A couple of weeks ago, we drove up and toured Gardner Cave with some friends.
About an hour and a half North of Spokane, a trip up there makes a nice, close getaway. The Northwest is filled with neat places to explore, and Gardner Cave is a real gem.
Perfect for families with even small children (but no strollers), the tour itself is fairly short but with lots of interesting things to see. Our guide was, we were told, the same one who has been doing the tours for over 10 years. She was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor.
The friends we went with have two sons, and we had our two younger sons and J, our 16yo daughter. I should mention here that spending an entire Saturday with four boys years younger than her was NOT her idea of time well spent. She didn’t complain, but she wasn’t thrilled about it.
We’ve toured a gold mine before, which was kind of neat, but this was REALLY cool. This cave is pretty large, with lots of stalactites and other cool formations inside. The tour was free, and the guide was really interesting. Aside from a some evolutionary thinking, it was a good tour.
I took my camera, and E brought his. Naturally his pictures turned out amazing, and mine, not so much. I will share just a few that actually look like SOMETHING.
It’s amazing the difference a good camera can make. His shots have great color and depth. Mine… don’t. At least, not the cave shots. Outside is does fine.
I have to explain what this is. See the white hairs formations that look like troll hairs? It’s actually MOLD growing on pack rat poop. Oh yes, excitement for boys of all ages here folks!
One thing that the guide told us is that from the cave entrance, we could walk to Canada. So we did! This is the sign that marks the beginning of the trail that leads to the 49th Parallel. While we were walking, our friend Tory remarked at how he was looking for the thick black line “Like when I looked at it on Google maps! haha!”
The US/Canadian border is an actual line.
While we were walking, our friend Tory remarked at how he was looking for the thick black line “Like when I looked at it on Google maps! haha!”
I honestly wasn’t expecting a LINE, but I don’t know what I WAS expecting. This is what we found.
A line.
Cut in the trees.
It was about 50’ wide and ran as far as we could see in either direction.
Naturally, J had to leave her mark.
She used a key and carved, “J was in Canada!” into a fallen tree that lies right on the border. Teenagers! All in all, it was a really fun family outing. We brought sack lunches and had a picnic after the tour.
This was the first day-trip we’d taken… anywhere… in many years. Definitely worth going again, and also trying to find other spots to go.
We did try to tour Boundary Dam while we were up there, and we missed the start of the tour by 15 minutes. We were met at the gate, by a guard who told us we had to leave. “No, you can’t just look…No, no pictures…Not since 9-11. Please turn your vehicle around sir.”
Wow! We felt like criminals, and all we did was pull up to the gate! So if you’re planning a trip to Gardner Cave and want to see Boundary Dam, make sure you time the tours so that you will be able to see both. There are no self-guided tours at the dam!
