I had planned to be playing soccer today but with yesterday’s elimination from the King’s Cup I found myself with an unexpected free day.  I decided to head over to the Mojave National Preserve, about a 90 minute drive from Vegas. At 1,600,000 acres it is the third largest unit of the National Park System in the contiguous United States. It contains the largest and densest Joshua Tree forest in the world, the Kelso Sand Dunes, and numerous volcanic formations.

Failure to path plan before arriving caused me to hike an additional 4 miles in search of the lava tube pictured below. The first image is of the entrance which is a rather tight fit and requires some scrambling to gain entry.  It eventually opens up into a main chamber which is partially illuminated by light entering through holes in the ceiling. The final image is of one of those openings viewed from the outside looking down. Stepping into one of these would not end well and hiking in this area needs to be done carefully.