tickets for the kids to zipline at "Sasquatch Hollow," at Crater Lake Zipline on the way. It was Niall's first time (Iver came here when we visited the area four years ago in August of 2021), and he loved it (except that he's so light that he got stuck mid-wire a few times and had to get pole-bailed out).
We headed to our lodging at the Running Y Resort just outside Klamath Falls, OR. Our friends, the Spellmeyers joined us, and we got a bigger rental next door to the one we stayed at last time.
Iver recreated the picture!
May 2025
August 2021
Deer in the front!
We headed out on Saturday to Lava Beds National Monument, about an hour's drive from our rental.
We headed first to the Visitors Center to get a (free) caving permit, which allowed access to the lava tubes/caves that this volcanic area is known for! We had to bring helmets and headlamps, with good reason! (Spelunking with the Spellmeyers!).
We started off in Mushpot, one of the "easy" caves, with limited crawl spaces...
... but the caves (including Hercules) got harder (for all but Niall)!
We exited one early and walked the cave loop path to our cars!
Skull Cave (named after bighorn sheep skulls found nearby), requested by Sophia, was nice and roomy.
We walked down a long staircase to an "ice floor."
No bats were found (some caves were closed due to bat activity), but the thought of them freaked out Olivia.
We then hiked the ~0.7 mile trail up Schonchin Butte, a cinder cone volcano in the park named after a chief of the Modoc tribe.
We had views of Mt. Shasta as we climbed (apparently even the rim of Crater Lake is visible on a clear day).
Even though there was a good bit of complaining as hiking is not their preferred activity, the kids did well, hiking at ~4900 feet of elevation.
Animal-spotting game: Lizard!
"Lizard tamer"
Next, we headed to Captain Jack's Stronghold, where the Modoc Indians defended an Army assault from behind walls of lava.
Sophia narrated a historical guided tour for Beth, Iver, and me.
Two ducks! (picnic lunch).
On our way out of the park, we stopped at Petroglyph Point, which has over 5000 individual rock carvings, or rock imagery of undetermined age but possibly up to 6,000 years old!
We drove by Tulelake Wildlife Refuge, spotting many birds of species we don't know, but also some pelicans and egrets!
Tulelake is also known for Camp Tulelake, which was an interment site for over 29,000 people of Japanese ancestry during WW2.
We stopped briefly at the tiny Visitors' Center in Newell, open just a few months of the year (starting this Memorial Day weekend!)
Origami
The kids enjoyed spending the afternoons relaxing and playing in the resort pool as well as at the basketball and sand volleyball courts. The Spellmeyer girls are very energetic and sporty, which makes for fun play.
Both Olivia and Sophia, competitive swimmers, were thrilled to give some one-on-one instruction to our more novice boys.
La-la-la-Lava... Ch-ch-ch-chicken! (If you know [Minecraft] you know!).
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