I cannot recall the last time I have been to Pisgah Crater but it certainly must have been on the order of 15 years. This quarter I am teaching a large 250 student Natural Hazards course online with pre-recorded lectures created by other professors. Because of this I have little to no interaction with the students. Concerned they may see me more as an IT guy than a teacher I decided that I should create a few supplemental video lectures of my own. A virtual field trip to Lavic Lake Volcanic Field (with its dominant feature of Pisgah Crater) seemed like a somewhat engaging choice given its easy access as the closest volcano to Riverside. I had mild interest in further exploring some of the lava tube caves, flying a drone around, and thought it could make a moderately successful kid-venture. The kids seemed to generally have a good time. About half my footage was unusable with kids shouting or screaming in the background but I managed to find enough material for a 20 minute video.
The gate was open but we opted to park at it and walk in. We walked over cinders, aa flows, and then pahoehoe to arrive at the northernmost lava cave area. We thoroughly explored SPJ Cave then C10 as I stopped periodically to film. I shot more drone footage as the others snacked and then we worked our way back to the car. A nice little 3 hour tour across the lava. There is more to the Pisgah lava tubes than I think I recall and I can certainly imagine going on another trip out there soon to explore some more.
My virtual field trip for what it is worth!
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