Today the Subway Cave is asleep, but somewhere around 30,000 years ago there was a lava flow deep in the cracks of the earth's crust. The red hot rock was liquefied by the heat and it covered the whole floor of the Hat Creek Valley. When the lava finally drained away it left a volcanic tube about one-third of a mile long.
About 10 or 15 years ago my husband and I went for a motorcycle ride around the Lassen Volcanic National Park and I saw a sign saying Subway Cave. We stopped to check it out. At least we did have one flashlight and our jackets to wear in the cave.
The cave was very, very dark and had lots of rocks and mushy ground. Did I say strange sounds? What a place for Halloween! We got about half-way through and my flashlight got very dim, and I had no extra batteries.
We turned around and headed back outside. That only lasted about five minutes and then the flashlight went completely out. Whoa! It was completely dark and very damp. I hung on tight to my husband's jacket. It took us so much longer getting out as it did going in and my eyes had to squint going out toward the bright sun.
We recently visited again, this time we brought our daughter and granddaughter along. They loved it too. It was much different going into a long, dark, and drippy volcanic cave when you've planned and prepared for it. Our biggest mistake the first time we went there was we didn't have any extra flashlights with extra batteries. Otherwise it's scary in there. The Subway Cave is near the intersection of highways 44 and 89 in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Mural at Sharkey's
We recently went to a delicious breakfast at Sharkey's restaurant and watched an artist who was in the process of painting a most wonderful and very large mural. She was working on a beautiful Western scene of a stagebrush coach, a tack room and the spectacular Sierra Nevadas.
Beverly Caputo paints these really great murals in just a short time. Check it out sometime.
Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.
