Caving!
Today's adventure du jour was caving! I went with a Meetup to the Redmond Caves, about 20 miles from my apartment in Bend and right across the street from the Redmond airport. I've been in caves before, of course, but this was the first time that I was actually crawling around in one on my own, belly to the floor. It was definitely fun and something I'd like to do again. At one point we turned off all our lights and it was pitch black - and quiet. It's interesting what sensory deprivation will do to a social group. The conversation turned to online dating, and for the first time I had nothing to do with it. :) I stayed quiet while I listened, and I learned a lot more than I would have flapping my gums. So a lesson learned. There were about 5 seperate caves, although we couldn't figure out how to get into one. So we'll say 4.
What struck me was the juxtaposition with a friend who came through Bend who is doing a Masters in trans-cultural studies, and specifically studying how different cultures deal with coming of age and how being outside relates to that. What is interesting about the caves is that - probably because there aren't that many of them and they aren't that big - there was just enough "officialness" to have some signs up and protection, but there was nobody on duty or anything like that. We were totally free to just wander around. If we got stuck and starved to death - well, it's your funeral, as they say. I feel like we don't get enough of those kind of opportunities in modern life. You're never going to learn what a cave is like by downloading an app, or even - no matter how well-intentioned - going to a museum or on a guided hike. There's just no substitute for growing up the hard way. Does everybody need to go climb around in a cave to grow up? No, of course not. But real experiences - the kind without visible safety nets - are a big part of our learning process. Do I mean that people should do truly dangerous things? Well, it depends - if you want to, sure. I don't think it's neccessary, though, no. But these caves - while perfectly safe, really - had at least the illusion of some genuine danger, some actual real-ness. And boy was it fun!
