Exploring before we get going!

After hiking the Wildwood Park on numerous occasions and passing a sign and steep stairs to the "Indian Cave," Max and I -- and our trusty friend, Maridel -- finally braved the tall steep climb into the creepy, dark cave...

...please note that the exit is a mere 20 feet away and is just one long, dark hallway...

...poo...

We had passed it up many times, because from down below it looked like it went way back...it was sooo steep, that we were afraid we'd get stuck or hurt and no one would find us...so we waited until we had our trusty companion, Maridel, who could call 911 if we met a rattler or a coyote (both spotted in the park before)...but we were slightly red faced (and not from the heat) to have our friend there to debunk the myth of the Indian Cave in Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, CA.

But, hey, Max has run up there a couple of times before without me...he never mentioned the size and lack of scariness...he only chased out lizards and barked at something in the shadows, which added to the mystique...I guess he has picked up some of my PR skills over the past few years.

Well, we had to check it out before we left TO on our trek to Texas...the hike was a week ago Sunday, and we feared it may be our last trip there...today we started our 3-day, post-Columbus Day drive...we hope to make it at least to Phoenix...wish us luck! 

Oh, and try to keep track of the time changes :)