2015 Astronomy Festival - Great Basin National Park

 One of our favorite fall events to attend is the Astronomy Festival at Great Basin National Park. (Here are posts from 2012, 2013, and 2014.)  We started out with the talent show on Thursday night, where an array of performances showcased talent by park employees.

The kids had school the next day, so we couldn't stay to look through the telescopes, but the skies were beautiful, so I'm sure those that did had great views.

On Friday afternoon I signed up for the astrophotography workshop and picked up a couple tips to improve my night sky photography. Derek Demeter was the workshop leader.

I had planned to go to Derek's keynote speech, but an EMT call had me changing my plans. Instead, I went to the Saturday sunrise program at the Baker Archeological Site. To my surprise, there was quite a large crowd.

We heard about how this Fremont Village was laid out with astronomy in mind, with the buildings oriented certain ways to show when it was planting and harvest time. The village was inhabited from about 1220 to 1295.

The Fremont Village was small, probably just a few families, and they grew crops nearby with water from Strawberry Creek (which now flows pretty far away, but if you look closely you can see the swale that used to bring the water).

The light was fantastic as the sun came up.

The curbs show where the buildings were, which were excavated in the 1990s by BYU and BLM.

I took a lot of photos.

Finally I knew I better get going. If you visit this free site, there's a self-guiding booklet available at the trailhead (the trail is about .25 miles roundtrip). It's a very nice booklet that explains a lot.

Later that day we went backpacking to take advantage of the new moon skies (see day 1, night, and day 2 posts if you missed them), so we didn't get to look through the telescopes the third night either. Nevertheless, it was fun participating in a few of the astronomy festival events, and I think it had record attendance. The weather was perfect, and the high elevation and remoteness make for some fantastic night skies.

If you're interested in going, save the dates for next year's astronomy festival: September 29-October 1, 2016.

Backpacking Trip--the Night

I didn't sleep very well in our tent. I was cold, then I was uncomfortable, and finally at 1 am I decided to go outside and take a look at the night skies. To my delight, they had mostly cleared up! So I grabbed my camera and Goby tripod (it's very small and flexible so great for traveling) and wandered around The Table. I knew I wanted to get the tree above; it's one of my favorites.

My husband says these photos are kind of strange, that's not what you seen when you look up at night. I totally agree, a 25- or 30-second exposure captures so much more light. The glow from Ely was really strong, and the Milky Way makes the sky look cloudy. I like how these photos are a bit surreal, but also grounded in reality. I also really like the juxtaposition of really old trees, which kind of boggle our mind, with the really old universe, which actually makes the trees seem young. I find looking at the night skies really helps me put any problems I'm having into perspective--they are so tiny compared to everything that's around me!

I saw numerous shooting stars while I was taking the long exposures, and even captured one in the photo below.

I've had a few people ask how I take these photos. I basically have done a lot of research online. I also got some tips at the Great Basin National Park Astronomy Festival astrophotography workshop.

I shoot with a Canon t3i (a not very advanced camera, quite frankly), a Tokina 11-16 mm lens (great for low light), a 25- or 30-second exposure, f2.8, ISO 3200, manual focus on infinity, mirror locked up, high ISO speed noise reduction on strong, long exposure noise reduction on, photo quality on RAW and jpg, and a 2-second timer to reduce the shake of pressing the camera. I also add a little light painting to the foreground to enhance the subject and so it's not just a silhouette.

For post processing, I adjust the RAW images to how I like, in particular adding more black to the photos. There's a lot more I could be doing, but I am definitely still learning! (If you have any tips, please leave a comment!)

I find that the southern part of the Milky Way (or at 1 am it becomes more of the western part) is the most photogenic, so I end up taking more photos in that direction. At first I was irritated with all the light pollution from Ely, but then I decided it added an interesting color element to the photo and helped show our human relationship with what we are looking at.

Of course I have to change it up a bit from time to time. Here's "Sword Chief" (so-named by Desert Girl) and the northern (eastern) Milky Way, which is definitely not as strong. I spent almost two hours wandering around that night, feeling so lucky to be in such a beautiful spot with the weather cooperating. It was a great surprise after going to bed with cloudy skies.

I'll have these photos and others for sale at the Art Bank in Ely on canvas, slate, and perhaps bamboo, as well as notecards. The Art Bank has an impressive array of art that is always changing, so it's fun to stop in often, and it's open Thursday-Sunday.

Hope you are enjoying the night skies where you are! The moon is growing in size every night, and on September 27 we can look forward to a lunar eclipse.

Backpacking up to The Table -- Day 1

 After our happy experience with our first family backpacking trip in July, my husband and I scheduled another one for September. We decided we would go to one of our favorite spots--The Table in the Mount Moriah Wilderness in the North Snake Range. It was just a two mile hike up to the Table via the Big Canyon trail. Of course, that didn't account for all the elevation change! There's no water available up there, so we had to plan our water carefully.

As we hiked the downhill section, the kids were cooperating.

But then we had the steep uphill part, and that wasn't nearly so much fun. Desert Girl shed her backpack, but still had enough energy to sing (big eye roll from mom on that).

Desert Boy wanted to stop all the time. I won't lie, it wasn't exactly fun cajoling them to keep going and listening to "When are we going to be there?"

Fortunately the scenery was spectacular with the changing colors.

And soon we were in view of old bristlecones. My step grew lighter, my heart happier, and I felt wonderful.

My husband didn't care where on the Table we camped, so I picked a spot where we would have a good view of the mountain.

The ground looks flat from a distance, but finding something not too rocky took a little time. Eventually we succeeded, and then it was exploration time.

But not for too long, because it was getting dark. We set up the camp and got some soup simmering.

As the evening progressed, I saw that the clouds would make for a wonderful sunset. I had wanted to take a bunch of Milky Way photos, but with the clouds they wouldn't turn out well. I decided to make the best of the situation and just enjoy sunset.

Oh my, it was magical. The glow of the light on the trees was gorgeous, and I was practically skipping around. I think my husband thought I was slightly nuts. Or maybe very nuts.

This was one of the primary reasons I wanted to sleep on the Table, to experience the wonderful times of day that I had never been on the Table.

We all really liked this young bristlecone being hugged by the old one.

Soon it was time for bed. As the light grew dimmer, an owl approached from the east, flew over us, circled around, and then stopped on a tree branch. It watched us while we watched it. It was a special wildlife sighting for us. Before long it took off and disappeared. Flies were attracted to our headlamps, and I saw a bat fly overhead. It was dark now, so we went in the tent and settled in to sleep.

Little did we know there would be a surprise in the middle of the night...

A Visit to Big Warm Spring, Duckwater Shoshone Reservation

 The kids had an extra day off of school due to teacher training, so I decided we should go somewhere fun for the day. We decided on Big Warm Spring on the Duckwater Shoshone Reservation. The spring is shown in the new Great Basin National Park movie and looked gorgeous. We didn't exactly get an early start, but the plus side of that was we got to eat lunch at Twin Wok in Ely, which is a special treat. Then we headed west on Highway 6. At the old bar in Currant (don't blink or you'll miss it), we turned north to head up Railroad Valley.

This is what the road looked like:

It might look boring, but I was fascinated seeing the ranches and geology. In 20 miles the pavement ended and we went a quarter mile on a dirt road before veering to the left towards these trees and a fence. There we saw a sign identifying the location as the Duckwater Shoshone Reservation Big Warm Spring. I especially appreciated that they stated, "Water is Sacred." The Duckwater Shoshone allow the general public to visit the spring, as long as they abide by the rules.

A little closer to the spring are some interpretive signs, mainly about the native Railroad Valley springfish (Crenichthys nevadae), which has survived for thousands of years after Lake Railroad dried up. They are listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and a host of partners have worked to keep these little fish surviving.

Then it was time to get into Nevada's largest geothermal hot spring. Did you know that Nevada not only has the most mountain ranges of any state (over 300) but also the most hot springs (also over 300)? It's also the driest state in the country, so those hot springs are extra special. Big Warm Spring is about 91-93 degrees Fahrenheit, so warmer than the average swimming pool but cooler than a hot tub. In other words, perfect for just enjoying.

A stairway leads into the spring, and those handrails are helpful as you tread the algae-covered steps. That algae is important, it's one of the main food sources for the Railroad Valley springfish, but it's also slippery.

The water is extremely clear, but at the bottom the sediment is very fine. There's a sulfur smell to the water, a reminder that this spring exists because of heat deep within the earth and the plumbing that is taking this water by that heat.

Not so long ago, the spring faced some hard times, and in 2007 the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Duckwater Shoshone tribe signed a Safe Harbor Agreement to protect the fish and restore the spring. The joint effort led to digging out the pond, placing boulders around it, removing non-native catfish, reintroducing the native springfish, fencing around the springs, and some new diversion structures. (This Safe Harbor Agreement has lots of great information about the spring and area, so is well worth reading.)

We took a little walk to view more of the spring channel. I liked seeing the milkweed, host to monarch butterfly caterpillars.

We could see additional places where water was bubbling up from the bottom, adding to the flow.

A viewing platform was a little farther down.

I also went and checked out the USGS stream gauge. The spring channel is pretty consistently 14-15 cfs year round.

After I returned home I found out if we had continued downstream we would have reached a waterfall. I guess we'll have to go back!

We went back to the springhead and swam. One man came to look for a lost item and graciously took a photo of us. The water is up to about 10 feet deep in places, so I was glad Desert Girl had her life jacket on. Desert Boy has gotten good enough at swimming he was fine without one.

We even took some time for a little swim lesson practice, trying to get his front crawl ready for an upcoming triathlon.

I imagine most weekends are quite busy here, but we were visiting on a weekday when area schools were in session. It made for a very relaxing afternoon. This is truly a special place, and I hope to visit again.

Crystal Ball Cave with Kids

 In early August we met up with some friends who were planning on moving out of the area soon. They hadn't ever been in Crystal Ball Cave, a cave I really enjoy (and have blogged about). So we set up a tour for a Saturday afternoon and headed to Gandy, Utah to meet Jerald Bates. Jerald is one of the site stewards for the cave, helping the Fillmore office of the BLM manage the cave. He agreed to lead us on a tour, and we hiked up to the cave entrance. Even our dog Henry hiked up, but he had to wait outside.

Just inside we were awestruck by the amount of spar covering the ceiling and walls and even floor in places. It is partially translucent, and Desert Boy was awed by it. Walking into Crystal Ball Cave feels like walking into a geode. It is so crystal-filled and beautiful.

I was trying out a new cave light, a Manley20. I was really happy with the neutral light and broad, even lighting it provided.

I wasn't the only one taking photos! Deanna has been really supportive as I've delved into selling some of my photos over the past year and a half. She's also been encouraging me to try more manual settings and experimenting with some cave photography.

At one time Crystal Ball Cave was wired with electrical lights, but those have since been taken out. All visitors now have to bring their own lights and good footwear for the rough trail.

An iconic stop on the tour is the old ladder, which they put up to explore a dome. The dome didn't go far, but the ladder stayed and makes a great talking piece. The cave isn't super large, but large enough to be quite interesting.

Superimposed on the spar are some other speleothems such as stalactites and stalagmites.

Did I mention I had fun taking photos in the cave? Oh my goodness, I think I took over 300. Fortunately I won't post that many!

I think Jerald had a good time sharing his expertise--and his jokes--with the kids.

He allowed the kids to crawl a bit and they liked it so much they decided to keep crawling, even when the passage was plenty high.

More kid exploring while parents enjoyed the beautiful cave from a more sedentary position.

The cave has a number of domes, so in the middle of the cave you have to walk stooped over, but then you reach a dome and can suddenly stand up and look up and can't always see the top of the dome.

The spar continues throughout the cave, although it's character changes quite a bit. The colors vary, as well as the amount of erosion.

Near the end, we paused to learn more about the amazing paleontology in the cave. (If you'd like to learn more, check out Timothy Heaton's in-depth paper.) Bones in the cave have included those from Smilodon cat, a new species of skunk (now extinct), two species of horses (much smaller than the kind that came from the Old World), and camelops. It sure was a different world around Crystal Ball Cave at one time.

Here's a closeup of a horse hoof, along with some other assorted bones.

Then it was time for a goofy photo of all the kid cavers. Hopefully we can all go caving again at the July 2016 NSS Convention in Ely.

Leaving the cave didn't mean the fun ended, though. We had great views of the westernmost arm of Lake Bonneville. It's hard to imagine a lake filling most of the valley when today it is so dry.

We were ready for some more water, so we headed to the southern part of Spring Mountain to Gandy Warm Springs (the Utah Geological Survey has a nice write-up about it).

The water was running quick and clear and at about 81 degrees. In the late afternoon light it was gorgeous.

The wetness allows ferns to grow. It is such a special spot!

And of course every trip that involves water is a great one!

p.s. If you ever go here, sit with your back in this little waterfall and you'll get a free back massage!

p.p.s. For more about the cave and warm springs, check out my book!