Backpacking up to The Table--Day 2

 Following our first day of backpacking up to the Table and a night of astrophotography, we all slept in a bit, not waking until it was light outside. We eventually scrambled out of the tent and enjoyed the beautiful light on the bristlecones.

My husband wandered to the east and when he came back said he wished he had had a camera because he saw a bull elk silhouetted against the sunrise. Alas, it ran off so no one else got to see it.
We prepared breakfast and I couldn't help but wander around a little more and take photos. Such gorgeous light!

These tree roots reminded me of a ram.

I was feeling restless, so I climbed a hill and got a wider view of the Table. Our goal that morning was to explore it. It looked big, stretching to the north and east, a big grass-covered plateau.

So after breakfast we set off, deciding to look at  what appeared to be a hut on the northern horizon.

It turned out to be a rock structure taller than the kids. Not sure who built it or why.

A deep canyon intersected the plateau, and I couldn't resist getting closer. Some tall quartzite cliffs lined the northwest side of the canyon.

I could see it connected up with Smith Creek.

Looking north.

There are some neat bristlecones on the far edges of the Table.

As I turned and headed southeast, I found more broad expanses of the Table. Everything was so dry, and we were a little worried about predicted afternoon thunderstorms. One spark could easily start a conflagration.

And then I came across a trail. Can you see it in the photo below? Obviously trails don't get used much up here.

Here's the trail sign. Hope you have a map, because this sign just tells you the names and numbers of the trails, but nothing more (you can download free USGS topo maps here; search for "Mount Moriah" under 'USGS Map Name'--change it from 'Address and Place'). Looks like the colors in Hendry's Creek are changing.

It was 4.5 miles to travel along the perimeter of the Table. Have I said it's big?

We ate lunch and packed up to head back to the vehicle.

Once again, hiking downhill was no problem.

We took a little break before heading uphill.

 While the kids were concerned with the grade, my husband and I were wondering about the tires on the truck. We had gotten a flat on the way up and fixed it with a can of Fix-a-Flat (that stuff is amazing, I'm buying more!). We were wondering if it would hold. Fortunately it did, because we got another flat on the way down. That road is rocky!


In the end, it was definitely a trip worth smiling about.

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...

Meeting the Llamas

 So my nephew got some llamas and we just had to go over and take a look. After all, it's not every day that you get to see a llama (unless you own one, I guess).

We got a little distracted by the lamb that was wandering around. I have a feeling one of those will be in our not-too-distant future.

Then it was time to inspect the llamas. Desert Girl was the bravest.

The white one was just as curious about her as she was about it.

What a great expression!

Finally Desert Boy had a chance to look up close.

Um, maybe you don't want to get that close--llamas can spit! (Fortunately these didn't.)

This is a family of llamas, mom, dad, and two daughters. My nephew is hoping to use them as pack animals, as apparently the larger ones can carry a hundred pounds. When I looked up llamas on Wikipedia, I learned that they are a domesticated camelid from South America, raised for their meat and as pack animals. Since the 1980s they also have been used as predator control for sheep and have been very successful. They usually live 15-25 years and have an 11.5 month gestation period. It will be interesting to watch them develop.

Bike riding and hiking under the almost full moon

 Friday night was the night before the full moon, which means the moon rises before the sun sets. So I got the kids to go with me for a bike ride (while my husband attended a school event, bless him). The moon was already quite high as we started out.

It didn't take long for the mountain shadows to stretch out across the valley and tap the mountains on the other side.

Despite the pending darkness, Desert Girl asked if we could go on an adventure hike down a gully. I couldn't resist. So we took off, trying to wend our way through the brush.

I had Desert Boy pose to hold the moon.

Eventually the canyon got too brushy, so we climbed out and walked on the higher ground. Along the way we found a desiccated rabbit.

It was getting pretty dark as we biked back, and I was able to adjust my camera settings to get a pretty good closeup of the moon. It's so cool seeing the lava fields and craters that are so far away.

 The next few days the moon will be setting in the early morning, and that is always a pretty sight too.

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!