Summer Vacation Trip - Day 3

We both got up at 0530 and found the weather outside was still quite pleasant. Sleeping with the windows open had worked out great - the air was chilly but you can't beat the mountain air and sounds for a restful sleep! We'd arrived at our lodging within the Oregon Caves National Monument late on the previous evening (just before sunset) and immediately were impressed! The Chateau (hotel) was a six story alpine lodge, built in the 1930s, hidden in a cell phone and internet free zone. It was located just across the parking lot from a cave I'd last visited with my family over 30 years ago. Our room was located just above a waterfall in front of the building: the River Styx exits the cave and flows down towards the ocean from there. Mollie wrote a flowery entry in the room composition notebook (guests left their comments). I checked us out of the Chateau (0645) and we ate a hearty breakfast in the Chateau Cafe (finished at 0740). Raring to get started with our day, we headed over to the Visitors Center. It wasn’t open yet so we took a walk on the Cliff Nature Trail - we were treated to amazing views of the Illinois Valley below. When the Visitors Center opened (0830), we checked in for our cave tour (I'd reserved spots months earlier but there was a SNAFU with payment) and heard about lots of White Nose Syndrome concerns for the bats. At 0900, we started our tour of the Caves (with rangers this time!) and had a great time. After we finished our spelunking, Mollie was sworn in with another Junior Ranger badge (she got a "bat badge” this time). It was a very special visit! We picked up some souvenirs (1055) and then departed to the north (on US-199),). Again, we searched (unsuccessfully) for a Fish Hatchery - this type of stop has become sort of a joke between me and Mollie because I always want to go to them but we almost never see any fish... Throughout the day, Mollie and I had some great talks. At around 1300, we found a good place to stay in Medford and checked into the hotel early. We ate lunch (snacks) in the room. After a short break, we drove out to visit Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, a relatively new part of the NPS system. We parked first at the Green Springs Summit and hiked for about a half mile (round trip) on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). When we finished, we noticed a gravel road to another PCT trailhead and repositioned there. We then took a hike for about a mile to the Hobart Bluff spur trail and found some beautiful views of the entire area - we could see well into Northern California (including Mount Shasta), the Emigrant Lake and Klamath areas. Total PCT hiking distance today was about three miles - can’t beat the long days, mountain air and beautiful skies! We backtracked to Medford and enjoyed a good dinner at In-N-Out Burger (1950). From Mollie's Facebook post: "I went to In-N-Out Burger for the first time! We got there when there was no line, but that changed pretty soon after. All in all, this place isn't bad. We got a decent amount of food for $10. None of it was bad, but the burgers were only average. I loved their chocolate shake, and their fries were nice and crispy. This was a great way to end our day!" Back at the hotel (Days Inn) by 2100, we watched TV, made phone calls and went to bed at 2230.