Geology is one of the campers' favorite environmental lessons by a land slide (magma slide??) because they get to venture down into lava tubes! The lava river cave is actually fairly well known, attracting a lot of out of town visitors. When we cross paths with these visitors on the way back out our campers get really excited to share all the information they just learned! It's pretty cute and I'm always grateful for the willingness of strangers to embrace some 6th grade enthusiasm.
Capturing the experience of the lava tubes is a fun challenge for me since the only source of light I use are the headlamps every camper has on their helmet. As you can imagine, excited middle schoolers can be a bit squirmy, so the headlamps turn every which way, flashing all over the place. It's a game of patience to set up a shot and wait for enough 6th grade heads to turn in the right direction, creating the perfect lighting! When I look back at these pictures I'm flooded with feelings of excitement, nerves, and discovery that bounce of the cave walls as the campers begin their descent. I hope you feel a little bit of their experience in these photos too!
