Bugs. Berries. Battlestar Gallactica.

A week or so ago I went on a fun and exciting excursion. It had been a while since I had gone out in the woods to look for stuff, so Ruth was nice enough to let me go. So, I went out to an area I have come to like a lot near Trout Lake, WA.

The first stop I made was by Little Goose Creek Canyon, to see the waterfalls and the awesome cliff face with basalt columns. That’s Mt. Adams in the distance.

The larger of the falls was hard to see from the side of the canyon I was on, but I was able to get down to the upper falls. The river was very pretty and flowed over a solid sheet of old lava.

It was a very hot day (94°F) so being by the falls was very refreshing. I also saw this nice little red beetle on a fern.

I then went huckleberry hunting and found quite a few. If you have never had them, they are something worth trying. Many of the bushes were already turning red.

While picking berries I came across a small lava cave in a a clearing that was not on the map. It had a small marker naming it Cave 5. It was nice and cool inside, and I found some cave crickets. Here is Mt. Adams again, and the other peak to the left is Sleeping Beauty.

Next, I headed over to the Ice Caves. There are some very special insects in there that I like to find, and I like caves. The bugs are interesting because they have to live in cold temperatures, so we now have some pets that live in the fridge. There was still a good amount of ice and snow in the cave since it was only 32°F.

I also did a short hike near the Natural Lava Bridges. It was a very pretty day.

I just wish I could have picked more huckleberries…