2009 Throwback: Caving

Looking back on old photos, it occurred to me that it has been FIVE YEARS since I went caving in the Rat's Nest Cave near Canmore.

This was a really interesting experience that still stands out in my mind. Tours run in the caves year-round, because the cave maintains a constant temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius. We met our tour guide in Canmore and followed him to a small parking lot near the caves. We had to hike for about 20 minutes up to the cave entrance, where we geared up with coveralls, helmets and headlamps.

Jeff gearing up to go in the cave.

Cave entrance.

Once we were in the cave, we immediately clipped into a cable system of ropes that added some extra security when we were descending down some of the slippery rocks. 

There were some pretty tight squeezes inside the cave. For some reason, I thought this particular formation (featured below) was called the "Birth Canal" (or something equally awful). But when I looked it up on the website for confirmation, it seems to be called the more innocuous "Laundry Chute."

Steve at the bottom of the Laundry Chute.

Steve hamming it up for the camera.

 There was a section of the cave where we had to repel 18m, and there was plenty of crawling and and winding through mud. One of the final rooms we entered was called the Grotto, and was full of stalactites and stalagmites, as well as a crystal clear pool.

There was one optional tight squeeze that end that I opted out of. But Steve and Jeff made their way in, sliding on their backs as they went.

Steve (or Jeff?) wiggling out of a tight squeeze.

When we finally emerged from the cave, we were all filthy. There was mud all over our coveralls, and it some cases, our coveralls had ripped and the mud had gotten inside.

Really filthy.

I can't say I have any desire to become a full-time cave enthusiast, but it was a fun for a one-time experience!

Piilani Highway

On our second last day, Ashley, Tom and I packed ourselves into the car and drove the scenic southern portion of the Piilani Highway. We had very good weather for this trip, so we saw a lot of blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

Cinder cones.

The weather was lovely, but it WAS a bit windy...

Wiiiiindy!

This particular highway runs along the southeastern side of the volcano, and had some sweeping views of volcanic rock canyons.

Not to mention, some columnar basalt! Columns form in basalt depending on the rate that it cools at. The columns form because as the basalt cools it can shrink in the vertical direction without fracturing, but will fracture in the horizontal direction. If the lava cools rapidly, it will form very small columns. If it cools relatively slowly, larger, longer columns will form.

There was also a goat farm on one of the hills, with a particularly large goat tromping about.

We saw some Hawaiian-style Inukshuks along the coast. Both Tom and Ashley went to work building their own rock towers. It was quite windy along this portion of the coast, so you could test the solidarity of your structure by watching it wave in the wind.

We are home now, and I am getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. I don't want to go! Why can't we live in the tropics all-year round?

*Whine*

Paia and the West Highway

The torrential rain on our first full day in Maui did not leave us with a ton of activities, so we piled into the car and headed to the small down of Paia. Paia is a tourist town with plenty of shopping, local artists and white sand beaches. We wandered shop to shop... And even identified a few giant spiders-- which Ashley literally poked. It would not be a holiday without Ashley harassing wildlife.

Ashley pointing at a giant spider.

 

On the recommendation of a coworker, we started our next morning at the Kihei Caffe. Banana macadamia nut pancakes and french toast... A half papaya filled with yogurt and granola... And even pork fried rice with an egg on top. Food this good deserves to be Instagrammed.

 

Banana Macadamia Nut pancakes.

 

Our second day was grey and overcast as well, so we piled into the car again, and drove the west highway on the island from Wailuku to Kapalau. This highway is much like the famous Road to Hana-- winding and twisting with many blind corners and single-vehicle bridges. Julie and I loaded up on ginger pills to keep the motion-sickness at bay. We encountered this burnt-out, abandoned car on one of the turnouts. The colours are so strange, it doesn't even look like a real photo (but I assure you, it is!).

 

Burnt out car on west highway.

 

At this point, we had been on the island for two days, and hadn't actually been to the beach, so we took a walk down to the beach to watch the sun set. And what a sun set it was! Complete with whales breaching in the distance.

Sunset in Kihei.

Tom and I on the beach.

Pretty!

 

We finished off our night with poke fish tacos, and bulldog margaritas. And Jeff turned our coconut into a narwhal. A narwhal in looooove.

 

A bulldog-fueled artist at work.

Looking forward to more snorkeling! Cross your fingers that the water isn't too choppy.

Aloha 3.0

According to the clock, it's 6:46am in Maui, Hawaii. Of course, it's 9:46am back home, and I am wide awake. It is raining torrentially outside, but I'm sure that will clear  up just as soon as the sun rises. Is there anything better than a Hawaii vacation? The answer is simple. No!

This is our third time in Maui. We are once again staying at Ashley's parent's place in Kihei.

I'm not worried. The forecast is for clear skies and sunshine for the rest of our stay.