Desert Destination: Owl Creek Campground--Speleo-Ed 2009

Every Monday I feature a Desert Destination.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Speleo-Ed, a weekend seminar highlighting cave education. It was held at Rainbow Basin north of Barstow, California. I arrived late Friday night and couldn't really see much of the Owl Canyon campground, but the next morning I got up before sunrise and climbed up some of the surrounding hills. The large tan tent was the gathering place for the 100 attendees.

Saturday morning we spent inside the tent, listening to a variety of interesting talks. Everyone brought there own folding chair. The tent made it dark enough so we could use powerpoint. Being cavers, we felt very comfortable inside the dark environment.

The screen was a quilt tied up to a makeshift rafter. It was a wonderfully rustic setting.

After lunch there were several field trips. I chose to go on the geology one, which was a popular one. We stopped to listen about the Barstow syncline. The syncline is the folding of the earth into a basin (as opposed to an anticline, where a dome is formed). There's a rather good entry on geology of the Rainbow Basin here if you're interested.

The syncline is a spectacular geologic feature and so easy to see. Many field geology classes come out to study it and measure the angles of the dip. (I think that's the correct terminology--I'm working on beefing up my geologic knowledge, but right now it's rather scanty.)

This geologic feature caught my eye. You can see if it from the same overlook as the syncline, just turn around 180 degrees. 

It's obvious why Rainbow Basin got its name. The different colors are apparently due to iron. When the iron is oxidized, it makes reddish colors and when it is reduced, it makes greenish colors.

We started hiking up one of the washes to explore more in the Rainbow Basin.

There were lots of interesting rock formations, and the clouds even became rather interesting to watch.

As we headed up one gully, it got narrower and narrower, and we had to go in single file. Our group stretched on and on...

The gully walls got steeper and steeper. It definitely would not be a good place to be during a flash flood.

And then, up ahead, we saw the gully go into a dark hole. Oooh. We were all cavers, so we were very excited. 

This is called a soil pipe cave, and is basically formed by water washing away the sediments and eroding the rather soft limestones, dolomites, and conglomerates. There are little mud and dirt formations in parts of the cave, and bat droppings on the floor.

The cave was short, but it was long enough we had to turn on our headlamps.

The entrance on the uphill side was quite a bit smaller, requiring stoop walking and a little climb. We went further up the gully until a tall dry waterfall stopped up. Then we turned around and got to go through the cave again. Hurray! We did some more hiking and went to another cave, this one even requiring crawling. 

When we got back to the campground in the late afternoon, there was another talk. This one was about paleontology and was put on by Bob Reynolds of LSA & Associates and Bob Hilburn of Mojave River Valley Museum. They showed us bones and casts from some of the interesting creatures that have been found in the  area. 

The Barstow formation is called "highly fossiliferous," meaning that there are lots of fossils in it. In this area, a permit is required to collect fossils from BLM lands. Many different animals are preserved in this area, which was a combination of lakes and rivers and uplands. Many lived during the Barstovian North America Stage, during the Miocene about 13.6 to 16.3 million years before the present. I couldn't find a good website about the fossils, but this dissertation abstract gives a little more info about ages and some of the megafauna found.

We took a walk down a nearby wash, where one of the paleontologist pointed out the fossilized track of a camel. It's on the wall of the wash, because it was made before the rock had been tilted upward. I would have never noticed it if it hadn't been pointed out to me.

Here's a closeup of the fossil. The fossil is in relief, meaning that instead of the track being depressed like a recent track in mud, the fossil is raised. You can sort of make out the toes of the camel.

That night we had a yummy dinner, a fun night hike (except for the people who went to the business meeting), and relaxing talks around campfires. The wind was strong and I didn't stay up too late. (I live on a ranch, anything past 9 p.m. is late for me!!)

Going to bed early meant I got up early and had time the next morning to hike around and explore more before the Sunday field trip (which will be featured next Monday). I loved looking at all the different washes and gullies and rock formations next to the campground. 

The Owl Canyon campground is called primitive, but it has limited drinking water, picnic tables, fire grilles, outhouses, and swingsets and playground equipment! It is a super place for kids. And it only costs $6 a night to camp.

On my wanderings, I went up one gully and encountered this little rock waterfall with two holes near the base of it. Yep, those are cave entrances! I was by myself so I didn't go in, but I did check out the entrances and saw that some human garbage had washed in, and I couldn't see the end of the cave. I guess I'll just have to go back. Want to go with me?

Sheep on the Road

While I was driving the other day, I had to slow down because these sheep thought they should be on the road. Sheep are just small enough and dull-colored enough that they often blend in with the surroundings, and it can be really hard to see them from a distance. So nearly every time I come upon sheep, I have to hit the brakes rather hard. 

Sheep aren't known for being especially fleet of foot, so it's important to brake for them. Then they take their time meandering, with some getting off the road, while others walk onto it. You can tell they just don't care much one way or another where they go.

I was kind of glad to stop because the scenery was spectacular. The higher elevations are still snow-covered, making the mountains seem so much taller than when the snow melts. I wonder if the sheep ever look up at the snow and wish it were cooler down where they are. After all, they are wearing extremely thick wool coats.

If you ever do get stopped by sheep crossing the road, be sure to roll down your window. Listening them to baaaing is quite enjoyable and will put a smile on your face. Trust me, it will.

Finally they had cleared out of my way. In fact, they almost look like they're taking in the beauty of the mountains. Sheep contemplating. Perhaps that's an oxymoron. Oh well, I was entertained by them.

Desert Boy Updates and More

Here's our beautiful apricot tree, all blossomed out. This morning it was 19 degrees. Brrrr. The tree used to have wonderful apricot crops, but I'm wondering if we'll just have to remember them instead of experience them. I am already lamenting the loss of the apricots--can you feel my pain?

Okay, better move on. I took Desert Boy to preschool for a couple hours this week. He loves to go and play with the bigger kids, try out new toys, and draw with markers.

He's very serious about drawing. And he's so proud he can get the lids off the markers by himself. I am keeping the markers in our house hidden--I don't think I'm ready for new decorations.

Putting the lids back on the markers isn't always so easy, and the face he makes gets a grin from Teacher Gwendy.

At recess time, Desert Boy hangs out with the girls on the swing. It's fun watching him try to imitate what the older kids do. Physically he can run around with them, climb up the slide, ride the bikes. But verbally he is still talking in one-word phrases and his own language that no one quite understands. "Backhoe" is a a frequently uttered word.

Pre-school wore him out, so when I got Desert Boy home I put him on his bed. I was washing sheets, so I laid him on a blanket, but he managed to scooch until he was nearly off the bed. That didn't stop him from sleeping.

Do you think you could sleep in this position?

Here's how we're progressing with toilet training. 

The bowl makes a rather nice hat, doesn't it?

More Spring Break Fun

When Uncle Andrew was visiting last week, we took a little jaunt to the playground, one of Desert Boy's favorite places. One of the pieces of equipment had been overturned, which actually made it more fun than its original intended use.

Uncle Andrew and his friend peer into the upside-down container. What could possibly be so intriguing?

Maybe a little toddler, absolutely enthralled to have a blue clubhouse that no one else can get into. (Of course he can't get out of it by himself, but he wasn't thinking that far ahead.)

You can tell by his grin that playing hide and seek with the adults is so much fun. He doesn't even have to work hard to hide.

Meanwhile, over on the grass, a little dog named Lluvia has come to play with Henry. Or does Henry have other ideas?

Henry is licking his chops. He looks like he might want to eat little Lluvia. She could be a tasty morsel.

Lluvia is on her back, pleading for mercy.

Please, don't eat me. I'm really not tasty.

Will Henry resist and not take a bite?

Henry decides the excitement is just too much and lies down to take a break. Lluvia lives another day.

Desert Destination: Crystal Peak

Usually I just do one desert destination a week, but for spring break we had fun going to lots of places, so here's another one.

Crystal Peak is located in the southeastern part of Snake Valley in western Utah, and is different from all the surrounding mountains. Made of Tunnel Springs tuff, the white volcanic rock contrasts with the nearby forest-covered hills and peaks. 

In the afternoon light, Crystal Peak looks like it's glowing. Early Indians clearly knew about it, as they told Mormon settlers of its existence. When the Mormons were looking for other places to live in this area, they called one such search the White Mountain Mission. 

Today Crystal Peak is part of a wilderness study area, requiring a hike to reach its base. During the Spring Break trip, Uncle Andrew set off with a quickly-growing Desert Boy in the backpack. As previous trips have shown, Uncle Andrew often has some memorable adventures. The Crystal Peak trip is another to add to his book.

Although from a distance it appears as if nothing is living on Crystal Peak, upon closer examination it's obvious it supports some life. One curious find are small ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) trees. Usually these trees are found at higher elevations and near riparian areas. The pockets in the rock apparently hold enough water to support these trees.

I saw my first native wildflower of the season blooming on Crystal Peak, but just one plant. It's a twinpod, also called bladderpod (Physaria unknown species), in the Mustard family. I was very excited to see something blooming.

One of the most common plants on Crystal Peak is this mat-forming plant from the Rose family, Rock spiraea (Petrophytum caespitosum). It's considered to be an evergreen shrub, even though it usually only grows to be 6-8 inches tall. It produces pretty white flowers that ascend on single stems above the mat. In the photo above we can see last year's flowers that have turned brown.

In addition to plants, we saw spiders, bees, flies, and lizards, but they all moved too fast to capture a photo of them.

Our goal was to climb Crystal Peak, and from a previous trip I knew the best (easiest) approach was from the southeast side. So we walked around the base of the mountain, admiring the interesting shapes of the rock. The mountain formed about 33 million years ago.

It took a long time to walk around to the back side of the mountain, and when we got to this ravine, Uncle Andrew thought this would be a good way to go up the mountain. So he took off like a mountain goat (I had the backpack by this point), with the rest of us following. From the bottom, it looked doable.

We scrambled up rock chutes, getting a close-up look at the Tunnel Springs tuff. The rock is quite crumbly, so what at first might seem like a good handhold could suddenly break off. The tuff has a lot of quartz crystals in it, but they are the size of sand, so it feels a little bit like climbing sand paper. 

Eventually we got to a point where it got really steep. Uncle Andrew and his professor were able to keep going up, but the rest of us decided we had reached our limit (even Desert Boy, who was quite vocal). We started our way down, which was definitely harder than going up. 

Eventually Uncle Andrew and his professor made it to the top, at 7,108 feet, after first getting to two false summits, finding thigh-deep snow on the north side, and getting an excellent workout.

Meanwhile, the rest of us enjoyed the views as we worked our way carefully down the steep slope. Even though we hadn't been able to make it to the top via that route, it was an experience we wouldn't forget.

We breathed a sigh of relief when we got to the less steep sections.

Surrounding Crystal Peak is Kanosh Shale, a rock type with lots of fossils. We didn't spend much time looking at them, but someone who is interested in fossils could easily spend an afternoon here. 

Here is a photo of the south side of Crystal Peak. The temperature for our adventure was perfect. In the summer, it can be quite hot on the mountain, and there is no water available, so you have to bring your own.

If you decide you want to climb Crystal Peak, the easiest way is to go to the southeast side of the peak and climb up the slope covered with trees, shown in the above photo on the left side of the photo. (This is also where there are lots of fossils.) Then cut over to the tuff and follow the ridge up to the top. There's not a trail, so watch your footing and take a map. Here are directions for how to get here. And have fun!