Countless stalagmites and stalactites telling the story of the patience of the ages are seen by visitors during the 2-hour guided trips through the caves. Especially is this true of one of the columns, which is a foot in diameter and was formed by the joining of a stalagmite and stalactite. Monument visitors are offered hotel accommodations at the Oregon Caves Chateau near the cave’s entrance. Lodging and dining-room service is provided. From the floor of a canyon, the bark-covered six stories of the chateau attain complete harmony with the thick forests and moss-covered rock ledges of the surrounding country. Cottages are available at the caves, as well as a store where novelties and pictures can be procured. Picnic grounds are maintained in the monument. During the summer months from June 15 to September 1, frequent guided trips are offered. Guide service on more flexible schedules is available throughout the year. This service is furnished by the operator. During the summer season, evening campfire programs are offered in the open air near the chateau, presenting talent from the Oregon colleges employed in the monument. Park rangers give short talks on the monument in conjunction with the musical programs. [Illustration: THE OREGON CAVES CHATEAU] LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT Located in northern California, 105 miles south of Crater Lake, the Lava Beds National Monument, administered by the Crater Lake National Park staff since 1933, covers an area of 45,967 acres, noteworthy for volcanic, historical, and archeological features of distinctive importance. The monument is usually open to travel the entire year, although winter storms are liable to make dirt roads in and approaching the area difficult to travel. The Lava Beds are 70 miles from Alturas, Calif., and 45 miles from Klamath Falls, Oreg., with the last few miles of each route served by passable dirt roads. It can also be reached over unimproved roads from Bieber, Calif., on the Redding-Alturas Highway, and Bartle via Medicine Lake. A vast field for geologic study is included in this area where at intervals over a period of thousands of years volcanic activity seethed in lava rivers issuing forth from fissures scattered over the entire section. Geologically, the region is considered young, the age of the last lava flows and the last cinder cones being estimated at 500 years or slightly less. Viewed from a distance, the monument appears as a fairly level terrain, with a northeasterly slope interspersed with symmetrical cinder cones. The lava rocks of the area are so porous and broken with shrinkage cracks that water from scant rainfall passes immediately underground, hence causing no erosion and leaving the monument features in the same condition as they were when first constructed. While volcanic activity has continued until modern times, the oldest formations are believed to date back some 20,000 to 60,000 years.