Rain and fun don't mix.. oh wait, yes they do

It hasn't rained during the day during our whole trip until today. All three groups from MVNU were taking a trip to Mount Pine Ridge. We got into three vans that were air-conditioned with our picnic lunch and towels for swimming. The skies were not too promising, but I made up my mind that today was going to be a good day. The drive was about two hours, and we traveled mostly on rough, muddy roads up the mountains. Our first experience was hiking down a steep trail in single file. This was interesting since all the rain made everything slippery. A few of the guys helped the ladies though and that was a good thing. When we got to the last part the guide told us to sit on our feet and slide down this rock. The gorgeous rapids were breath taking, but before I could take a picture it started raining. That didn't stop us from climbing around and some people from jumping in the water (Brighton). Hiking back up was a lot easier. Then it was back in the vans for the most bumpy ride of my life. It was only a few minutes and we parked to eat lunch inside a pavilion. Next we had to pick up our military and police escort, complete with guns, and we followed behind their four wheeler to Rio Frio Cave. This scared some of the girls until Professor Yerxa told them that they used to have problems with tourists being robbed, but they haven't since they started having escorts. The cave was really big and open, with a river and waterfalls inside. There was even a little sand beach. A lot of people climbed as high as they could climb. That was a lot of fun, I haven't been inside of a big cave since 8^th grade. Our final stop was the pools. These were natural pools though and the water was probably 65 degrees. The only way to get in was to not think about it and get in quick, so that's what we did. We got under the waterfalls and then it didn't even feel cold anymore. We went so far that the people from our group who didn't get in were not in sight. The current was unbelievably strong in places and we found some awesome chutes. Watch out for rocks though. When we got back to camp I was so excited for dinner. Chicken, rice and beans, marble cake and watermelon were waiting for us. The cooks smiled and said they missed us today. Even though it wasn't sunny and 86 degrees like it has been all week, today was a sweet day. I am thankful that we were able to still see God's awesome creation, and that no one got seriously hurt :)