Summer is here, maybe. Actually, it comes and goes every few days. We're still trying to figure out this crazy weather. However, when the sun is around it warms up quite a bit! Enough to discourage many from leaving home to explore. We don't want you to stop your adventures because of the heat. So we put together five great spots worth checking out on a hot day. Each location will keep you cool enough so you don't melt!
Read MoreA 13,042' long lava tube lies beneath the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, south of Mt. Saint Helens. It was created by a rare eruption that sent fluid basaltic lava flowing down the southern flank of the volcano for months, if not a year. The top of this lava flow hardened, forming the ground today that rests atop the cave, while the lava was free to remain flowing under it. This is the third longest lava tube in North America, and the longest in the country, which was created during an eruption roughly 2,000 years ago.
Read MoreCreated by the Missoula Floods during the last Ice Age some 15,000 and 13,000 years ago, this area is a geologists best friend. Ridges, plateaus, rivers, lakes, coulees, and caves are some of the sites to be seen and explored here. 5,000 years ago Native Americans used this area to collect plants, fish, and hunt. The caves were used as a temporary shelter by them. Today it’s used for explorers and hikers like us.
Read MoreShi Shi Beach is one of those hidden gems that most people are unaware exists. It’s located in the upper northwest portion of the Olympic peninsula. It consists of a 2.5 mile coast line with tide pools, archipelagos, caves, sea stacks, wildlife, perfect sunsets, pristine stargazing, and more. The journey there is a long one as it’s roughly a 4–5 hour drive by car from the Seattle/Tacoma area. Once at the trailhead it’s about an hour hike to the beach and then another hour or so walk to the south end of the beach to the Point of the Arches. It’s all worth it as this is the best wandering experience we’ve had so far!
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