It's been a while since I did a blog post with pictures. In fact, I don't think I have on this blog, so this is giving me flashbacks to my nine-year-old self. Back when I convinced Mama to help me set up a blog because I wanted to be just like her. Tiarra's Chronicles. Wow! Memories. I can assure you my writing skills have developed a great deal since then.
Am I the only one that used to think college came with lots of road trips thrown in the package? I mean, it wasn't huge on my list, but I had definitely expected more than is reality. I seem to have made it a game to see how few plans I can make for the weekend. I don't exactly regret this because...sleep. But, at the same time, I have one life, so I might as well live it.
And that, my reader friends, is exactly what I did this last weekend. A couple friends and I went caving last year with ASWWU (Associate Students of Walla Walla University) Outdoors, and we generally had a blast. We decided we needed to expand the gang this year, and so we did.
We piled in the cars, knee pads, headlamps, sleeping bags, and all and drove about 3 hours west of Walla Walla to a wee town called Trout Lake in the Washingtonian mountains.
This is the crew getting ready to descend into the first cave. We had to crawl on our hands and knees for a little while, but it wasn't too bad.
Memory making. Life living. World wandering.
One of the leaders had a nice strong flash flight and he held it so I could snap this moment.
The second cave we explored was covered in large boulders. It was a huge cave, but quite a challenge to get anywhere very quickly. Picture a few of the photos below and then imagine you have no light but the lamp on your head. It was my favorite cave, but also... it started to aggravate my sciatica pain. Think about it...the idea of being stranded deep underground, in a cave of nothing but boulders, and the fear that sciatic pain will make it nearly impossible to get out. I mean, it wasn't THAT bad, but it made me a wee tad nervous. I didn't feel like getting stranded even further in, and I kind of wanted the dignity of helping myself out, so I decided to rest in the stillness while the rest explored on ahead.
Tobi sat with me. We turned our lights off. We sat silent.
I think one of the most awe inspiring things about caving is experiencing how deep the dark reaches when there is no light. You can't even see you hand when it's touching your nose.
But the acoustics are amazing!
After we had listened to the stillness for a while, Tobi began to sing. May I never forget that. Her voice danced off the walls as it twirled through the tunnel. In that moment, in that darkness, in that quietness there was music.
Random picture of the Alpine Glow on Mount Adams <3
"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites. When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad."
Oh! Singing in the dark with cave acoustics is a treat.
Here's the thing... I loved every minute of that cave, and I knew I would find the outside light again. But, it reminded me of life. Sometimes life can be long, dark, and cold. A tiny part of you wonders if you'll make it out alive. How would life be different if we sat down, listened to the stillness, embraced the uncertainty, and sang more often?
Here's the other thing... I feel SO STINKIN' blessed to have companions in my life that not only sit with me in literal caves, and sing with me in literal darkness, but make themselves present in my metaphorical caves, and sing and pray with me in my metaphorical darkness. May I never take them for granted, and may I always strive to do the same.
Spoiler Alert: I made it out!
(And here's a picture of college kids playing ninja. You're welcome!)
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