Ape Caves: Overall Trip

 Begrudgingly, I slid into the Highlander, already over this adventure. Tweenage boys are not the best to take on road trips. The air is never the right temperature, and they're always squished. We pulled out at about 8:15 with David, Ethan, Hailey, Jessica, Todd, and of course, meeeee! In town, we picked up Grandma and met up with Rhilynn and Candace. When switching cars, my water leaked, drenching my sweatshirt and gloves. This definitely improved my attitude toward the situation...

In the "girl car," we cuddled up and turned on The Princess Bride. None of us are morning people, so the energy was way low. Taking selfies and texting boys entertained us, but eventually, we got lost reception. Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban was our next movie, and the debates began. 

"Is Draco hotter than Harry?"

"Shouldn't Harry be with Hermione?"

Rhilynn's impeccable Trelawney impression had us all giggling like the nerds we are. 

Driving through the mountains was beautiful. We passed an absolutely gorgeous and clear river.

At the Ape Caves park, there wasn't enough room in the main parking lot, so we parked in the overflow. The Ape Cave bathrooms were an atrocious abomination!! According to Ethan Perkins, bathroom extraordinaire, "They were trash, absolute dog water," 

After the catastrophe that was the bathrooms, we checked in with the park rangers. They sent us down a pathway that led to the cave. 

First, we went into the moderate cave. Essentially it was a long hallway with a few rocks. Through the cave, we yelled, 

"AWWWW MAAAAAN!" for our bestie Kegan who couldn't come because he was bad at technology. The end had a crawlspace, but it didn't lead anywhere.

In the intense cave, there were way fewer people. At the very beginning, we had to climb over a gigantic pile of boulders. That set the tone of how difficult it would be. Halfway, there was a lava slide that you had to scale with a rope. Ghost wind would make us think we were close to the end, but apparently, we weren't. 

When we finally got out, we had a photoshoot to show how fabulous we were! Then we about cried because there was still a 1 1/2 mile hike left to the car. During the walk, it started pouring rain. Rhilynn kept us on the path by wolf howling and checking the trees for markers. 

We all stuffed into the Highlander because Rhilynn and Candace were going to a resort for a girls' trip! Absolutely drenched and starving, it was a lovely car ride. It was another 1 hour and 30 minutes until we stopped at Mcdonalds for food! On the way home, we vibed to 90s music and texted our besties that we were alive! Everyone in a million-mile radius knew we'd gone SPELUNKING! At 6:30 that night, I got asked to speak in church the next day. We drove and drove until we got home at 10:30!

It was an incredible adventure and bonding experience! In the words of Ethan, " It was hunky dory,"

Shout out to Olivia, Sam, and Kegan, who were too broken and sick to come! Also, to David, who agreed to come last minute!