Hard to believe that I haven’t worked on my Minecraft world for almost a month; I guess I’ve been too busy in my weekends, and Rock Band 3 takes priority. But I did find time today to play for an hour or two.
I’d been doing a lot of mining recently; that’s strangely soothing, but I’ve built up a fair supply of materials now, so I figured it was time to stretch my legs a bit. I’d headed north and south before, but I had very little idea of what was to the east and west; so I packed my bags and headed west. (Actually, I didn’t pack my bags very well: next time, I should bring a bed, to avoid the tedium of waiting out the nights.)
![Looking west from front door](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Looking-west-from-front-door-435x243.png)
Looking west from my front door
![Sand and hills past the tree farm](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Sand-and-hills-past-the-tree-farm-435x245.png)
Sand and hills past the tree farm
There’s a tree farm immediately to the west of my front door; I knew there was a bit of sand beyond that, but I wasn’t sure what was past the sand. And water north of that area; it wouldn’t have surprised me if the water curved south and turned the western voyage into a very short trip indeed! That turned out not to be the case: the scenery to the west was, honestly, a little boring, and I ended up going north a bit to hug the coastline.
![Water to the north](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Water-to-the-north-435x244.png)
Water to the north
![Hills, sand, and a bit of water](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Hills-sand-and-a-bit-of-water-435x244.png)
Hills, sand, and a bit of water to the west
![More water to the north](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/More-water-to-the-north-435x245.png)
Still more water to the north after I've headed west
Eventually, the terrain got a bit more varied, and I saw some mountains. There was a cave inside the mountains, but it didn’t end up being particularly large.
![Mountains in the distance](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Mountains-in-the-distance-435x245.png)
Mountains in the distance
![Mountain cave](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Mountain-cave-435x247.png)
A mountain cave
![Inside the cave](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Inside-the-cave-435x243.png)
Inside the mountain cave
Continuing on from that, my next surprise was when I looked down at the grass below me and saw a hole! I dropped down, and it turned out to be another not particularly large cave, with a more normal exit on the other side.
![Cave under the grass](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Cave-under-the-grass-435x245.png)
A cave hidden under the grass
![Inside the hidden cave](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Inside-the-hidden-cave-435x245.png)
Inside the hidden cave
I kept on going until nightfall; not too much in the way of further excitement.
![Another mountain](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Another-mountain-435x245.png)
Another mountain
![Sun is going down](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Sun-is-going-down-435x248.png)
The sun is going down
![Sun sets over water](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Sun-sets-over-water-435x244.png)
Sunset over water
![Moon past island with tree](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Moon-past-island-with-tree-435x243.png)
Moon past island with tree
Eventually, the sun rose, and I trudged on.
![Morning over beach](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Morning-over-beach-435x244.png)
Morning at the beach
![Meadow with pigs](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Meadow-with-pigs-435x243.png)
Meadow with pigs
![A bit of snow](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/A-bit-of-snow-435x243.png)
A bit of snow
After a bit of hiking, I ran into a truly amazing cliff with a waterfall pouring down from it.
![Tall cliffs with waterfall](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tall-cliffs-with-waterfall-435x244.png)
Tall cliffs with waterfall
![Base of waterfall](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Base-of-waterfall-435x242.png)
The base of the waterfall
I swam up the waterfall; that cliff was really tall, bringing me up to cloud level! I’d never seen the clouds moving right past me before.
![Top of waterfall](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Top-of-waterfall-435x243.png)
The view after swimming up the waterfall
![Hullo clouds, hullo sky](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Hullo-clouds-hullo-sky-435x242.png)
Hullo clouds, hullo sky
![Looking down into valley](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Looking-down-into-valley-435x245.png)
Looking across the clouds over the valley
![Steep drop](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Steep-drop-435x243.png)
That really is a long way down
Somehow, I made it down without breaking my neck and kept going. The next bit that caught my eye was a canyon with water in the middle; for some reason, I felt like I should be flying a ship in a Star Wars game through it.
![Water surrounded by steep walls](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Water-surrounded-by-steep-walls-435x243.png)
Water surrounded by steep walls
![Water canyon continues](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Water-canyon-continues-435x245.png)
The canyon continues
At this point, the sun was setting; I was in a winter region, with very tall trees.
![Sun sets past snow and tall trees](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Sun-sets-past-snow-and-tall-trees-435x244.png)
Sunset past snow and tall trees
I was almost ready to go home, but one last cave caught my eye, so I decided to take a closer look. And, when I went down there, it seemed quite deep, and there was iron visible, so I had to hop down and explore/mine.
![Looking down into cave](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Looking-down-into-cave-435x244.png)
Cave under the snow and sand
![Iron and darkness below](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Iron-and-darkness-below-435x242.png)
Iron and darkness below
And, unlike the previous caves I’d seen on this expedition, it kept going and going! Here’s an underground river, and another view down a steep drop, with what looks like water below. (And a light source, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see the water…)
![Underground river](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Underground-river-435x243.png)
An underground river
![I think I see water and light](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/I-think-I-see-water-and-light-435x243.png)
I think I see water below; but where's the light coming from?
As always when you have unexpected light in a cave, there was lava. (Like I said, this cave was very deep: I went all the way down from the surface to the lava layer.) And there were good mining opportunities to be found: I ended up with 25 iron and some redstone and gold as well.
![A patch of lava](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/A-patch-of-lava-435x245.png)
I see lava way down there
![Lava pool](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Lava-pool-435x245.png)
Hello, lava layer!
![Lava and water](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Lava-and-water-435x243.png)
Lava and water
At which point I was at the bottom of an enormous cave, with no clear idea of how to get up. (The vast majority of my descent had had a generous assist from gravity.) I didn’t even have a mental picture of which way I wanted to go; fortunately, at various points I could look up and see torches that I’d placed. So I took out my pickaxe and started climbing, finding a few more caves along the way.
![How to get up](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/How-to-get-up-435x244.png)
I guess I'm supposed to head up there somehow?
![Still a lot further to go](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Still-a-lot-further-to-go-435x244.png)
Wow, I've got a big climb ahead of me
At some point in the ascent, I ran out of torches; I wasn’t worried about coal, but I’ve never been so relieved to open my inventory and see that yes, I do have wood on me. (My pickaxe was running low, too, but I had a spare of that as well, and wood is all I need to construct more of them.) After quite a while, I eventually made it up to the top; and, as I reached the top, I broke through the ice and accidentally flooded the cave! I’m curious what effect the water had on the cave, but not curious enough to have actually gone down and checked…
![Accidentally flooded the cave](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Accidentally-flooded-the-cave-435x244.png)
Looking down into the newly flooded cave
A truly glorious cave; a pity that it’s so far away from home, and that I have very little idea how to get back there! At any rate, I turned around and started trudging home after that. Which didn’t take so long, I made it home the same day, because I knew which direction to go and didn’t stop to take pictures and explore caves.
![Distant view of home](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Distant-view-of-home-435x244.png)
My house is visible in the mist
![Never noticed this pool near home before](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Never-noticed-this-pool-near-home-before-435x243.png)
I'd never noticed this pool near home before
As I got close (quite close, you can see a sapling from my tree farm), I noticed a cute little pool under the sand; funny how such pleasant surprises can be lurking under your feet!
Once I got home, I smelted the ore that I’d gotten in the cave, and, to prevent subsequent animal incursions into my house, followed Steven’s suggestion and replaced the dirt floors with cobblestone. Though I was sad to see that my chicken had disappeared; I guess the game doesn’t track mobs when you’re far away? A pity, I kind of liked having a pet…
![Loot from the cave](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Loot-from-the-cave-435x243.png)
My loot from the cave
![Replaced dirt floors with cobblestone](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Replaced-dirt-floors-with-cobblestone-435x244.png)
Cobblestone patch on the floor
![Looking west from my balcony](http://scenes.malvasiabianca.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Looking-west-from-my-balcony-435x246.png)
Looking west from my balcony