The week of Escape

This week has flown by while I have been sucked into the vortex of our love sac. As I was captive by my love sac I watched half of the first season of Lost while Jared worked. A very productive week. As the week continued to drag on I still continued to look at my phone in anticipation for the magic phone call. I did find out that HR is still waiting for my background check to go through (even though it has taken an extra week from the anticipated time expected). I might still have my job. Even with all of this seemingly hopeful news my frustration over being unemployed is reaching new heights. In order to escape from the reality of life and unemployment and the impeding start of the semester Jared and I decided to have a week of adventures.
Monday night we went camping out at Marshall Lake (or known by the locals as Marshall Marsh). We found the perfect secluded camp spot after some serious off-roading and had a renewing evening of hamburgers, roasted tropical starbursts and deep philosophical conversation. The stars were even extra clear for our viewing enjoyment.

After we practically exhausted our stash of juniper wood we decided to play some games in our luxurious tent. We had just found the Monopoly card game at the store. This game actually makes Monopoly quick, fun, and brutal. The perfect combination. We played until the moon rose over the horizon then fell into an exhausted slumber. The next morning after some exceptional egg burritos we drove the 17 minutes back home into reality. That wasn't enough of an escape for us.

Our next escape from reality happened tonight (Thursday). We decided to hike the Lava Tubes (Ice tubes) about 19 miles out of town. According to the Forrest service website "This mile-long lava tube cave was formed roughly 700,000 years ago by molten rock that erupted from a volcanic vent in nearby Hart Prairie. The top, sides and bottom of the flow cooled and solidified first, after which the insides of the lava river [photo] The mouth of Lava River Cave continued to flow emptying out the present cave. Ample evidence of how the tube was born is written in the rocks of which it is formed. Small wave-like undulations in the floor are the remains of ripples frozen in the last trickle of molten rock that flowed from the cave. Stone icicles hanging from the ceiling show where a final blast of volcanic heat caused the rock to partially re-liquefy and drip." This cave was more intense than either of us had imagined. We should have taken our hardhats. The first descent to the floor of the cave was steep and slippery. It took a few moments for our eyes to adjust to the dim light of our headlamps. The next 3/4 mile consisted of scampering up and down rocks, practically army crawling over sharp rocks, and feeling completely alone and vulnerable. It was quite a feat to get to the end of the cave. I truly felt as though I was in another world. One of the highlights of this particular adventure was on the drive home we were driving past a field of yellow wildflowers and there in the middle stood three huge elk with magnificent antlers. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity posing for every picture. Due to the horrible quality of my camera I was not able to do the scene justice. But, even with that, overall it was a perfect escape. A perfect week to not think about the reality of unemployment and the impeding beginning of yet another semester. Until next time.