As you know, I was 2 hours past my schedule when we finally made it, but daylight still smiled upon our expedition, and the heat of the day had dissipated. We actually ended up not even having to pay the park entrance fees because they stop charging after 5:00 PM. At $5 per car, the fee hadn't been a concern for us, and I would have been happy to pay it. Nonetheless, every penny adds up, so I counted my blessings and followed the signs to the Lava Flow Trail.
We parked where it seemed the signs indicated, and we gleefully hopped out of the car. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I hadn't thought there were any volcanos in the mainland of the United States. Somehow I had naively believed they were only in areas like Hawaii, Japan, New Zealand, Iceland... So to have discovered that there were such amazing geographical formations close to home, and to be there to soak them in with my children, was invigorating.
Uncertain what I was beholding, I snapped dozens of pictures of the kids overlooking the black, upheaved, jagged earth. I didn't remember this type of terrain from my hike 11 years ago in to Mount Tarawera in New Zealand. I imagined that this was where the ground was rent in pieces from the violence of earth's eruption. Watching a couple cross the road toward a trail sign, we followed to pursue the summit of the volcano.
Fortunately the couple was a pleasant, older husband and wife who did not mind trail blazing for us. Their initial exploration determined that the trail at which we had arrived was a difficult trail, not suitable for the young. Not desiring an extraneous trek, the couple took off in search of the mild Lava Flow trail, and once again we followed.
Moments later we were parked at the foot of a dormant volcano with short, paved trails to picturesque spots easily accessible. We took advantage of those locations while the other team was still in the lead and willing to take our photos. Soon, our adventurous spirit kicked in, and we sped off ahead of our comrades.
Not too long before we had attended a children's educational exhibit on dinosaurs and volcanos at Wheeler Gorge in Ojai. Dr. Wade had explained that because lava is melted rock, and that because melted rock is as heavy as cooled rock, when most volcanos erupt, the lava is slow and gravid and the least likely to cause damage. Instead it is the volcanic ash that ias hurled violently all about that is the biggest threat. Looking at the blackness all around, I was unsure if I was looking at ash or lava flow, since it all seemed pebbly. At last a sign clarified that, indeed, we were experiencing the much anticipated dried lava flow!
We passed a ghostly tree standing stripped and dejected with arms held at a skewed angle. I asked Dragon to imitate the pose and stand in front of it for a picture. He did his best, but held his arms stiff and straight. So we moved on to a circle of lava, with a particular name, which I have thoroughly forgotten. A sign asked us not to sit or climb on the formation, so we took pictures in front of it instead.
On we marched, with the children eager to discover the peak of the volcano, hoping for a peek in to a cavernous hole with formidable, glowing lava leering at them from below. No attempts at preparing them for the reality of a dormant volcano would undermine their fantasies. Only once we had tired ourselves out walking a mile up the mountain did they relinquish the expectation in favor of a speedy return.
With Super Saiyan bursts of energy, the kids sped down the rubbly incline. The bubble popped when Jedi slid out and ripped his knees in to bloody pulps, exacerbated by the sting of the pebbly lava. He wailed in torment as vehemently as I did in child birth. I carried him as far as I could, while Dragon surprised me and made me proud trying to distract him with inane comments that made him laugh. Why do boys think anything talking about butts is hilarious?
When we reached the fountain at the parking lot I poured water over Jedi's wounds and carried him to the car. He declared that he hated the volcano and that it was the worst trip ever, and why did I do that to him? I drove in despair, sorrowed that our first great adventure had turned in to a horrible quest in the kids' minds, and that they were not leaving with the immense sense of wonder I had hoped.
We drove for hours after that to reach our destination in Grants, New Mexico. It was 11:00 PM by the time we reached the hotel, and I was shaking with exhaustion. However, Jedi's perception of the trip had altered already by that point, and he was asking when we were returning to the volcano, declaring how much he longed to explore it again.
It was a successful day after all.
