I came, I saw, I conquered

Yesterday, Jason and I took a day drip to the Lava Cave just outside of Flagstaff. It was a good trip, the weather was absolutely beautiful, the forest was so quiet and serene.

All the pictures in this post were taken by Jason. I did take some pictures, but not nearly as much as he did and he has a way better camera than I do. So...I took his. You'll see in the pics, I really wasn't in a position to take pictures.

It was so pretty up there and quiet.

Jason manages to find the one flower there. I didn't even see this.

Me exploring or something like that. :)

Condensation on the ceiling. It was cold in there! We could see our breath and the temps were about 40 degrees.

See? No position to take pics. I was rather hot.

The photographer, aka road trip buddy, aka Jason.

Even though my face is red, this is a cute pic of us.

Ceiling

Part of the view we saw.

I didn't even realize he took this picture. :P

This was a really low arch, with a really jagged ground. Very, very jagged. My knees have cuts and bruises to prove it!

I finally made it out. I was taking a picture of what I just conquered, Jason took a picture of me doing that.

Outside the Lava Cave, we walked the entire thing.

So, there you have it. I'm not going to lie to you, that cave kicked my butt. And I would have to say it was probably the most physically challenging thing I've ever done. I was really worried before going in that I wouldn't be able to make it through the entire thing. I just wasn't sure what I was in for. But with Jason's loads of encouragement and his tons of patience with me, I made it through the entire cave. Yes, I'm sore beyond belief, I can barely lift my arms, it hurts like crazy to sit or stand up. I have three bandages on my right leg due to some cuts that are being nursed with Neosporin, more bruises on both legs than I can count, and a hole in my shirt. But EVERY single cut, bruise, whatever...was totally and completely worth it. Once I stepped foot on solid ground and Jason told me how proud of me he was, I felt such a great sense of accomplishment. Because me going through that cave, was a lot for me to do. A lot. I wouldn't of been able to do it without him.

On the way home we stopped and got some gas and J treated me to Starbucks. I had a Chai Tea...which is my "winter drink". But I was chilled from the cave and it was a whole 50 something degrees, so a hot drink was a perfect ending to a perfect day. Every trip with J is always one that deepens our friendship, and this one was no exception. It will go down in the record book of our friendship because....well it just will. He knows why and that is all that matters. :)

Quote of the day: "He conquers who endures."~Persius