Devil's Gate Slot Canyon in White Pine County, Nevada

 One of the trips we recently did with our visiting family from the Midwest was to a remote slot canyon near Gandy Warm Springs in Utah, 30 miles north of the Border Inn on Highways 6 & 50. Just four miles beyond the turnoff to the warm springs is an awesome little desert treasure (see map below for how to get there). The coordinates for the canyon are approximately NAD83 11S 749773 m E 4373844 m N (You cross back into Nevada, hence the 11 S.)

We parked in the wash where the road crossed (high clearance needed), and started walking down the rather ordinary wash.

After a few twists and turns, we suddenly came to huge limestone walls. Where was this canyon going?

It looked even more daunting the closer we got.

Suddenly the floor dropped out.

We had to help the kids get down an eight-foot drop.

Then they gathered on the canyon floor, finding bird feathers, a desiccated lizard, and plenty of gravel to play in.

We had brought our lunch, and it was a welcome relief from the desert heat to eat it in the shade of the 40-foot tall canyon walls.

While we ate we admired the, water-carved walls and chatted about how this slot canyon had formed.

Desert Girl had a conversation with Dad.

Then it was time to explore the canyon. My husband and I had visited it many years ago, and I had remembered it was short, but not much else about it. I didn't remember how beautiful the canyon walls were, or how well they protected the canyon bottom from the noonday sun.

My sister-in-law managed to get the baby down into the canyon (hurray!), and he seemed to enjoy it.

The girls thought it was a wonderful place to explore. Can you tell they were being a little impish?

We went to the end of the limestone cropping and came out to a wide open wash. The kids quickly decided it was too hot and turned around and went back in the canyon.

The canyon looked different coming from the other angle.

I'm not sure what the girls were doing, but they were happy, so we were happy.

We found a bird's nest in a little crevice with an egg in it and an egg next to it.

Kids are never too young to enjoy these kind of adventures!

We hung out a little more. Because the canyon is so short, it's best to travel very slowly through it. It's a great canyon for kids because it isn't real long or difficult. If you wanted more of a challenge, you could rappel in from the top (my husband did that once when he was a teenager).

I was having lots of fun playing with one of my brother's camera lenses and a little gorilla tripod.

Finally it was time to head out to our next destination: Gandy Warm Springs (post coming soon). 

  If you're already going to Gandy Warm Springs, Devil's Gate is definitely worth a little side trip. This is off the beaten path, so let someone know where you're going and keep an eye out for flash floods, as the water could get high fast. Happy travels!

White Pine County Aquatic Center-Updated

 We have some relatives visiting, and we couldn't wait to take them to the new White Pine County Aquatic Center in Ely, Nevada, which opened just last week.

 Inside we found two pools, a 1-foot deep kids' pool and a 25-yard, six-lane lap pool from 4-feet to over 9-feet deep.

 Regular starting blocks were installed at the deep end, so here's hoping that there will soon be swim teams using these! I remember my swim team days (from age 6 to 19) with great fondness, and made many lifetime friendships with my swim team companions. The other great benefit from many hours of swim team practice was building muscle memory that I still use to this day.

In order for kids to swim in the deeper pool, they must either wear a life vest or pass a swim test. Because next to the swim blocks were a couple climbing walls that you couldn't use a life vest to climb, Desert Boy immediately wanted to do his swim test. We asked the lifeguard what he had to do, and it was swim one lap of the pool. He had recently done this in Cedar City's Aquatic Center, so he knew he could do it. He jumped in one end and started doggy paddling, but quickly turned over and started doing backstroke/float. And sure enough, he made it!

So then it was off to the rock climbing wall. He didn't get very far up his first attempts, but after awhile made it about half way up.


Of course I had to give it a try!

Back in the kiddie pool, the kids were having an excellent time. The pool had some water buckets supplied to make for some great pouring fun.

And because pouring on the side of the pool just isn't good enough:

The aquatic center also had lots of ducks, which a couple of the little girls really loved.

Don't come between a girl and her ducks!

The pool was really attended on a Saturday afternoon. 

So when can you come enjoy this watery wonderland? I couldn't find a website or Facebook page yet for the White Pine County Aquatic Center, but here are their hours for the first month:

Update: And they do have a Facebook page.

And the phone is now installed and is 775-289-7700.

Here are a few more details for the summer 2014 season:

 Don't forget that July 18th is Pirate Night. I'm sure that will be a hit!

I was pleased to see that the aquatic center will have extensive hours for open swim and lap swim, as well as swimming lessons and aquacize class and senior swim.

Go check it out! The White Pine County Aquatic Center is really nice, and we hope to be there often.

Announcing The Great Basin for Kids Book

Here it is! The all-new, fantastic book you want in your hands as soon as possible: The Great Basin for Kids! It's 40 pages of full-color, full-fun goodness.

How did this book come about?
I published my book Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area in 2012, and was asked, "What's next?"

I had several projects underway, but a couple conversations led me to develop a book about the entire Great Basin for kids. I thought it would take a weekend to write. Why, I'm not sure, because two years later, it is finally ready!

I approached many agents and publishers about this book, but the consistent feedback I got back was, "Great idea, but there's no market."

That was a little frustrating, but also eye-opening. Even though the Great Basin extends from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Wasatch Mountains and includes parts of six states (Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming), many of the people who live in it don't know it. So even though this book says it's for kids, it's really for anyone who wants to learn more about the Great Basin.

What's in the book?
Learn about some of the cool features of the Great Basin, like volcanic features and huge lakes. Find out what kind of creatures live in various habitats of the Great Basin, from sagebrush to mountain forests. Discover some of the people who live in the Great Basin, such as Native Americans and cowboys. And finally, check out the amazing night skies above the Great Basin.

Along with some information and a fun fact about each of the 18 topics in the book, there is also a kid-friendly activity. These can help you learn about the Great Basin, but more importantly, they are a lot of fun!

Also, there's a map that shows places to visit related to the topic. In the example below, you can find some caves open for the public to visit, scattered all over the Great Basin.

I'm hoping the book will help people learn more about the Great Basin and maybe even surprise them a little. I was surprised by some of the things I learned while researching the book! I can't wait to go explore more!

I also want to shout out to my brother, Matthew Schenk, who illustrated the book as well as did the design and layout. He's the one who has made it such an appealing package. He is a professional graphic designer with an impressive portfolio.

Where can I get it?
Currently the book is available from CreateSpace, Amazon, the Border Inn, and should be available soon from Western National Park Association bookstores in Great Basin National Park, as well as some outlets in Ely, Nevada and Delta, Utah.

I'd love your feedback on the book, and reviews on Amazon are greatly appreciated.

Snake Valley Festival

Last weekend we had a very busy weekend at the Snake Valley Festival, held the third weekend of June in Baker, Nevada. It was three busy days of events. Here were some of the highlights.

The Snake Valley Slither 5k/10k trail run and walk has begun! But a couple slitherers in the middle of the starting line are getting a slow start--you might recognize one of them!

Post-race Orange Julius--yum!

Desert Boy approaching the finish line with family and friends.

Desert Girl running the little kids' race.

Playing on the water feature, that was brought in to celebrate the birthdays of two special boys.

The parachute--a special treat for the kids to play.

The water fight lasted all day for some of the kids.

Desert Boy doing a magic trick for the pageant and talent show. It earned him the title of Mr. Junior Snake Valley!

Desert Girl enjoying some ice cream at Friday night's ice cream social.

Kids' music workshop with Trotta and Ronstadt with Dalton.

Horses in the parade.

Loved this sign!

Aw, sweet music! The Ely Cheatgrass Brass Band played in both the parade and later in the afternoon during the free entertainment section.

The kids joined the kid float in the parade.

The Snake Valley Festival was great fun and will be held next year on the third weekend in June. Come join us!