Adventures of Three Companions

Sir Richard (SR) and his two faithful constant companions, Ping and Pong, were quietly resting one afternoon in a dark secluded area when SR thought out loud "We need to do some exploring." The soft thought soon became a hard plan as the trio made plans to explore both known and unknown territory.

FIRST they decided to head for the valley between the East Mountain and its reddish pink tip and the West Mountain and its reddish pink tip. Some people called them Twin Mountains but they were actually of slightly different size, shape, and height.

SR and his two friends arrived at the Valley floor; rested and talked about the climb. The trio were certainly eager to start. SR lead the way to the East Mountain following a circular route -- round and round the three went, getting ever closer to the reddish pink tip. Finally SR and his two friends reached the reddish dark area very close to the tip. Soon the boys were on the tip rubbing it back and forth. Ping and Pong tightened up and got somewhat smaller but SR got larger. Even the reddish pink tip seemed to get somewhat larger.

From this elevated view point, the boys could see that they had climbed up the slightly smaller mountain. But no problem! All three were strong, willing and planned to climb both mountains. With only a brief rest, they quickly went down the slope of the East Mountain. In the Valley, SR and his companions rested and got smaller as they relaxed. But the trio was determined and headed toward the West Mountain.

Up, up and up they went -- almost straight up with some switch-backs. No circular route this time. Quickly the companions reached the reddish dark area and approached the tip. This tip on West Mountain was larger, taller, and nicer than the East Mountain tip. The trio got excited as they climbed up, over and down the tip numerous times. Almost too many times to count. Looking toward the East that distant tip appeared to be smaller than what they had remembered close up. Now the West tip appeared large and possibly larger than when the trio first arrived.

Tired from the climbing of these two mountains, the trio headed down the mountain toward the valley. They rested a long time in the valley and gradually relaxed but thought about their recent mountain climbing and the new skills they had acquired. The trio also thought and planned their next adventure which required passing over the short closely compacted dark bushes, than over the ridges and folds like rock and into the moist, slippery, dark cave. When SR told his companions about the difficulties to reach the mouth of the cave, his companions told him: "We will only travel with you to the mouth of the cave. You enter the cave and we will stay outside."

The trio rested and even sleep some of the time. While sleeping, dreams came to them of being gently caressed with first one hand, than another hand. SR dreamed of being held captive by a strong yet gentle hand which squeezed than released frequently. Ping and Pong dreamed of being held and rocked back and forth. But soon the trio woke, not sure if the dreams were just dreams or reality. But it was time to head South.

For the SECOND part of their travels, the trio headed South from the Valley. It was a long trip to the sinkhole land-mark on the trail. This shallow opening was explored briefly by the trio, they thought the sinkhole could possibly could lead to another cave. But an entrance was not found. But still an interesting place that the trio enjoyed exploring. Than, it was only a short distance to the dark, moist cave.

The trio scrambled over the terrain -- some rough, some smooth and slippery. Approaching the cave, they saw two long skinny explorers leaving the cave -- but these individuals were gone before any words could be spoken. As decided, the companions waited outside just south of the cave opening. SR puffed up his chest and plunged in. SR came several times to the entrance to get more supplies -- in, than out several times. Finally SR went into the moist, slippery, dark cave as far as it was possible to go. Sometimes it was a tight fit; other times there was ample space.

While Ping stayed at the cave's entrance, Pong explored the near-by area. He was back soon and reported that he had located what appeared to be the entrance to another smaller cave just south of the cave being explored by SR. But Pong could not enter the small tight opening.

SR again came out for some fresh air and recovery time. But soon SR returned to exploring. Deeper and deeper SR went, exploring the cave in many different directions and from many different positions, but discovering that the cave went only in one direction. SR wished that his friends could join him but this cave was really much too small for the trio to enter together. SR tried to take some pictures of the different cave formations but discovered his digital camera would not work -- either the camera needed new batteries or the camera had got wet when SR fell into a moist pool of liquid. SR wrote a note for himself to come back to this cave in the future and get pictures of both the outside and inside of the cave. He expected that he would have to get permission from the owner of the cave to take pictures.

At long last, after much exploring, SR was exhausted and spent. SR was simply drained of any energy and limp. He had come to explore and this was done in a wonderful fashion, a lot had been learned that he could tell his friends on the surface. SR made it back to the surface but was exhausted by his explorations. He felt like a limp rag doll as he managed to climb out of the cave. Sleep soon came to SR and his companions, Ping and Pong, among the dark bushes and rock-like ridges and folds.

But the ultimate goal of the trio was to enter and explore a cave near Chin Mountain, North of the Valley located between the East and West Mountains. Many steps had to be retraced to get back to the Valley but then it would only be a short distance up Chin Mountain to the entrance of this large cave. But the trio rested in the Valley and spent a long time looking at both the East and West Mountains with their reddish pink tips. The distant views were very pleasing but certainly much nicer when they were close. The trio believed that even the companions could enter this large North Cave for a short distance. At least the companions wanted to try since SR said he would help them enter.

At last the THIRD part of the journey was started as the trio began to climb up Chin Mountain. SR knew that this would be a tough climb and it was. But the trio did not realize the difficulty that would be encountered when they got closer to the entrance of the cave. At the top of Chin Mountain, SR and his companions came upon a moist object that moved from place to place. SR, Ping and Pong were soon wet but clean from the moving tongue that covered them like a moving stream covers rocks and logs. This experience with the quickly moving tongue slowed down the trio but provided ample enjoyment for all three.

Approaching the North cave, the mouth appeared to be much larger than expected. The companions were elated as they realized that at last they could enter and explore a moist dark cave. Could it be possible that all three could enter together? Reddish ridges appeared that could easily be crossed. But soon some white granite-like objects also became visible that had to be crawled over before entering the cave. Luck was with the trio -- it was easier to over come these difficulties than it appeared to be from a distance. The trio learned again that the initial steps were often the hardest steps.

As promised, SR let his companions enter and explore the cave as far as they could enter. SR rested but knew that his exploring and penetrating opportunity would come. Separately his companions were lowered into the cave, a warm moist breeze seemed to blow over them as they were gradually covered with moisture. It seemed to both Ping and Pong that they were sucked into the cave, but they could only go so far. Wet but happy the companions returned to the surface and rested as SR completed his preparations to enter.

In SR went, ever deeper and deeper. Several times SR had to come back to the cave's mouth to dry off. The deeper SR went the more he was covered with moisture. This North cave was much wider and higher than the South Cave, but it also went only in one direction, no side passages were discovered by SR. SR had to travel over and through a warm moving stream of liquid but this was a very pleasant experience that SR enjoyed. Soon SR was into the cave as far as he could travel, he wanted to stay much longer but his supplies were low. SR puffed up his chest in satisfaction of his accomplishment in entering this cave. He relished the warmth and pleasure provided but reluctantly and slowly SR returned to the surface.

As the trio rested at the North Cave's mouth each one expressed how happy and pleased they were from their explorations. The experiences and pleasures received were wonderful --- certainly a highlight of the year and probably for a longer period of time.

But these experiences and pleasures really needed to be repeated often in the future. SR made a note for himself to repeat these trips in the future but also to remember to take pictures for his later enjoyment. In fact, he honestly liked the idea of covering the same territory until he was intimately familiar with the major and important features of the landscape. " Why wait for an entire year to pass, let's do this entire trip again -- quickly," SR said. His constant companions, Ping and Pong, both gave positive agreement.

SR thought to himself that he would tell his friends at the club of his experiences exploring mountains and caves. When he told his friends of the wonderful pleasures he and his companions Ping and Pong had, possibly they would remember to always call him Sir Richard. A few times he was called Dick to his face and he definitely knew that when his pink bald head was turned, club members called him Dick when talking among themselves.