February 2017 Lint and Restoration Camp

We attended a lint and restoration camp in January, and then a second one in February at Lehman Cave. After dusting off lint for awhile, it as time to start on the restoration--or removing old dirt and sand trail to find the natural cave bottom. It's a very satisfying task for all ages. And the kids were happy to be able to talk as they worked.

Below you can see some of the natural floor being uncovered. The dirt might have been brought in to help protect some of the delicate parts of the cave. Then they walked on it. We figure just uncovering it and then not walking on it at all might be a better solution.


There was also some restoration in a place called the Dog house. The natural cave floor, which was the bottom of a pool, was found.


As a reward, participants got to visit the huge Talus Room, which is longer than a football field. It's off the trail route and rarely entered.


Another reward was seeing a very wet cave. Recent snowmelt made the water come through the epikarst (layer above the cave) quickly, and as a result we were seeing unusual things like bubbles at the end of soda straws that were dripping water.

It's so fun seeing the kids enjoy lint and restoration camp. They're the next generation that will carry this forward.

Some treasures were found during the restoration, namely pennies in the Lake Room. About a dozen were found, including a couple wheat pennies. Probably people threw them into the pool. We haven't seen a pool in that room for years, it's been too dry.

The girls really liked washing rocks. It's a bit of a tedious process, but it works well to get old asphalt and dirt residue off the cave rocks. Then they're put back into the pools and look amazing.

Another fun part of lint and restoration camp is the potluck. There's always plenty of tasty food. This year we even saw individual creme brulees!

The girls carrying the rock-washing water out of the cave. They were full of smiles the entire time.

Here's a small pool in the Cypress Swamp before being cleaned.

 

And here it is after being cleaned:

It's exciting to see how much difference we can see in just a couple days. We're going to keep working in this area in future years to see how much we can improve it.

Grey Cliffs Cross Country Ski

 The kids didn't have school on Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the temperatures were in the low to mid-20s, so we headed up the Baker Creek road in Great Basin National Park to where it was closed. We pulled out the skis and headed up the road in ideal conditions.

Some snowshoers had been out, but we were the first skiers.

We headed down the incline towards Grey Cliffs campground. There was just enough of a hill to give us some glide.

We did pause to look at some of the numerous rodent tracks. We also saw deer tracks and maybe mountain lion.

Desert Boy really wanted to take a rest at the gate. He wasn't feeling so well, so he didn't continue.

But Desert Girl was ready to make some fresh tracks and broke trail for a bit.

This was about the only non-smiling photo I got of her. She was usually singing as we went skiing along. But she did ask several times when we were taking a break.

When we got up to Loop C, it was time for a break. We cleared off part of a picnic table and got out some snacks and our new JetBoil to try it out. The fuel canister was kind of empty, so we didn't get water to boil in two minutes, but we did get warm water...

...to make hot chocolate! Yum!
After a rest, I asked Desert Girl if she wanted to go on up to Baker Creek Campground and make the loop back down the road or if she wanted to turn around here. She chose to turn around.

She was immediately delighted with her decision, as it was so easy going downhill! In fact, she couldn't believe how fast we got back to the vehicle.

We did have to stop for another sit-on-the-gate photo. Then she followed me up the hill at a good clip. She will be ready for the Ely Birkebeiner's ski race this weekend!

It was so nice to have a perfect skiing day, with no wind, great snow, and beautiful vistas. We're already looking forward to the next ski!

Afternoon Adventure Hike with Friends

 How far from home to you have to go for a fun adventure? Not far, especially if you're with friends willing to think outside the box! The kids had a somewhat random day off school last Thursday, so we had some friends join us for a little hike in Great Basin National Park. I told my friend Chayo that it would be an easy walk, tranquil. Not quite!

It started out like most hikes, on the trail, with kids hiking in whatever order they wanted.

We stopped to pick up some pine nuts. It's so fun finding edible treats while hiking!

Then one boy asked if we could go off trail. Sure, why not?  What could happen? This little spur trail happened to lead to the creek. And we decided why not cross it?

The crossing was challenging, with slippery rocks.

And ice! The water was cold.

Nevertheless, we all made it across, about half with wet feet. Then it was time to head upstream and eventually find another way back across, which left the other half of the feet wet. Fortunately it was a warm, sunny day, and we just laughed about it.

The kids were delighted to climb up fallen trees and pose.

And once we reached the trail and started heading back towards the vehicle, we had had so much fun going off trail on one direction that we went off trail on the other side. The kids ran to make their discoveries and share them with their friends.

They loved being in charge and leading us.

This little guy, the youngest of our group, was kind of grumpy when we started the hike. But once he got wet, it all became fun. He asked his mom if he could get on the bridge. Then he asked if he could jump off, and was delighted to hear yes. He jumped right into the little water channel.

Then he climbed a tree that he had refused to climb when we were starting the trek.

Meanwhile, Desert Boy was doing his best imitation of a monkey.

The kids found creative ways to perch on rocks surrounded by water.

And then our little guy found something he couldn't resist:

A mud puddle! He totally embraced the mud.

Our last sight was some wild turkeys. The kids wanted to catch one. (They weren't successful.)

Letting the kids lead and find their own adventures made this a most successful outing.

Quick Visits to Mono Lake and Yosemite

The kids and I headed to the National Speleological Society (NSS) Western Regional in Sonora, CA at the beginning of October over a long weekend. We left after school on Thursday and made it to Tonopah, where we stayed the night (but not in the Clown Motel). Then we got up early and continued west on Highway 6, watching dawn break on Boundary Peak, the highest peak in Nevada. The tallest part of the mountain is actually in California.

We kept driving until we got to the South Tufa area at Mono Lake. Tufa is formed from spring water bubbling up and depositing minerals in interesting shapes.

There's a trail with interpretive signs. Desert Boy really wanted to know if Mono Lake was so salty that a rock would float. He tried it out. The rock sank. Now we know.

I had fun taking photos, and we all enjoyed stretching our legs on the one-mile long trail, as we had already driven over two hours that morning.

More pretty views. Sometime I'd like to have a relaxed trip to the area, with time to explore more.

We couldn't stay long because we were meeting friends in Yosemite. The approach from the east side is spectacular.

It's amazing there's a road!

We stopped at Tuolomne Meadows and Desert Girl immediately ran to a rock so she could become the queen.

Desert Boy didn't want to be left out of the fun.

Desert Girl offered to take a photo of me.

There sure is a lot of airplane traffic! This is another spot I'd like to spend more time.

We stopped at this overlook and I noticed the granite on the side opposite the pullout. So we went for a quick hike.

Desert Girl led the way.

We had some nice views of Half Dome.

And at the top we had a nice view of the lake we had just passed.

There was another lake that was kind of hidden.

If it's a challenge, the kids generally like it.

A quick shot of the kids and Half Dome.

We kept driving and driving--it's a long way across Yosemite, and the roads were crowded. We thought visiting on a weekday in off-season it wouldn't be so busy, but we were wrong. Our friends said the campground was full. We met them and went down into Yosemite Valley, parked far away because it was so busy, then waited a long time for the shuttle bus.

Yosemite is getting a lot of beetle kill in its trees. I've learned that often the beetle kill is just another way to clean out the forests, something fire historically did but now we are often too afraid to use wildfire as a tool for promoting forest health. Anyway, the bark patterns were pretty.

We went to the visitor center to get junior ranger booklets, but you have to buy them. How lame, Yosemite, you have more fee dollars than most parks. Way to encourage the next generation of park stewards. Not. (Sorry, I couldn't help a little rant.)

We went for a little hike to Lower Yosemite Falls. Here's Ron playing hide'n seek!

He was found, and Desert Boy was glad to go walking with him.

The dry Yosemite Falls.

So we found entertainment climbing a big boulder.

The kids found that if they took their shoes off, it was easier.

Desert Boy kept trying until he made it to the top.

We took the shuttle bus back (after I had relocated my camera that I had set down to make a purchase).

Then it was on to the activities the kids really wanted to do in Yosemite. And what might those be? Swimming and building sand castles. Go figure. So we waded across the Merced River and found a sandy beach and the kids wallowed in the water and made sand castles. The adults watched climbers on El Capitan.

Desert Boy wanted to get in more swimming.

He found a big log to jump off of.

Splash!

It was worth it!

He did it a couple more times.

Meanwhile, Desert Girl was watching this tame duck.

A view of El Capitan. That's a big piece of rock! Due to time constraints we left soon after and headed off to the caving event. At least now the kids have a tiny idea of what Yosemite is like. I'm hoping some day we'll go explore the backcountry some more.