SUNDAY - We had a slight change of plans on where we are going to be camped for the next 2-nights.
After 20-days of not being plugged into electric, and camping under some pretty heavy tree coverage, our batteries were once again getting depleted to an unsafe level.
Instead of going for another 2-days under heavy tree coverage with our batteries at a SOC of 36%, we opted to pay $60 for a Full Hookup Site at a private park here in Lakehead, CA.
It's still within a 15-minute drive of where we wanted to be, so we didn't need to change our prepaid sightseeing plans one bit.
Our "No Frills" $60 a night Water/Electric/Sewer site here at Lakehead Campground & RV Park.
Just driving in the sun for a few hours had our batteries back up to a 43% SOC.
6-hours after plugging in our batteries were at 100%. It is 68-days before we plug in again.
MONDAY - The entire reason for our stop here in Lakehead, CA is to tour the Lake Shasta Caverns.
This is a "real" cave with decorations and rock formations, not like the lava tube caves we've been experiencing for the last few weeks.
We've done cave tours in the past where we enter the cave and then take a boat tour, or enter the cave and then ride in a golf cart trolley type vehicle. Well today the experience starts with a boat ride across Lake Shasta and then a 10-minute bus ride to the Visitor Center at the entrance of the cave. That in itself was definitely unique!
LAKE SHASTA CAVERNS NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARK
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Our tour started with a long walk down to the boat dock where we joined the three other people on the 9:30AM tour. The short boat ride just traveled straight across the lake.
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At the boat dock we hopped onto a shorty school bus to travel 10-minutes up to the cave.
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At the cave entrance we received our mandatory safety speech and cave rules, which basically boils down to "use the handrails" and "don't touch anything else"!
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This man-made entrance tunnel was carved out in 1959.
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The tour started out with a bang featuring a highly decorated room.
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A good portion of the tour was along these flat walkways,...
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...but before the tour was over we'd be climbing the equivalent of 20-flights of stairs.
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In addition to the large stalagmite and stalactite formations were these smaller...
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...more delicate formations like soda straws and helictites.
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Up ahead we spotted a huge drapery formation along the route.
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It was the largest formation we've seen so far today.
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Along the route we saw some broken stalactities from early explorers. Today that same act of vandalism would cost you $1000 per offense.
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Who would want to destroy something so beautiful, just to take home a souvenir?
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Here we are winding our way through a very large room in the cave.
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This empty passaageway was created to join the upper and lower cave rooms.
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A helictite is a rare and delicate cave formation (speleothem) that twists, curves, and branches in multiple directions, seemingly defying gravity.
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These tiny formations are among my favorites because we rarely see them.
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These formations are beautiful, but we see them in almost every cave we tour.
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There is a large example of "cave bacon" up there on the left.
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To demonstrate these are crystals and not rocks, the tour guide held her flashlight up to it.
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Up, up, up we go, to what was considered the "basement room" for over 50-years.
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The first recorded explorer of the cave was James A. Richardson (November 11, 1878). He signed his name using carbide from his miner's lamp.
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All this cave popcorn and no butter?
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It's hard to tell in the photo, but these steps are all headed in an upwards direction. The tour guide assured us there was something spectacular waiting for us at the top.
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Once we were all seated a well prepared "light and sound show" was presented to us.
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After the lights came back on we could clearly see the formations included in the show.
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This truly was a Grand Finale because soon after this we made our way to the exit.
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We stayed here for several minutes just taking in the entire room.
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The tour guide looked so sad when we declined to have our photo taken, so we obliged her.
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One final look around before we exit the cave.
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We now have to descend over 200-stairs to return to the bus stop at the Visitor Center.
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This local gentelman had open heart surgery last year and is now ready to start checking off lifelong Bucket List items with his son and wife. Good for him!
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His son came back up the stairs once he realized dad wasn't right behind him.
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You can see just how low the water level in Lake Shasta is by the bone dry shoreline.
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We'll soon be back on the bus and headed back to the parking lot.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
Our tour started with a long walk down to the boat dock where we joined the three other people
At the boat dock we hopped onto a shorty school bus to travel 10-minutes up to the cave.
At the cave entrance we received our mandatory safety speech and cave rules,
This man-made entrance tunnel was carved out in 1959.
The tour started out with a bang featuring a highly decorated room.
A good portion of the tour was along these flat walkways,...
...but before the tour was over we'd be climbing the equivalent of 20-flights of stairs.
In addition to the large stalagmite and stalactite formations were these smaller...
...more delicate formations like soda straws and helictites.
Up ahead we spotted a huge drapery formation along the route.
It was the largest formation we've seen so far today.
Along the route we saw some broken stalactities from early explorers.
Who would want to destroy something so beautiful, just to take home a souvenir?
Here we are winding our way through a very large room in the cave.
This empty passaageway was created to join the upper and lower cave rooms.
A helictite is a rare and delicate cave formation (speleothem) that
These tiny formations are among my favorites because we rarely see them.
These formations are beautiful, but we see them in almost every cave we tour.
There is a large example of "cave bacon" up there on the left.
To demonstrate these are crystals and not rocks, the tour guide held her flashlight up to it.
Up, up, up we go, to what was considered the "basement room" for over 50-years.
The first recorded explorer of the cave was James A. Richardson (November 11, 1878).
All this cave popcorn and no butter?
It's hard to tell in the photo, but these steps are all headed in an upwards direction.
This truly was a Grand Finale because soon after this we made our way to the exit.
We stayed here for several minutes just taking in the entire room.
The tour guide looked so sad when we declined to have our photo taken, so we obliged her.
One final look around before we exit the cave.
We now have to descend over 200-stairs to return to the bus stop at the Visitor Center.
This local gentelman had open heart surgery last year and is now ready to start checking off
His son came back up the stairs once he realized dad wasn't right behind him.
You can see just how low the water level in Lake Shasta is by the bone dry shoreline.
We'll soon be back on the bus and headed back to the parking lot.
