Our second year didn't see too much of an increase in numbers of students who wanted to come along; we took 21 (with an extra grade three student - my daughter and thanks to Kaitlin and Pam who befriended her). We followed the exact same Friday through Sunday May long weekend itinerary as the first year and although we pushed the students hard (lots to do on the Saturday) it sure made for a quiet bus ride home on Sunday. In Kelso, for accommodations, we moved from the east side of I-5 to the west so that we could be closer to the Three Rivers Mall for the students (back then there was a Chuck-e-Cheese in the mall). It is interesting to watch the choices the young men and women make for food and shopping. This was the pre-Target era for us in the Comox Valley and as such it was a novelty for most. Add Red Lobster to the list of novel experiences and you have a cultural discovery that Bourget and I had not intended but became a bigger part of the trip. One thing Bourget and I did discover is that the May Long weekend, for us, is also a busy time in Kelso. Late Saturday we discovered that there was a softball tournament in town and our boys were quite the item of interest among the softball crowd. Nonetheless there was a furiously great game of Marco Polo in the pool and lots of guitar hero late into the night
Lower Ape Cave group shot
Our entrance to the Ape Caves
We did a small amount of scrambling through the upper Ape Caves
Exits and Entrances...fortunately we've never experienced any serious claustrophobia among the students
Johnston Ridge looking north - away from the volcano
The lava dome was still venting gas this year, the clouds just made it hard to see
Looking eastward towards Spirit Lake
Even with the broken cloud deck it was a great view of the mountain on this trip
It never fails to draw attention and always there is a group who collectively try to make the biggest quake of them all
Just outside the observatory there is a blow down tree that makes a great counterpoint for photos
It is always great to look inside the caldera to see the lava dome. Again it was venting gas and the clouds partially obscured it
I often wonder which is better...clouds to give a moody presence or clear skies for unobstructed views. One thing is certain the weather is often uncooperative so we take what the mountain gives us
This little one made quite a quake both at JRO and in my life
There is that moment when the clouds part and the sun hits the flanks of the volcano...it is clearly majestic
Nine years later Pottage's little brother lay down in almost the exact same position up front for his group photo. It is a sincere pleasure to bring brothers and sisters along for the ride