Old Man's Cave

 We had a fun caving adventure this week. Clint had heard about Old Man's Cave and wanted to go, so we got a permit and the key from the Forest Service. The cave is only open October-April due to a maternity colony of Townsend's big-eared bats that use it in the summer. Fortunately the snow had melted so we had no problem driving to it. The kids were really anxious, and as soon as we stopped they were off hiking running.

 The entrance isn't huge, but it is big enough to walk in. Except there's a gate in the way.

 And the gate has a rather small entrance. That was okay. Three of our cavers were small.


Jenny was ready to photograph our adventure.


It wasn't easy to photograph, as it was so dusty inside. We went first into the lower level and explored there. Then we headed into the upper level and got to a less dusty section.

 It had been many years since I've been in Old Man's Cave, and I had forgotten how colorful it is. It also has a lot of walking passages, making it very pleasant and a change from many of the little holes in the Great Basin.

 We did have a little crawling, just to remind us how good we had it for the rest of the cave!

 The two ladders made the kids feel like they were on an especially adventurous mission.

 The cave has some beautiful formations.

 Here's Jenny going down a smaller passage.

 We made it to the back of the cave and signed the cave register.

 Clint checked all the holes to make sure we weren't missing anything good. We skipped the passage to what I know as the clay room (I think it's actually called something like the grand palace). It's a narrow little chute that goes into a room where you get totally dirty and it's hard to get out of. Maybe when the kids get older!

 For now, they were happy goofing off and telling cheesy jokes.

 It was hard to get them to stay still for a photo! Do you like Ava's and Desert Boy's footwear? Oh my, we didn't notice till it was too late. And I didn't notice Desert Boy had his boots on the wrong feet till more than half way through the trip. They didn't seem to slow him down at all.

 We tried to get the kids to take a photo of us, but this is the best Desert Boy could do. Maybe Jenny got a better photo with her camera!

 On the way out I admired other cave formations. There is really a lot to see in the cave, and I wouldn't mind a slower trip to check it out more thoroughly. The kids were really ready for a snack by this time and moving fast to get out of the cave.

 I did stop to take a few more photos. This area must have been spectacular before the formations were broken. Many of the formations were sold at Lehman Cave so people would stop breaking the formations in that cave. Ugh. Fortunately people came to their senses and stopped selling the formations, some of which may have taken over a million years to form.

 Not far from the entrance Clint noticed this huge two-foot long spider web. I had seen several recently in another cave, so I was totally excited to see this one in this cave. I'm hoping I'll hear back from a cave biologist soon to find out what kind of spider makes this web.

 Seeing the natural light at the entrance of the cave is always a welcome sight. As much as I love caves, I also love getting out of them safely!

 We were treated to beautiful light as the sun descended behind the nearby mountains.

 The kids ran down the mountain, but I stopped to take a look at the sign outside the cave giving a little more information about the bats.

 It was a gorgeous afternoon, with mountain shadows stretching into the valley. I'm going to make it a goal to enjoy this magical hour more often this year. It usually falls right about dinner time, so I think we may have to have some picnic dinners in scenic locations.

The kids still had plenty of energy after the cave trip, although they scarfed down every snack they could find. We'll have to see how much they remember of the cave trip in a few months. It was a good outing--thanks for the idea, Clint!

Cave Lake Cave

 At the turn around point for the Take It To The Lake Half Marathon, I noticed a big cave entrance. After recovering (slightly) from the run and refueling, we decided to go take a closer look. As we drove up the road, my husband noticed the arch. I hadn't seen it at all while I was running!

The arch looked fairly sizable, but difficult to reach.

Soon we saw the cave opening. Desert Girl had fallen asleep and my husband thought a nap sounded like a good idea, so Desert Boy and I set out on our own.

It was an easy walk in entrance.

I really liked the view from it. Inside, the floor was steep, but the light from the entrance lit the way for the most part. We eventually reached a place where we couldn't see very well. We hadn't expected the cave to be big, so we hadn't even brought one flashlight, but we did have the flash from the camera. Using that, we found a dead bird.

Desert Boy wanted to take the dead bird home, but I told him no. Our general rule is that when we go bone collecting, we only collect the bones with no hair or gristle or feathers connected to them. It's a very useful rule.

Desert Boy led the way out, happy for our brief adventure.

I was happy, too, as I had wondered about why Cave Lake was called Cave Lake.

Desert Boy managed to find a little ledge to climb. He is always eager to climb.

 

On the way out we saw another cave entrance--something to go explore another day!

Day 7 - Minnetonka Cave

 Our last big stop for our trip was Minnetonka Cave near St. Charles, Idaho. I had found out about it during my research and figured we just had to make a stop. The 10-mile paved road to the entrance is in really good condition. We had it all to ourselves so were surprised to pull up to a full parking lot at 11 a.m. We bought tickets right away for a tour starting at 11:30. By the time we started our tour, they were selling for 1:30 p.m.

A short walk leads to the entrance. Minnetonka Cave is on the Cache National Forest. The tours are run by a concessionaire.

The cave tour includes 444 steps each way, both up and down, so it's a little workout. We had plenty of time to stop and look at some of the nice formations.

Some porcupine bones were arranged on a boulder. Before the cave was called Minnetonka Cave, it was known as Porcupine Cave.

Unfortunately some parts of the cave are lit with colored lights. I guess this is to make the cave more appealing to visitors, but it detracts from the natural beauty of the cave. Likewise, the tour would be much better if the tour guide concentrated on facts and not pointing out the Seven Dwarfs and having us name them all (major eye rolling), along with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy's Tail, in the form of a "halagmite" (more eye rolling).

We enjoyed the cave, and it's well worth the stop.

From there we ate lunch in the rain (rain, what's rain?) in Garden City, headed down beautiful Logan Canyon, and stopped at the Utah State University Press. I had never met the people who published my book in person (the book is available over in the sidebar), so it was nice to put a name and voice to a face!

We dropped off my brother Ed in Salt Lake City, as we didn't have a way back for him to the airport, and he didn't want to risk getting stuck in the boonies. I'm sure he would have eventually adapted! Fortunately he was able to find some fun things to over the weekend. We then headed back out into the void. The entire trip was about 1,500 miles, which to my mind was not that much for a week.  Of course, when I was a kid, it was a three-day drive home from Yellowstone, with lots of fighting with my brothers. ("Mom, he touched me!") Fortunately my kids haven't started that (yet) and were good travelers. I guess it's time to start thinking about a fall weekend getaway. Hmm...

Day 6 - Paris Ice Cave

 Heading south from Grand Tetons, we decided to visit Paris Ice Cave near Paris, Idaho. We got some directions from a local and headed up the good gravel road.

 After putting on helmets and finding lights, Desert Boy took off down the trail to the entrance.

 It was an impressive entrance, with huge blocks of limestone. We could feel a cold breeze coming out of the cave.

 We found lots of snow and ice still in the cave, despite it being July.

 A sturdy boardwalk helped us get across the icy wet parts.

 We still had to do some walking on the snow and ice, and Desert Boy found that it was painful to fall.

 The boardwalk part of the cave is not long, and you can see one entrance from the other. However, I could see that there was more cave, cave where we needed lights.

 We found another big room, with lots of ice.

 Ed checked out an ice formation.

 It is amazing how slippery the ice is!

 Ed looked up to see where all those big chunks of ice had come from. You certainly wouldn't want to be underneath when they fell.

 There was another entrance in this room, but it led to a long chimney that was too difficult for the kids.

 Quick pose!

 The ground is really rough around there. We wandered a bit and found one cave that looked only accessible by rappelling into it.

 Meanwhile, Desert Boy and Dad found another passageway and surprised us by coming out.

The Paris Ice Cave was a highlight of the trip. It's not big, but it sure is fun!