Day Trip
For the last three years David has wanted to go up and see the Gardner Cave. 
It is almost to the Canadian border and is the third largest natural limestone cave in Washington. They give daily tours there. So we decided that Saturday would be the day. The drive was not bad at all. It took us 2 hours to get there. We stopped in Metalline to let the girls get out and play. Mostly because Kami was complaining of a tummy ache and after all those windy roads I was concerned with car sickness. We then ate lunch at a little, yet very busy cafe in Metalline Falls called Cathy's Cafe. Their lunch was really good and they even had those brain teaser on the table to keep the girls busy while we waited. We then headed back to the caves that were between the two towns of Metalline and Metalline Falls. The cave was a short walk almost straight uphill. It was this big hole in the ground. 
They had upgraded it and had installed all these metal stairs so that you could go down and inside. It was really cool and I mean temperature wise. Up top it was 91 degrees and as you went down the first flight of stairs you could feel the temperature drop to the 39 degrees that they posted everywhere. Kami however, had convinced herself that there were monsters in the cave and so after the first room her and I headed back up top to wait for Dave and the girls. They had nice picnic tables set up so we laid down and got a nice rest in before the group came back. Kalaree and Kezri loved the whole thing. They were fascinated with the rhinestone pools in the cave as well as the columns ans stalagmites and stalactites. 
At the bottom of the cave there was a natural formation that looked like a teddy bear. 
After leaving there and on our way back to Spokane, we stopped at a dam called Box Canyon Dam. 
It lays on the Pend Oreille river and was very fascinating to see. They give tours throughout the entire dam. 
First we looked at a replica of the dam and of a turbine and then the tour started by taking you over the powerhouse to the spillway. Then you go down into the powerhouse and actually get to go inside the turbines. 
We even got to go into the control room and see the different panels that run the dam. 
This dam didn't have a fish ladder so there was not a fish viewing area, which I think the girls would of loved to see. Then it was back on the road to home. We left at 10 in the morning and were home in time for dinner at 6. Plus the only cost was gas and lunch so not bad for a summer afternoon.
It is almost to the Canadian border and is the third largest natural limestone cave in Washington. They give daily tours there. So we decided that Saturday would be the day. The drive was not bad at all. It took us 2 hours to get there. We stopped in Metalline to let the girls get out and play. Mostly because Kami was complaining of a tummy ache and after all those windy roads I was concerned with car sickness. We then ate lunch at a little, yet very busy cafe in Metalline Falls called Cathy's Cafe. Their lunch was really good and they even had those brain teaser on the table to keep the girls busy while we waited. We then headed back to the caves that were between the two towns of Metalline and Metalline Falls. The cave was a short walk almost straight uphill. It was this big hole in the ground. 
They had upgraded it and had installed all these metal stairs so that you could go down and inside. It was really cool and I mean temperature wise. Up top it was 91 degrees and as you went down the first flight of stairs you could feel the temperature drop to the 39 degrees that they posted everywhere. Kami however, had convinced herself that there were monsters in the cave and so after the first room her and I headed back up top to wait for Dave and the girls. They had nice picnic tables set up so we laid down and got a nice rest in before the group came back. Kalaree and Kezri loved the whole thing. They were fascinated with the rhinestone pools in the cave as well as the columns ans stalagmites and stalactites. 
At the bottom of the cave there was a natural formation that looked like a teddy bear. 
After leaving there and on our way back to Spokane, we stopped at a dam called Box Canyon Dam. 
It lays on the Pend Oreille river and was very fascinating to see. They give tours throughout the entire dam. 
First we looked at a replica of the dam and of a turbine and then the tour started by taking you over the powerhouse to the spillway. Then you go down into the powerhouse and actually get to go inside the turbines. 
We even got to go into the control room and see the different panels that run the dam. 
This dam didn't have a fish ladder so there was not a fish viewing area, which I think the girls would of loved to see. Then it was back on the road to home. We left at 10 in the morning and were home in time for dinner at 6. Plus the only cost was gas and lunch so not bad for a summer afternoon.
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