My older sister and I had been hiking down a well worn path through the forest. The scenery reminded me of the Northwestern US. Most likely Oregon since that is where I'm from, but the rest of the dream is unlike any place I’ve ever heard of or seen. I can understand why it was such a tourist attraction… I’m getting ahead of the storyline so back to me and my sister.
We were following the well worn path. To either side the brush was thick with grasses, ferns, stinging nettle, probably some ivy… anyway it was pretty much impenetrable to the average hiker. The trees were a ways back and the path seemed quite open. We continued on down the trail. I seem to remember the feeling of being followed but it was just in the back of my mind and didn’t really come to the surface. I just didn’t have any desire to return the way we had come. Eventually we came to a fork in the road. Down one branch we could see that the patch had been washed out by a stream that was still flowing briskly. Down the other were several smaller trickles where the other stream had at one point crested and began to flow down that direction too. We weren’t about to try crossing the larger stream and turned to follow down the trail with the couple smaller flows. They were easy enough to stay out of.
As we headed down our chosen lane we ran into more little streams merging with the ones we had followed. In the distance we could hear a low roar. We both assumed it must be a waterfall and continued onwards being careful to stay on the high ground. The sound of thunderous water came clearer as we went on. The bushes, shrubs and trees gave way to open sky and we enter a magical valley of vast waterfalls. Not just one or two but hundreds as far as I could see. The walls of the cliffs were broken and layered giving the water cascades of iridescent drops that sparkled away into the mist. I saw where the stream we had avoided sprang into the open air and fell hundreds of feet to the river below.
I thought there could be nothing more amazing, but little did I know, but the waterfalls were just a small part of this magical place. We continued down the trail that now was joined by others. There we people in groups being led to certain areas among the cliffs where the stopped and one person, the one obviously leading them, began to explain what they were seeing at that area. There we amazing beautiful crystals and colored rocks in strange formations. Some looked as if they just sprung from the ground. Others were as intricate as lace. My sister and I avoided the groups. We had been here before and had our destination in mind. We took a shortcut through what must have been an ancient lava tube that was perfectly smooth as if someone had carved the passage through the stone.
There began to more and more people and we knew we were near our destination. We found an empty stair case leading upwards and began our ascent. We came out in a large cavern that opened to the sky at the far end and overlooked the waterfalls. The end of the cavern we were in had dozen of tables and display cases filled with hundreds of different colors of rocks and crystals and probably some gemstones as well. Peopled milled around looking at the many varieties excited at what they could do with their purchases. We made our way through them to the open area which contained the rock pools. This was a site to see. Thousands of varieties were each in their own pool. The pools were used to refine the rocks and smooth them in a more natural way. Jets of air would sift the rocks against each other occasionally spitting one a foot or so into the air. It made quite a racket but with the waterfalls nearby it just added to mystical nature of the area, but this still wasn’t our final destination. As we snaked our way through the people we ran into our Mom who was enjoying one of other treats found here. Some of the pools were made so you could walk out into them and you would sink half way past your knees in the rocks. The rocks were constantly being shifted by the air from underneath which created just enough movement to allow someone to walk through them. It is slow going but you can slowly work your way out and sit with all these little rocks bouncing against each other and against the person sitting there. It can be quite an incredible and relaxing massage. Mom was in line for her turn.
As we circled around the rock pools we caught our first glimpse of the area the "younger” crowd generally comes to see, the water slides. The ancient lava flows have been carved out and smooth by thousands of years or running water. There were people everywhere, but we had our own little known place that we had found and that was our destination.
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