Glenwood Springs

We got off the train in Glenwood Springs partly because I had stopped their briefly on a trip may years ago (maybe with my Grandma on the way to Death Valley?) and I had remembered the awesome swimming pools. It was also partly because I figured that eight hours of train travel was enough for one day with two little kids. And I had a third reason: the National Speleologic Society convention in 2011 is going to be held in Glenwood Springs and I wanted to scope out the area.

I had booked a room in a motel only about five blocks away. Glenwood Springs turns out to have lots of motels with a total of about 1,700 rooms. Yikes! We walked up from the station (which will hopefully have the handicap ramp completed soon--carrying the stroller up all the steps was not fun) onto the pedestrian bridge across the train tracks, Colorado River, and Interstate.

We had an awesome view of the pool. And after we all took a three hour nap in the motel, that's where we headed.

They have two main pools, a therapy pool at 104 degrees and the big pool at 94 degrees. It was definitely a place to relax. Desert Boy tried out arm floaties and liked them. By the end he was able to kick himself around without hanging on to me. He also really liked to play on the steps and even found a friend to play with for awhile.

It was convenient going later in the evening because there's a discount after 6 pm and I had forgotten the sunblock.

Little Miss Emma (aka Desert Girl, but she just hasn't had enough desert adventures for me to be ready to call her that) was all decked out in her swimming costume. She sat on the edge of the pool for awhile in her stroller, but eventually she told me she wanted to get in. She loves the water just as much as Desert Boy.

We strolled around and played in the water for a couple hours and then decided we were pruney enough to head back to the motel.

The next morning our destination was Two Rivers Park, a beautiful spot near the river. They have a neat playground, and Desert Boy gave me a little attitude when it was time to leave.

He got happier when I pointed out the freight train crossing the Roaring Fork River, which in the above photo is joining the Colorado. We took the pedestrian bridge and followed the trail along the river. With both rivers slightly flooded, it was neat to get to be so close to them. The trail system is excellent in Glenwood Springs.

From the pedestrian bridge we got a closeup view of the freight train--and of the many barn swallows that make their nests under the bridge.

Many of them flew when we got close.

The trail along the river follows an old railway right of way so is very gradual. In places there are some old tracks, and Desert Boy had fun walking along them. We also had fun watching the paragliders come over the mountain. They land in the dog run next to the trail.

We were getting hungry so we walked a couple blocks east and were on main street and found a grocery store. Desert Boy declared he was ready for a picnic as soon as we got out of the store, so that's what we did. Hey, whatever works, right?

We had walked over two miles by this point and still had at least a mile to go. Desert Boy was getting a little cranky, but fortunately a bus pulled up. Glenwood Springs has a free bus system, and since we still had some free time, we rode it out to the mall so we could see a little more of town. Glenwood Springs is a very linear town, with the river, Interstate, and train tracks creating a bit of a barrier between the two sides of town.

Finally it was time to pack up and walk to the train station to catch our train. Inside the train station is a small railroad museum, and Desert Boy was fascinated with the model trains.

Our train was delayed, so we went out and got some ice cream. Waiting is always better if you have some ice cream.

Into the Cave

While our visitors were here, we decided to take a trip into Lehman Cave. This is always a great destination for kids, with so much to see. I gave Desert Boy a flashlight so he'd have something to hang onto and then his hands wouldn't be free to touch the cave formations. Plus he thinks he's pretty cool having his own light.

The first room in the cave is the Gothic Palace, and my brother got the awesome shot above. The parents had lots of fun taking photos as we went on the leisurely tour.

Some of the passages are narrow. This one in particular has a very interesting ceiling.

There it is! Covered with draperies, the ceiling and narrow passage is really awesome. Thanks again, Pete for the photo!

Desert Boy had fun looking down dark holes and wondering if the passage went anywhere. Desert Girl was awake for most of the cave trip and didn't even make a squeak. I guess that means she liked it!

We had some typical kid moments in the cave, too. I mean, kids have to squirm and pick their noses somewhere, right?

Here's Peter, the photographer. He had to duck a lot.

Lehman Cave is known for its multitude of formations. Although the cave isn't long, only about 1.5 miles, it has a very high concentration of speleothems along the tour route, making one feel very much a part of the cave.

I like how the light silhouettes these three stalagmites.

Peter had more ducking as he went further into the cave.

We found a nice place for the cousins to pose for a photo. Except they don't seem to keen on the idea.

Once we let them do their own thing, they were a lot happier.

In the Grand Palace are some beautiful cave shields, including the parachute shield.

We peaked into the Sunken Garden, where some cave restoration is in progress, with the old trail being removed and hauled out five gallon bucket by five gallon bucket. Over 38 tons of material have been moved out of the cave this way so far.

Back in the Grand Palace, these funny bulbous stalactites hang from the ceiling. It's almost like we're getting an under-the-soil view of turnips growing.

Desert Boy looks like he's ready to be a cave guide. He's even got the hand movements down!

You can see that the two little ones are a perfect height for navigating the cave. A small build is definitely an advantage for cave explorers.

Near the end of the tour, the route crosses some natural cave floor with tiny rimstone dams. The calcite was deposited as water slowly spilled over from one dam to the next.

The exit tunnel was made in the 1970s, and they had to dig down through the cave floor to make a human-sized passageway out. That left some layers of calcite with beautiful banding. Some researchers have been doing work dating cave formations to get a better estimate of cave age and should have their results public within the next year.

The tunnel is a place where the kids can finally run! Desert Boy took off with excitement.

Right by the exit door we saw some cave life: a daddy-long legs spider and a cave cricket. What a great trip!

Desert Destination: Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge

Every Monday we visit a desert destination.

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, about 90 miles north of Las Vegas on Highway 93, was established in 1963 to provide habitat for migratory birds, especially waterfowl. The 5,300-acre protected area contains lakes, marshes, and meadows, all of which are rare habitats in Nevada. It is part of the Pacific flyway, an important migratory route.

Pahranagat has two lakes, Upper and Lower, along with two marshes, North and Middle. The mix of vegetation and water depths provide food and shelter for more than 230 species of wildlife. The water component of Pahranagat is essential for most wildlife species, and comes from sources further up the valley, such as Ash Springs.

When we went by in early February, Lower Pahrangat Lake was covered with birds--thousands of them. 

This is the shallower of the two lakes, so it is often covered with dabbling ducks--those ducks that tip over with their tail feathers high in the sky as they reach down to eat aquatic vegetation and insects that are slightly below the surface. Easily identified dabbling ducks are mallards and green-winged teals.

It looked like the most common birds were American coots--small black birds with stubby white beaks. They were bobbing along on the waves in the windy afternoon.

A highway parallels the lakes and marshes of Pahranagat NWR. You can see that it's winter by the leafless cottonwoods. A couple old roads run between the highway and the lakes, allowing you to enjoy the view at a slower pace.

One of the first things to see at the turnoff to Upper Pahrangat Lake is this bird blind, built by a Youth Conservation Crew in 2008. There are a couple benches inside, where you can hide out and let the birds forget you and get closer.

Besides wildlife watching, hunting and fishing are popular activities at the national wildlife refuge.

Further down the road is the Visitor Information Center, a tiny building. An information kiosk is next to it to provide an orientation to the 32,000 visitors who get off the highway to visit the refuge. The full-time staff of Pahranagat NWR consists of two employees, so needless to say, they are always looking for good volunteers and interns.

There's a nice picnic area with a shelter over it near the visitor information center. 

One of the attractions of Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge is free camping. About a dozen campsites are located right next to the lake. They are simple, with just a picnic table and grill, so you have to bring all your amenities (including drinking water). The view is spectacular, especially considering the price!

If you don't want to camp, there's a three-mile long trail around Upper Pahranagat Lake. There's also a wheelchair accessible fishing pier at the south end. Winter is obviously not a good time to try fishing from the pier.

However, winter is an excellent time to visit the refuge, especially if you like birds. Thousands of water birds use the lakes as wintering areas, including hundreds of tundra swans. The upper lake is deeper and is used by many diving ducks like canvasbacks and lesser scaups. The diving ducks have their legs further back on their bodies and are heavier than dabbling ducks, so when they take off from the water, they have to run on it first to get up enough speed.

The day we visited, there was only one person camping and no one else visiting the refuge. Even though it's right next to a highway, it's a beautiful spot to take a break and feel like you're far from everyone. To find out more, visit the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge website.

A Family Hike

We needed to escape the desert heat, so we headed up high again, this time with the cousins and their parents. We drove up to 10,000 feet elevation, and right off it felt so much better. Our destination was Bald Mountain, at about 11,500 feet. It was the first attempt to climb a mountain peak for some of the cousins, and they were very excited. Or maybe you can't tell, because little girl in the foreground is trying to kick her brother. Yes, we're a peaceful and quiet family. Well, some of the time.

We didn't stay on the trail all that long, because there isn't a trail up to the top of Bald Mountain. The cousins thought it was fun to lead the way. The aspen groves gave way to the low, bent trees of limber pine and Engelmann spruce. Then the trees stopped and we walked on talus. Small patches of flowers and grasses provided bits of green in the landscape.

Although Bald Mountain is pretty high, it's not that high compared to Wheeler Peak and Jeff Davis, which you can see in the background. I like having such great views when I'm hiking, because when I'm gasping for oxygen I can always say that I'm taking a break to enjoy the view. Or to take a photograph.

I like to take lots of photographs when I'm hiking up high. So I can get lots of oxygen. This pretty flower presented a good reason to stop forcing my body against gravity. 

But I kept trudging along, and we all made it to the top. It was cold and windy, and we huddled behind a rock cairn and ate lunch. See the clouds in the background? We're still in monsoon season, so we had to eat fast because it was starting to thunder in the distance.

Here you can see more clouds. We felt kind of exposed. It was hard to believe that just a few short hours before we had been sweltering on the valley floor in the desert heat. I was proud of the cousins climbing the mountain and being such good sports about it.

Desert Boy enjoyed most of the trip. But he doesn't like to stop to take photos. After all, he doesn't need the extra oxygen! 

We thought we could get a nice family shot on top of the mountain. But Desert Boy's patience had run out, so all we have are a bunch of photos with a red-faced, crying kid. So don't look at us, just enjoy the scenery!