NSS Convention

 As you might have guessed from my last post, I spent some time last week hanging out with cavers. It was time for the annual National Speleological Society (NSS) Convention, and it was held in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. That meant it was within driving distance and we could go!

It had been several years since I've driven across Utah on I-70, and I had forgotten what an absolutely beautiful drive it is. There were many scenic pulloffs, but we only stopped at one, where we got out to stretch our legs.

 We didn't want to dawdle, because we had a destination in mind:

 The Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, CO. We checked out some of the exhibits, watched the movie (which was mainly about Dinosaur National Monument), and did a couple activities. The best part was the moving dinosaurs.

 This T Rex terrified Desert Boy and Desert Girl. They wouldn't even pose for a photo in front of it.

Afterwards we went to the visitor information center, ate dinner at Old MacDonald's (that's Desert Boy's name for it), and decided to go visit Dinosaur Hill.

 Dinosaur bones were excavated from this hill and shipped back to the Museum of Natural History in Chicago. We couldn't actually see any dinosaur bones, or at least I didn't. A certain four-year old saw them everywhere.

 We took a trail up and around the hill. The kids weren't always the happiest, but I figured it would be good for them. I can be a mean mom like that sometimes.

 The view from the top was great. We could see the swollen Colorado River and several ponds.

Then it was time to decide where to stay the night. I hadn't been camping yet this summer and I kind of wanted to save money, so I was leaning towards camping. I wasn't one hundred percent sure, though, because huge storm clouds loomed to the south and it was 95 degrees. But it was getting later, the clouds were dissipating, and the temperatures slowly dropping...

...so we went to a nearby state park and they had space. But silly me, when I mentioned we wanted to tent camp and the lady asked if we wanted the walk-in tent camping, I said yes.

 That meant we parked, put all our camping stuff in a wheelbarrow, and walked to a campsite. That was a little more adventure than I had anticipated traveling alone with two little kids!

 We set up the tent, and then it was time to explore. It was a state park, which meant it had wonderful amenities, like a playground and hot showers. I like camping so much better when I can have a hot shower!

 I took a photo as the sun was setting. Nearby was Colorado National Monument, with gorgeous sandstone cliffs.

 We all slept pretty well, although the kids were up soooo early!

 Here's the sunrise photo.

After breakfast and church, it was on to Glenwood Springs, where we picked up our registration materials. Then we met up with my brother who had flown in for the week, and my parents, who had taken Amtrak to watch the kids while I did convention things.

I didn't take a whole lot of photos at the convention, as much of it was spent in rooms listening to talks. Somehow that doesn't make for the most compelling photos. But I did take a few photos of the more photogenic events.

 One of those events was the climbing contest. Participants compete in 30 m or 120 m distances using classic 3 knot, sit-stand, or mechanical climbing systems. The competition is divided into male and female and age groups. I wanted to do well, so I had been practicing in my yard periodically for a few weeks before the contest.

I use the sit-stand, or Frog system. Here's Dan demonstrating it:

Meanwhile, Desert Boy was fascinated with CaveSim, a fake cave with formations wired so if you touched them (or got close to fragile ones), it would beep and keep track of your mistake. He also liked the big BLM blow-up cave.

Here he is at the entrance.

And how did I do in the climbing contest?

Let's just say that the world record board will have to have a new entry for my age group!

yippee!

Where in the World?

Where in the world have I been? I've been sorely neglecting this blog due to a trip out of town last week and lack of time/technical difficulties with Internet connections.

So here's a hint of where I've been:

What should I get for our van?

Caves, Frogs, Snow, and a Train

 I wanted to share a few more photos from my friends' visit to show what else is here in the Great Basin Desert, including some things that might not normally fit the stereotype of a desert!

 My friend Andrea accepted the challenge route in one cave. Visiting caves reminded us of the fun times we had while we were in graduate school and the great caving friends we made there.

 A good snow melt has left extra water in some of the area caves.

 Stopped by the sump! The kids did really well in the cave.

 Afterwards they went on a search for more caves and found one! Okay, it was really just a different entrance to the same one we had been in, but they enjoyed "exploring" it and naming it.

 A quick visit to a wetland provided an opportunity to see some frogs.

 We don't see frogs often out in the desert, so they're a fun treat.

 And who could resist walking over the old, dead tree? I couldn't--I followed them!

 Frog watching turned into frog catching--almost. Desert Boy couldn't quite catch a frog, which is probably a good thing.

 We went up to 10,000 feet and took the sled, which was used frequently on the snow patches. There's something special about sledding in July.

 We also had a special stop at the Nevada Northern Railroad to ride the train. The steam engine was pulling the train that day, which gave us an added taste of history and embers in the hair.

Oh my goodness, what a great visit!

Smith Creek Cave

 Half way up the tall limestone cliffs of Smith Creek Canyon is a gaping hole. It's called Smith Creek Cave, and over the years as I've driven by I've wanted to go up and see what was there. When my friend Andrea and her family came to visit, I decided the time was right. They liked caves and were ready for a hike. So we packed up and drove out to the canyon.

The kids were quite excited about the creek fording. Most of the year Smith Creek by the canyon mouth is dry, but it's running now due to spring (and summer) runoff. After we crossed the creek, we drove along the road until we found what we thought was the closest place to hike to the cave. There's no trail, so we were off on a wild adventure.

We started off about 10 am, and it was already quite warm by then. First we had to trek through a long slope covered in thick cheatgrass.

I had Desert Girl in the backpack, so I was really appreciative of Andrea and her husband, Kevin, who helped Desert Boy quite a bit.

 

 Especially when we got to this rock climbing section! There's a scrambling route around it, but Desert Boy's friend, just a year older than him, is a great climber and was up it in a flash.

Andrea and her daughter, with the valley bottom already far in the distance.

We had to take several breaks, trying to find a little shade next to the juniper trees. Desert Girl got a little crabby, so I had to feed her snacks the whole way up. Finally we made it.

The entrance was much larger than it had looked from below. The main room of the cave goes back in quite a ways, and we liked the shade and cooler temperatures.

After a snack break, we started exploring. There are several pits in the cave, as the cave has been the subject of paleontological and archeological surveys.

Here's what paleontologist Timothy Heaton has to say about Smith Creek Cave:
"New species of mountain goat (Stock 1936), eagle (Howard 1935), and gigantic vulture (Howard 1952) were described from Smith Creek Cave, the primary site. Literature on the Smith Creek Canyon sites includes a description of the avifauna by Howard (1952), the micromammalian fauna by Goodrich (1965), the herpetofauna by Brattstrom (1976), the whole fossil assemblage by Miller (1979) and Mead et al. (1982), and the archaeology by Bryan (1979), Harrington (1934), and others."

Wow, this cave may be a pain in the butt to get to, but it sure has revealed some really neat things! The mountain goat was named Harrington's Mountain Goat, and was smaller than today's mountain goat, with a narrower face and thinner horns. It existed for at least 19,000 years, before disappearing about 11,000 B.C.


The gigantic vulture may have been the largest North American bird capable of flight, with a wingspan of 16-17 feet (5 m)! It was originally named Teratornis incredibilis, but later the name changed (as so many do!) and is now known as Aiolornis incredibilis.


The archeological excavations of the cave showed that the cave was reoccupied periodically between 12,000 and 10,000 B.C., which is considered the Paleo-Indian period. This is when Lake Bonneville inundated parts of Snake Valley, huge animals lived in the area, and the vegetation distribution differed significantly from today. The excavations completed in 1968, 1971, and 1974  showed that the users of the cave hunted mountain sheep, other artiodacctyls (hoofed animals), buffalo, and a small camelid. In the cave, they processed hides (Bryan 1977).

I had a vague recollection of a cave map and that there was a passage that went back in a ways. Kevin graciously volunteered to stay with Emma in the big room while Andrea and I took the older kids back farther into the cave.

The belly crawl through packrat scat was really dusty and unpleasant, but it led into a bigger room where we could stand. We didn't find any notable formations. The dusty floor led up steeply, so we followed it. Then we saw some light. Another entrance!

It was nice to get out to some fresh air. I tiptoed to the edge to see if there was a way back down to the main entrance so we wouldn't have to go back through all the dust, but it was a steep drop off.

The kids were all good sports, eager to explore.

One of the surprises at the upper entrance was a sizable amount of nailhead spar. This calcite crystal made some beautiful patterns. Some of the spar had fallen off and looked like big dinosaur teeth. That was amusing to at least one of the little cavers.

The kids spotted another passageway, so we went down it, hoping again that it might be a way to avoid the dusty passages. But alas, it dead ended quickly and we had to slither our way back through the dusty passages.

Back in the big room, we enjoyed the great views.

I can only imagine what it was like for the Paleo-Indians to be sitting in the cave, looking out over the valley. They would have seen a lake lapping at the shores, much greener vegetation (none of that reddish cheatgrass that is in the photo above!), and interesting animals occasionally passing into view.

We would have stayed longer, but we were getting hungry, and lunch was down below.

So we said our goodbyes and started down.

Smith Creek Cave isn't a cave I would go to for fun caving, but the paleontological and archeological context make it interesting.

Kevin really helped Desert Boy on the way down.

We had our own little mountain goat!

After we got down, we ate lunch in a little rock shelter just up the road, and then it was time to go get clean.

And what better place to get clean than Gandy Warm Springs!

The kids swam until they had goose bumps.

Desert Girl was leery of the water at first, but before long she was totally immersing herself.

The cool water (about 80 degrees F) felt great.

And the scenery was beautiful. The kids thought this was the best part of the day. Maybe the adults, too. But we especially appreciated the warm springs after the hot hike and dusty cave!