Vacation ~ Day 4

Thursday morning we woke up not wanting to leave Ashland, but really wanting to get to our next destination in a timely manner (me).  The kids really, really liked this hotel and wanted to stay another night, but I told them we weren't coming all this way to stay in the hotel swimming pool.  (They really, really liked the pool)  On our way to the Shasta Caverns, we needed a quick break so we stopped at a rest stop that had a fantastic view of Mount Shasta.  I love looking at Mount Shasta from far away, it's this grand mountain peak just floating on a sea of clouds.

The Shasta Caverns tour, if you haven't been yet, is in my opinion one of the better caves to tour with children.  First you take a nice, leisurely ferry boat ride across the lake.  Then you take a terrifying bus ride to the top of the mountain (praying you don't fall off the edge as you are grasping the seat with white knuckles...wait...that was only me?).  Finally you get to you final destination, the entrance to the caverns where the air is refreshingly cool damp.  The first, and newest portion of the caves is pristine, pure and beautiful (no grubby fingers and hands have left oil deposits).  The old portion is what I remember as a child.  You can't see the difference in the photos, but you can really see the difference in person when you go from new to old.  When I visit places like this, and realize how long it takes for these to form (the quickest grow at the lighting speed of 3mm per year), and then you realize how careless and selfish we humans are, it makes me sad.  But, I digress.  Ethan, Isabella and especially Gabriel did really, really well in the caves.  Gabriel walked and climbed the entire way without needing to be carried, which in itself is pretty amazing.  Our tour guide, Jason, kept it fun which is always a good thing.  No one wants a stick in the mud for a guide.

After we got back to the other side of the lake we bought a bag of gems for the kids to use at the sluice box.  I was pleasantly surprised at the generous size of the bag and the amount of gems.  We bought a medium bag for seven dollars for the kids to share, and in the end John and I had to help them pick all the gems out because they got tired of it!  Thank goodness I didn't get them each their own bag.  They also had a really cool rock climbing playground for the kids to let off some energy before we got back in the van.  (Camera batteries were dying = no pictures)

Since it was too late for us to go to Turtle Bay Discovery, we opted to have a nice dinner at Olive Garden and then head over to Kid Kingdom park.  This park is AMAZING.  The water feature is shaped like a volcano, and when it erupts it even rumbles and grumbles.  Ethan and Gabriel had fun trying to soak people with the water cannons.  The playground area is humongous, filled with everything imaginable that kids might like.  There are little "tunnels" under the stairs and walkways that will get you lost.  There are tire swings, monkey bars, bridges, swings, etc, etc, etc....  The only thing wrong with it is that it's not in our hometown.  If you ever drive through Redding and need a break, visit this park!  It's really close to the freeway, and there are nice, clean bathrooms.