Yesterday, we had tried to go on top of Morro Rock, but there were no parking spaces available. This morning, we had no problem finding one.
We began walking the 400 steps to the top.
Here is Jim close to the top.
We made it! Jim went all the way out to the end. I pretty much stayed in the middle admiring the view. It was a beautiful morning with no wind.
Here I am on the bench on the top. I had to have proof that I did go up to the top. :)
The views were wonderful! That's the road that winds up through the park.
It was time to head over to the Crystal Cave tour. We had been given a lot of instructions the day before. This was an active bear area so we were told to be sure there was absolutely no food in the car as well as anything that might smell like food such as scented toiletries or cherry Chapstick. We placed our lunch in the bear safe at the parking lot and headed to the office.
Before we began we were told to wipe our feet in a bleach solution to help prevent White Nose Syndrome. Apparently the bat populations in the eastern U.S. caves have been significantly reduced by this and they are doing their best to prevent it from spreading here. You are even asked not to wear any clothes you might have worn in other caves. Because we had been in Carlsbad Caverns last year, Jim had to wipe his camera down with an antibacterial wipe.
Now the work began. It was a half mile walk down equivalent to a 30 story building. It was a pleasant shady walk down. We waited for everyone and then our guide, Mike, went over some of the history before we went in.
As we began our tour into the cave, we walked into this neat spider web gat that was made in the 30's by the CCC.
This cave is actually in marble rock rather than the usual limestone. As you walked in, you could see and hear the stream that runs through it.
There were some neat rooms and formations.
The tour was over and what goes down must go back up again. We began our 30 story journey up.
There was a waterfall we stopped at to get pictures and rest.
We continued slowly, but made it up successfully to continue our exploration of the park.
You just never get tired of seeing these beauties.
Here's another perspective shot.
Looking up!
We found the Tunnel Log Tree and drove through it.
The last thing we did was take a hike around Crescent Meadow, a beautiful green field in the middle of the forest.
We spied a deer munching on the grass.
It was time to make the trip back down. We were stopped at the road construction just a little bit after the last car had gone through so this wait was a little longer than the others, about 25 minutes.
We just got out of the car and admired the scenery.
That's Morro Rock where we had hiked to the top this morning.
It was another wonderful day at one of our country's spectacular National Parks!
Location:Three Rivers, California
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