Enjoying a Cool Getaway - Cedar Breaks National Monument

 

Last week I had planned on going up Mount Rainier to survey some glacier caves, but due to some bureaucracy, the trip was delayed for a year. I had already requested the time off, and decided I might as well enjoy it. On Sunday, the whole family went to Cedar City and then up to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We set up camp in the 10,000-foot high campground and then set off for the Alpine Pond loop trail, a distance of about two miles.

The kids were not happy hikers, but we made them do it anyway. The pond was pleasant, but not exactly thrilling. I enjoyed being at 10,000 feet on a nearly flat trail.

We got some smiles by the end of the hike.

My husband had to head back to the ranch, so we headed to the ranger program at the campground. They have programs Friday and Sunday nights, with astronomy programs Saturday night near the visitor center. This program was about bug kill, and Desert Girl took a close look at the spruce bark beetles responsible for killing so many trees.

It was fun going to a classic ranger campground program.

In addition to the high elevation of the campground, something else I really like about it is that it has hot showers! Woohoo! And it didn't fill up any of the nights we were there. And the wildflowers were amazing.

We were in a monsoonal period, so the skies got very dark and threatening at night. In fact, it rained every night we were there, but we were mostly prepared. We only did get a fire stared once, though.

Desert Girl and I took the half-mile long to the visitor center in the evening to check out the neat clouds and distant lightning. We could see the glow of Cedar City in the distance.

That night I woke up in the middle of the night and knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so I went out and took some night sky photos. The stars looked so close!


The next morning we woke up to beautiful fields of flowers just outside our tent lit by our nearest star.

We walked over to the visitor center and checked out the sun through special solar telescopes.

Then it was time for a hike to the Ramparts Overlook, a little less than two miles each way. Desert Boy packed a book, and whenever he was waiting, he pulled it out.

We started down the trail through the woods, then soon came out along the rim, looking into the magnificent hoodoos.

Soon we arrived at some old bristlecone pines. They were magnificent.

Desert Girl posed for a photo with me. Then we had a reading/snack break.

I had a lot of fun taking photos.

The kids decided they wanted to take photos too, so I took a photo of them before and after their set of photos so we could keep it all straight. They're going to enter a couple of their photos in the fair.

At the Ramparts overlook, we had some outstanding views. We ate lunch, worked on Desert Girl's junior ranger booklet,  and then headed back.

While Desert Girl and I tried to find the marmots we had seen earlier, Desert Boy took the opportunity to read a little more.

Storms were expected that afternoon, and the building clouds made for some even more dramatic views. We finished the hike, all happy to have had a chance for a slow-paced, fun walk.

 When we got back to the campsite, Desert Girl wanted to find a friend to play with. Fortunately, other kids were camping, and she and Desert Boy played a couple hours. It started raining, and I just wasn't feeling like cooking in the rain. So we drove to nearby Brian Head and had pizza. On the way back, we decided to drive up Brian Head Peak.

The van made it to the top of the three-mile gravel road to over 11,000 feet. We checked out the hut bit by the CCC at the top.

On the way down, we stopped so I could check out the view. I heard a squeak and saw a pika! Pikas are small mammals that look somewhat like rabbits. They live high in the mountains, but surprisingly don't hibernate. They collect grass all summer long and make piles of it, called haystacks, in talus fields. In the winter, they find those grass caches and eat them.

We still had one more more day of adventure on our trip, but that needs its own post. It was great spending some quality time with these super kids.

A Little Hike in Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada

 On the way back from a family reunion, we stopped at Cathedral Gorge State Park to stretch our legs. This is one of my favorite places to stop on the drive along Highway 93 to/from Las Vegas. We parked at Miller Point and enjoyed a nice view of the gazebo.

A new trail map with lots of info is now available.

We took off down the stairs into the badlands.

Along the way are some gaping holes. You wouldn't want to fall in one of these, as getting out it would be very difficult.

The trail is so much fun to follow.

I have to admit, I took a lot of photos!

It had rained the night before (we had been planning to camp, but wussed out and got a motel room in Caliente so we didn't have to pitch a tent in the thunderstorm), and remnants of the water were present in the form of mud. We all took off our shoes and enjoyed walking barefoot.

Usually I turn around here, but we had some extra time, so we kept going and came across this sign about the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and Cathedral Gorge State Park. They made several structures that still stand.

One is this covered picnic area.

Then we came up to more badlands, and narrow passages beckoned.

Desert Girl was so excited to lead the way and have choices.

We found a board high up one. We don't know what that's for.

Then we exited and checked out the old wellhouse.

Then it was time to visit more badlands.

The kids spotted a narrow crack and headed that way.

It was tight on them, so I didn't get too far!

Fortunately other passages were bigger. We had a fun game of hide-n-seek.

The walls have interesting textures depending on how the water flows down them.

On the way back we paused to watch some foxes play. They were such a neat sight!

To keep things interesting on the hike back, I told the kids that the person with the muddiest feet won. Here they are trying to get muddy.

It was a nice hike back up.

And winner of the muddiest feet? That would be Desert Boy. And that probably wasn't the greatest idea for a contest given that those muddy feet then had to get in the van and ride for another couple hours.

I am hoping to camp at Cathedral Gorge soon. They have a campground with hot showers and it would be so cool to see some of the badlands at night. To learn more (I've totally skipped geology, geography, and more in this post), check out Cathedral Gorge's website.

2016 NSS Convention in Ely, Nevada

 The National Speleological Society (NSS) Convention was held in Ely, Nevada this past week, and the kids and I were able to attend. We started Saturday at the County Park in front of the library at the Speleofest, open to the public. After I signed books for an hour at the library, we explored the offerings, such as Cave Sim, a simulated cave. You crawl, twist, turn, and climb to go through the cave. You try not to touch any cave formations or animals, as they have sensors in them that buzz when you get too close. It's super fun!

The kids also really enjoyed the BLM's cave. It was cooled to a very pleasant 53 degrees Fahrenheit and had interpretive displays in the cave. Mostly, though, the kids thought it was super cool to hang out with their friends in the dark. Jim Goodbar, the BLM national cave and karst coordinator, brought the cave. He had taught a cave management class in Ely the week before.

With live music, tasty food, and several booths with information about caving, there was a nice array of things to do at Speleofest. The kids wanted to be active, so they had fun towing the SKED around on the grass. This is normally a tool for cave rescue, but the kids found some other ways to put it to use.

In the late afternoon it was time to head to the Art Bank for the opening reception of "The Caves of Absalom Lehman." This display featured photos taken by John and Mary Walker in 1928 and retaken in 2016 by Dave Bunnell. With the photos taken side by side, viewers could see what had changed over 88 years. In most cases, very little had changed, including regrowth of broken speleothems. The cave environment does not regenerate quickly at all. The Walkers' grandson attended and shared information about the height of his grandparents. Based on that, it's likely that his grandmother was the one taking the photos while his grandfather was illuminating the scene. The exhibit will be up through July 30 and then selected photos will be shown at Great Basin National Park.

Next up it was time for the Ely Neon Lights 5k. Over 160 participants walked, jogged, or ran along the course, which included several stations where you were sprayed with non-toxic neon paint that glowed under the black lights. Lots of participants put on special makeup or hair accessories to make the night glow even more. We were happy to do this with our friends Ron and Teresa.

It was a messy event! 

We took showers at the high school afterwards.


We camped for the week at the Ely golf course. It was a really nice campground.

Folks set up tents along the greens.


Grottos (cave clubs) often camped together.

The campground also had a decon station so everyone could wash their clothes and gear after cave trips to keep from potentially spreading fungal spores that cause White Nose-Syndrome in bats.

The kids absolutely loved the Bat-Go-Round. It also makes an appearance at Black Rock each year for Burning Man.

 Sunday night it was time for "Who wants to be a speleomillionaire?" hosted by the Silver Sage Grotto out of Idaho. It was a super fun take-off on the game show, with all the questions cave-related. I played and made it to Level 12 before stopping, which was good enough to earn me third place.

The prize I picked was this super cute caving knit cap, also made by the Silver Sage grotto. Desert Girl was so happy to wear it.

Monday was a busy day. I gave two talks (but didn't manage to get a photo of our session), went to other talks, and caught up with cavers I hadn't seen for a long time. Here's my friend Andy giving a talk.

Desert Girl went to Vacation Bible School and then hung out with me and Teresa and Ron, while Desert Boy was in the Junior Speleological Society (JSS). He loved the variety of activities they had. Here he is practicing using a field phone next to the Cave Sim trailer.

Monday night was the Howdy Party, held under the hugest tents I think I've ever seen.

On Tuesday both Desert Boy and I climbed in the gym in the vertical contest. The kind volunteers helped me learn better techniques for climbing with knots. I took a photo of the record board, which was good, as my sit-stand record was beaten later in the day. And alas, I couldn't break the record despite my best efforts. I will have to keep trying! (And if I keep climbing long enough, I may get records in those older age group categories!) I did get first in my age group, which was nice, but my friend Amanda was only a few seconds behind, so I have pressure to keep practicing.


Desert Boy competed in his first climbing contest and did well, finishing second in his age group. The first place finisher broke the record in both 30 m and 120 m.

Next time we will have his system better fitted to him and he'll be climbing even faster.

Desert Girl didn't want to compete, but after she found out that two of her new friends had competed, she decided that next time she'll compete too.

The rest of the week sped by with giving more talks, organizing and leading cave trips, attending talks, attending meetings, checking out cave cartography, admiring cave art, signing books (An Un-Conventional Murder, set at the Convention sold well), buying new cave gear and books, and talking to lots of cavers. I didn't get many photos, it felt like I was always running from one place to another. We stayed up late every night, and the early sunrise had us getting up early. I started to feel like these guys:

It was all so much fun. We ended the week with the Awards Banquet. Lots of prep went into it.

The food was delicious, and it was a super evening with about 800 cavers under the big top. Total registration was 1080 cavers, more than most everyone had expected. People came from around the world to remote Nevada. 

The next day we packed up and headed home and then met some scientists for a special cave tour of Lehman Caves to talk about history, microbiology, and more.

It was a super event. Thanks to Matt Bowers and all the Convention staff for putting on a successful convention!