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Day 56: Exploration for Independence Day

America was “discovered” during the era of exploration. Western civilization had become fascinated with finding the last frontier. While the Fourth of July is meant to be a holiday to celebrate our independence as a country it seemed fitting to spend my holiday in one of the last frontiers: A cave. There are few places left on Earth that have not been explored yet. The great underground is one of those few. In the spirit of exploration we cavers seek to find places no one else has ever seen. There is nothing like the rush of seeing a place that may have never been seen by a human before. America was already inhabited when we discovered it, but caves often are completely untouched (especially those that are hypogene in nature).

A neat dissolutional stream “chute” in Marble Cave of Sequoia National Park July 4, 2011

The cave I visited today was a commercial cave and not a new discovery for me, but less than 100 years ago it was a new frontier for someone. Crystal cave was discovered by Alex Medley and Cassius Weber in 1918. Today it is located within the boundaries of Sequoia National Park. Formed in a beautiful gray and white marble it has around 2.5 miles of passage. Since the marble bedding has a high dip angle the cave isn’t extensive laterally.

The marble in a stream bed within Crystal Cave Sequoia National Park July 4, 2011

They have been making a lot of efforts to return Crystal cave to a more natural state. The park has been replacing lighting with new ones that will help prevent the growth of algae and other organisms that are not natural to the cave environment. The tour involves a nice hike down a fair amount of stairs that you will need to climb back up so I don’t recommend it for anyone unable to traverse a significant amount of incline.

Crystal Cave Entrance July 4, 2011

The cave gate is pretty interesting, designed to look like a spider web. The tour will vary depending on the guide you get, but all are interesting. A member of my grotto back home, Chouteau Grotto, was actually working the day I visited although I wasn’t assigned to his tour. Such a small world when you are a caver!

While I had spent the last couple days visiting caves and natural wonders of inland California it was time for me to make like the explorers of the 15th century and head West. Time to head back to the area of my birth and visit some family. I need the three S’s: Sun, Sand and Sea.

Until then…

Nicole

Rimstone in Crystal Cave July 4, 2012

 

Crystal cave speleothems July 4, 2011

 

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Day 55: Deep into the Earth and Towering High into the Sky

Balance is important in your day to day life. One has to enjoy both the warm sunshine and the starry nights to have a complete day. Life is never about choosing left, right or even straight but rather to chose a mix of the three until you find that perfect place.

Today I headed to the interior of California in anticipation of seeing some of the most spectacular helictities in the country. The caves of the state are known to produce some beautiful, delicate speleothems and helictites are one of my favorites to look at (next to cave pearls, of course!). Black Chasm caverns is one of those such caves that anyone can take the time to visit.

Helictites galore in Black Chasm Caverns. July 3rd, 2011.

The helictites are delicate formations that seem to defy gravity, growing every which way unlike their cousins of the cave (stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, etc). How exactly they form is still debated but it is commonly accepted that capillary forces play a big roll in their whimsical development.

Draperies in Black Chasm Caverns. Volcano, California July 3rd, 2011.

The texture of the draperies here in Black Chasm was quite different than the limestone caves I have been used to. The crystal structure almost looked more like aragonite than calcite. I don’t know why yet, but maybe graduate school will enlighten me. 🙂

A close-up of the crystalline structure of the draperies in Black Chasm. July 3rd, 2011.

Located near Volcano, CA this National Natural Landmark is a pretty inexpensive visit. There are plenty of places to camp near-by, or if you chose to do what I did, is a nice wayside visit on your way to King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Parks. It was time for me to head out to see some of the LARGEST trees in the world.

A sequoia in King’s Canyon N.P. July 3rd, 2011

I was able to see many of the famous Sequoia trees, including the General Grant which is the WIDEST sequoia at 40′ diameter, the 3rd largest tree in the WORLD by volume. and is 1700 years old! A humorous sight to see in this part of King’s Canyon N.P. is the Centennial Stump. It is a tree that was cut in 1875, measuring 24′ in diameter, and shipped to Philadelphia’s Centennial Exhibition. No one believed that it truly was one tree and they proclaimed it to be the “California Hoax”. There is one sequoia that fell many years ago and is now an empty shell that you can actually walk through. That’s how BIG these trees are!

Walking through a fallen giant. A sequoia in King’s Canyon N.P. on July 3rd, 2011.

I stayed the night at the John Muir lodge in Grant Grove, and ate at their wonderful full-service restaurant. It was a bit pricey (think $200+ for the night, although it WAS a holiday weekend) but since the campgrounds were first come first serve and all full I was a bit out of luck. Plus, the lodge ended up being well worth it and the nice dinner was a welcome change to my usual camp food.

It’s a bit ironic that I am a caver because I need sunlight like I need water. In a world full of bright, warm sunlight I love exploring the deepest and darkest depths of the Earth. At the same time I love to spend hours basking in the sun, where I feel happy and content with being at peace. I guess that’s my perfect balance. I need the world as a whole, from the deepest, darkest depths to the greatest, brightest heights. I’m going to spend my life experiencing all that the Earth has to offer.

This Grand Adventure is step one for me, what is your step one?

-Nicole

A beautiful vista of King’s Canyon N.P. July 3rd, 2011.
A giant sequoia of King’s Canyon N.P. July 3rd, 2011.
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Day 53: Breathtaking Highway 101

This morning, waking up near Brookings, Oregon in Umpqua Lighthouse State Park I was quite excited. Today I’d be heading South along the famous highway 101 into the state of my birth. The drive itself is so scenic it becomes hard to get more than a few miles without taking pictures.

McCullough Bridge, An Oregon State Historic Landmark. Built in 1936. Driving along the 101 on July 1, 2011

First you cross the famous architectural wonders: The bridges of 101. These bridges have been featured on shows on the travel channel and it’s no mystery why. Each one was uniquely designed by a renowned architect to awe and inspire travelers.

After some amazing bridges, and right before I crossed into California, I cam across some of the most breath-taking views of coastal cliffs, caves and arches. The sedimentary rocks of the pacific coast are eroded by waves and wind, both carrying sediments that slowly carve out caves, and later carve them into bridges, and towers. It’s a beautiful sight to watch the waves crash into these rocks.
Well-knowing that my drive would be slowed due to the gorgeous views of the pacific ocean my plans involved my camping at Golden Bluffs State Park….however I was greeted with a “campground full” sign. Unfortunately many of California’s campsites are first-come first-serve, meaning no reservations. Since my Grand Adventure put me in California the weekend of the 4th of July all of the campgrounds were full. It doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the view.

Roosevelt Elk at Golden Bluffs State Park, California July 1, 2011

I’ve now been on the road for over 50 days and I can’t imagine how to decide which view is the most inspirational, but this would definitely be right up in the top. The west coast’s geology is ever changing at such a rapid pace. As compared to the landforms of the east (our passive margin) the west coast is constantly being changed.
A lot of us are scared of change. We see it as a hurdle to overcome or a step backwards in our trek. Truth is the changes are inevitable the most formative parts of our lives. They are the reasons we love, hate, hurt, smile, laugh and inspire. The west coast is a perfect example of how change will mold you into a better, more beautiful person. Perfection isn’t holding a true form. The closest to perfection you will ever be is to accept the challenges that crash into you and make changes to be a better person.

An arch in the Pacific on the South Oregon coast. July 1, 2011

Looking at these scenes along the coasts of Oregon and California you can see two different things: destruction and construction. You could say that the waves are crashing into the rocks and destroying them…or you could say they are creating these landforms that we enjoy. Standing here on the coast, watching those waves crash and catching my breath as I realize I am truly experiencing this, I learn something.
Destruction is a method of creation. You can’t have construction without some sort of destruction. When life starts crashing into you it isn’t trying to destroy you, it is trying to build a more resilient you. Don’t fight the waves….brace yourself and revel in the fact you will be a better person for it.
Experience. Is. Life.  All of it.

Nicole

Golden Bluff’s Campground. Cali. July 1, 2011
Highway 101 does dive inland a bit into a portion of the Redwood National Forest. July 1, 2011
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Day 26: University of Kentucky and Mammoth Cave National Park’s Mammoth Passages Tour

All over the world children watch their Disney movies and visions of theme parks dance in their heads. Bicyclers dream of the Tour de France, gamblers dream of Las Vegas, and mountain climbers dream of Mount Everest. Mammoth Cave of Kentucky is a lot like the Disney World of the caver. The longest cave in the world, and numerous books and stories of the exploration of the never-ending Mammoth Caverns has kept many cavers dreaming of the underworld.
Today I awoke in Lexington, Kentucky to tour the University of Kentucky, my 3rd stop in my list of potential graduate schools to visit. The University is conveniently located in the midst of Kentucky karst, the library (which holds the record for the largest book endowment of all public universities in the nation) even sits atop two sinkholes which required special foundation design so that it could achieve the feat. The U of K seems to be the perfect size: being both large enough to offer ample facilities (and has a growing geology department), yet small enough that the graduate program still affords a family-like atmosphere. Everyone was friendly, and caving is a serious sport in the area.

The University of Kentucky. June 3, 2011

I ate dinner the night before at Thai Orchid Cafe, where I enjoyed some very yummy peanut chicken. I chose the restaurant because of it’s decoration: orchids galore. It made me feel a little homesick for my own orchids that I have left in the care of my loving sister back home in Missouri. I enjoyed lunch today with some of the geology graduate students where I was able to get a true sense of what the campus was like, and tips on what to look for when seeking a graduate school. I love this opportunity because it gives me the chance to find out what graduate students wish they knew before they entered graduate school and gives me a lot to think about. All in all, I loved the University of Kentucky. Even the quirky robots that make deliveries in the medical building, where the cafeteria is located.

The Univerisity of Kentucky delivery robot. June 3, 2011

After my pleasant visit with the University of Kentucky I headed towards my theme park: The Mammoth Cave National Park. It was a palatable drive from Lexington, and has some great camping facilities (even if you do have to use those silly little tokens to take a shower, each token costs about $2.50 and lasts 10 minutes). The camp store is well stocked, both with products and helpful staff, and located a short walk from the camp. Everything is located within a short walk from the campsite. In fact, once I parked my Jeep at the campsite when I arrived, it didn’t move until two days later when I left the area.

The Mammoth Cave National Park camp store's new sign. June 3, 2011

Arriving later in the afternoon, I had time to take a shorter tour and, planning on taking the long tour the next day that encompassed almost every other tour (exempting the Wild cave tour) I was left with the Mammoth Passages tour. The tour enters through a natural entrance (a short walk from the visitor center, which for me included an encounter with a 2′ copperhead that decided to wander into the trail. The guide expertly kept the snake to the side with his hat after I pointed the snake out, and had everyone walk around before allowing the snake to continue across the walking path).

Looking back out the natural entrance of Mammoth Passages tour at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. June 3, 2011

The Mammoth Passages tour shows you what a majority of the longest cave in the world looks like: Huge, oval shaped passages with no speleothem development. The caves were named for this feature, having passages of an abnormally large size. While the cave is lacking in speleothem development, it makes up for in size many times over. It was used, as many caves are, by the natives between 4000 and 2000 years ago, when they left moccasins and other indications of human activity. Later the cave was used as a Salt-Petre mine during the war of 1812, over 400,000 lbs of calcium nitrate being extracted from the cave. After the war it had many uses such as a tuberculosis quarantine area, a church, a mushroom farm, and of course tourism, of which it is still used for today.

Moccasins in the Mammoth Passages tour of Mammoth Cave. Kentucky, June 3, 2011

I found the tour guide, as with most of the National Park run caves, to be very informative and fairly accurate in their description of the geology and the history. The kind of tour I appreciate, not only for my own knowledge, but for the education of the general public who are often mislead by private cave tour guides who are encouraged to elaborate upon their stories. My guide today was wonderful, a man who only works during the summer as he is retired.

The black cherry preserves and biscuits at Mammoth Cave Hotel Restaurant. June 3, 2011

Afterward I enjoyed a fried chicken dinner (it seemed appropriate for Kentucky) at the Mammoth Cave Hotel Restaurant, which included biscuits with black cherry preserves. Everything was wonderful, the biscuits with preserves so exceptionally good that I could have made a meal out of them alone. The prices weren’t bad either, comparable to your local Applebees price point. The campsite was large and amenable, and everyone I met on staff was helpful and friendly.

Shower tokens at Mammoth Cave N.P. June 3, 2011

Tomorrow I will be spending more time in my “Disney Land”. While I do prefer to focus on speleothem development and this cave has very little it is certainly a big playground for the caver side of me. Besides, it is important to understand what features cause a cavern to lack speleothem development to further the understanding of what causes speleothem density in other caverns.
Tomorrow I will be hiking for 4.5 hours, underground, on the Grand Avenue tour that takes me through 4 miles of underground bliss, and shows me the three different “faces” that Mammoth Cave has to offer. I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow.
Until then-
Nicole

Mammoth Passages tour entrance. Mammoth Cave N.P. June 3, 2011
Mammoth Cave has been a tourist destination for over a hundred years, this train used to transport guests. June 3, 2011
Thai Orchid Cafe in Lexington, KY. I ate there June 2, 2011.
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Luck: Day 8 Part I, St. Augustine, Florida

Luck. It’s one of those whimsical ideas that is often tied to symbolic findings like a four-leaf clover and a bird that drops a little present on your head in flight. Something many don’t truly believe in, yet so many people seem to have it. The Spanish appear to have had luck when they stumbled upon St. Augustine, the lighthouse of the same settlement seems to have had tremendous luck, and even I have had many good hands dealt my way. Luck- Could it be real?

I got up early this morning, a busy day of sightseeing on the books, and headed to the only WiFi access point in Anastasia State Park, located at the beach shop. I settled down in the rising sun with my laptop, uploading pictures of the previous day for all of you to enjoy, when I noticed a few people collecting at the beach. One man was sitting up at the beach overlook deck with a camera on a tripod, and a few people were trickling their ways onto the beach. They weren’t wearing beach attire, nor was it warm enough to swim if they had been. I dismissed it as a group family photo in the making and went about my business. Soon more people began to show up, all toting their DSLR cameras and chatting a little too lively for such an early hour on the east coast. Then someone approached me: “Are you going to watch the shuttle launch?”.

The launch of Shuttle Endeavour as viewed from Anastasia State Park Beach. May 16, 2011.

I almost leapt out of my seat- could it really be that today was the day that they launched the space shuttle Endeavour? It turns out it certainly was- and I was close enough to Cape Canaveral to see if from my vantage on the beach. I was totally unprepared to take such a photograph, so the few that I did get aren’t all that great- but I did get them, and I did get to see it launch. Many thought this was the last launch of the shuttle Endeavour, but according to news articles this was the next-to-last.

If you guys are really hard core about seeing the shuttle launch keep updated on the real “last launch”. Maybe you can find a way to venture out there? Even if you can’t get down to Cape Canaveral, you now know of a great place to camp out and view it from: Anastasia State Park. According to the volunteer who stands atop St. Augustine Lighthouse once a week, this launch view wasn’t as good as it usually is due to some haze. He has been living in St. Augustine since the 1980s, and hasn’t missed a launch since. He even got to work early so he could view the launch from atop the lighthouse. If you are lucky enough, perhaps you can watch the last ever launch of Endeavour from atop the lighthouse.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse. May 16, 2011. Every lighthouse has it's own distinct scheme so that ships can recognize where they are.
Climbing up isn't bad, it's climbing down that makes me nervous everytime. St. Augustine Lighthouse.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse was my first planned trip of the day. I had already visited the lighthouse once, but it is something worth seeing again. The current lighthouse stands 165’ high and has been standing there since 1874. It is built of brick and steel, both crafted here in the U.S., and is the oldest standing brick structure of St. Augustine. When you visit you have to climb 219 stairs to reach the top (sound exhausting, it is!).

A small sample of the stairs of St Augustine Lighthouse. May 16, 2011
The stairs are very pretty to look at. St. Augustine Lighthouse May 16, 2011

Many Florida lighthouses had a lot of trouble staying upright: the soft sands of the coast proved to be a less-than-stable base for the heavier lighthouses of the late 1800’s. St. Augustine has a sturdy layer of coquina for the lighthouse to sit atop, keeping it from the same fate of many other lighthouses in the state. The lighthouse has had several close calls, such as Hurricane Dora and a few other hurricanes, and a couple earthquakes. Fortunately (and perhaps luckily?) the St. Augustine lighthouse has stood tall. (Visit their website at www.staugustinelighthouse.com)

This funny mirror was on the ground. It made for a neat vantage point for a picture. St. Augustine Lighthouse May 16, 2011
The view of Castillo de Sand Marcos as you drive past. May 16, 2011. St. Augustine Florida

It was now time to see to the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S. Built by the Spanish beginning in 1671, the fort was something to be feared by many enemies. In 1702 British naval & land forces attacked St. Augustine and a not-yet-completed Catillo de San Marcos. The British destroyed the city, but were unable to take on the fort and retreated. In 1728 British troops once again decided to march into St. Augustine, but saw the fort and promptly turned around and left. In 1740 the British governor of Georgia also attacked St. Augustine, but could not capture the fort.

The view of the entrance of Castillo de San Marco when standing atop the fort. May 16, 2011. St. Augustine, FL.

Why was the fort so impenetrable? Was it because of the architectural layout or the cannons? Probably this, and due to the building material provided to the Spanish from Anastasia island, the very rock that the St. Augustine lighthouse stood upon many years later: Coquina.

Close-up of a coquina block at the quarry. St. Augustine, FL Anastasia S.P. May 16, 2011

Geology time: So what is this coquina stuff, anyways? Literally “coquina” translates from Spanish to “tiny shellfish”. Aptly named, coquina is a type of limestone composed of shells, clay and sand that have been chemically bonded together. It may look brittle, but trust me when I say the stuff is tuff, I tested a block of it. So, where did it come from?

The coquina quarry (A historic site) in Anastasia S.P. St Augustine, FL May 16, 2011

Luckily my campsite hosts the spot where the Spanish started quarrying the coquina in 1671. I was able to visit it and learn a bit about the geology of the area. In the Pleistocene epoch there were a series of glaciation/melting patterns that allowed shells, clay and sand to accumulate during the high sea levels, and to cement together when it was exposed to rainwater during times of low sea levels. This developed the Anastasia formation, a formation that stretched from the Northern end of Anastasia Island all the way south to Palm Beach, FL (250 miles long) and is about 330 miles wide, most of it stretching into the Atlantic Ocean.

The wall built of shells. The coquina blocks of the Castillo de San Marco.

The coquina is a very strong rock when dry, so to cut it the Spanish settlers would cut the stone while it was wet, and then allow it to dry for up to a year before incorporating it into the Castillo. It was such a useful building product that one third of St. Augustine’s buildings were made of it by 1764. The Spanish were very (lucky, perhaps?) to have such a building material readily available.

It seems that in the case of my observation of shuttle Endeavour, the long-standing life of St. Augustine Lighthouse and the Spanish settler’s find of the coquina to build the Castillo all speak for the case of luck. It must be real, then…Luck has it. Right?

Let’s look back on the reality of the situation. St. Augustine Lighthouse was built in 1874 to replace a Spanish watchtower built in the late 1500’s. The old watch tower tumbled to the sea in a storm in 1880. It stood for 300 years, a span of time yet to be proven by the “New” St. Augustine Lighthouse. The Castillo de San Marcos was built beginning in the 1670s to replace the 9th (yes, you read right, NINTH!) fort since 1565. It seems that all of these events add up to being in the right place at the right time. It may seem like luck, but it is actually due to ingenuity and being able to see the bright side of things no matter what. The Spanish and other settlers of St. Augustine were smart enough to use what was available to them on their very own Anastasia island, buried beneath the sand dunes and soil (called hammocks). We all know I have had my fair share of mishaps- and the fact that I was able to see something as spectacular as the shuttle launch isn’t due to luck: It is due to my dedication to adventure and putting myself in places where things can, and will, happen.

If you are sitting around waiting for your luck to turn around you aren’t going to get much. Luck isn’t a rabbit’s foot on a keychain or eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day. Luck is constructed out of your own determination and will. Created by you, for you, by continuing to push forward even after you fail again and again. Don’t let the first 9 fallen forts force you to give up. Look around you, use the tools you have been given, and manifest your own destiny.

Some colorful beetles (or something of the like) at the coquina quarry in Anastasia S.P. May 16, 2011
Chocolates from Whetstone Chocolates of St. Augustine. I had a small snack from here- I was saving my calories (and my money) for a fabulous dinner in Savannah tonight. May 16, 2011
Whetstone Chocolates of St. Augustine. Very good stuff. They even have chocolate dipped bananas, a personal fave.
I'm standing in the watch tower of the Castillo de San Marco. May 16, 2011
The view down a canon if you were getting ready to take down an enemy ship at the Castillo de San Marco in st. Augustine
The sanctuary at Castillo de San Marco, the font on the wall and the altar on the left side of the pic. May 16, 2011
While I toured the Castillo de San Marco National Park officials took precautions to preserve artifacts by vacuumn air out of a case to reduce humidity. May 16, 2011
Where the men would sleep at Castillo de San Marco while on duty (They didn't live at the fort)
Some of the lighthouse prisms at St. Augustine Lighthouse (when you get to the top and are looking at the light, look up!)
I'm about to ascend all of those stairs- all 219 of them! May 16, 2011 St. Augustine Lighthouse
I climbed all the way to the top of St. Augustine Lighthouse…again! May 16, 2011
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The La Brea “Tar Pits”-Where History and Modern Science Meet

A person can put themselves back in the same place, with the same people and even the same time of year but you can not recreate a memory. You can find small things that bring back those memories but the world is an ever-changing place, constantly in motion. Times like these, where you try to immerse yourself back into your past, are when you realize that not only have you changed as you grew older, but so has the rest of the world.

Have you ever had a favorite movie as a young child that you went to re-watch as an adult only to find out it was much better in memory than in reality? If so, you will know what my day at the La Brea Tar Pits was like. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a great place to visit. It was just incredibly different than I remember as a child.

I was probably about 5 years old when my Aunt took me to the La Brea Tar Pits (Official Site) for the first time. The memories I have of the visit are a bit patchy, but here is what I do remember: Walking past the gated tar pits into the museum, looking at dinosaur statues, feeling the sample piece of “dinosaur skin” to see what scientists thought their skin felt like, and at the end she bought me a triceratops figurine and a photo slide.

Today the only thing that was familiar were the gated tar pits themselves. Political correctness and the evolution of scientific theory have changed the landscape of the museum in an entirety. There are no dinosaur statues in the museum, and with that the plaque of “dino skin” I wanted to touch again out of nostalgia was no longer in existence.

Here’s where the lesson in science comes in for all of you folks. No dinosaurs were EVER found at the La Brea Tar Pits. Considering the tar pits were formed well after the extinction of dinosaurs it would be impossible for this to occur unless someone decided to dig up some remains and dump them in the pits thousands of years later.

Most of the skeletons found in the tar pits are from the ice age, but the tar pits continue to ensnare small animals and bugs today. What you have pictured in your mind of the tar pits is probably inaccurate. It actually looks much like a big pond of water with some surface oil, much like a puddle in an urban street. Methane bubbles periodically work their way to the surface, making it look like a dying Jacuzzi tub.

Inside Page Museum at La Brea (yes, La Brea Tar Pits is actually quite redundant, seeing as “Brea” means Tar you are saying “The Tar Tar Pits”), there are numerous skeletons from thousands of years. One of the more numerous skeletons found in the pits is the Dire Wolf. They have a wall covered in their skulls, and these are only a portion of what they have found.


Some of the scientists here work in a literal fish bowl, just like you see in the first Jurassic Park movie. Walking around the back side of the museum you will come to the Paleontology Laboratory, which juts out into the room with a full-glass semi-circular build. The scientists work quietly inside, able to see everyone that mills around watching them tediously separate microfossils from minerals and sediment. It must take a lot of nerve to work under those conditions and I imagine they take turns sitting in the “fish bowl”.

After my brother and I finished the tour of the museum we walked around the ‘pond’ out front that has the mammoth statues tragically stuck in the ‘tar’. Around the walk are some art pieces, one of which looks like spare parts of a construction site. They are simply four concrete boxes. One of those pieces that starts the argument, between my brother and I, over whether art is the product or the intention of the artist’s talents. As we step down to cross the street I notice that tar has bubbled up through the street. Makes roadwork easy I laugh with my brother.

We try to go to Trader Joe’s to get another piece of my childhood memories: Fruit Leather. When I was young my parents used to pick up the fruit leather from Trader Joes for us to snack on. Once again my memoirs were blocked by time and reality: the parking lots were small, crowded, and full. No parking and there were several cars sharking around for spots just as I was. I decided that the fruit leather would have to wait and we headed back to my brother’s home city.

The drive home was through the mist that had remained throughout the day, the sun hiding behind the clouds. The memories I have of living in California mostly involve sunshine, or very windy days where we wore what was called a “windbreaker”, or in Midwestern talk, a light jacket. I don’t clearly remember any rainy or misty days from my childhood, probably because they were spent doing things of no monumental value, like playing legos inside or watching “Oprah” with my Mom.

The mist isn’t unpleasant at all, in fact it’s warm enough that with a jacket the weather is really nice. Comparable to a spring rain in the temperate regions. My Dodge Stealth still looked clean, mismatched wheel and all.

Yet again that I am reminded that memories are not only selective, but they are exactly that: memories.

A person can put themselves back in the same place, with the same people and even the same time of year but you can not recreate a memory. You can find small things that bring back those memories but the world is an ever-changing place, constantly in motion. Times like these, where you try to immerse yourself back into your past, are when you realize that not only have you changed as you grew older, but so has the rest of the world.

And it is in times like these that you realize something important you may have overlooked. For you to continue succeeding in life it is ok to change paths. When you can’t see a dinosaur exhibit, enjoy the comedy of the “fish bowl” scientists and the fascinating numbers of the Dire Wolves that were found in this little piece of Los Angeles.

The Dinosaur exhibit will always be a part of you, and it’s the reason you stepped into the next phase of life. It inspired you to learn something new and continue moving forward.

There is a lot in this world to see, and I have planned to see as much as I can of it, but there is a small factor that I continue to forget: the factor of time. I can take a picture of the world and try to see all of it as it existed in that picture, but I will never truly see all of the world.

To be a well rounded person I truly believe you have to experience the most of the universe as possible, and that’s what I try to attempt in my life. I may only be able to see the “dino skin” exhibit when I’m 6 years old, and the Dire Wolf collection at the age of 25, but every piece that I add to my collection of memories is going to be there forever. In another 20 years, perhaps, I will return in search for the memories of this misty day in Los Angeles and the bubbly waters of La Brea only to discover something new.

Remember: The memories last forever, and the new ones should be cherished just as much as the old.

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Carlsbad Caverns

I’m in love. Have I told you that? I could live there and still not be satisfied with my time spent. That’s right, I’m in love with Carlsbad Caverns.

After my last entry I went to eat breakfast at Denny’s since I had waken up too late for the free breakfast the hotel provides. I ate my food so fast I think the waitress, and a couple of the other diners, were astonished. I must have looked starved but I didn’t care- I was in a hurry to get to Carlsbad Caverns.

Carlsbad Caverns is about a 20 mile drive west from the city of Carlsbad. When you reach the sign proclaiming “Carlsbad Caverns” you still have another 6 miles to drive. I stopped to take a few pictures in front of the sign, a couple with my digital and one with my phone. When you are traveling alone it is always interesting to get pictures of yourself on your travels. For safety reasons I usually prefer to wit until I am alone, which doesn’t seem to be a problem in most areas, then find a safe spot to sit my camera and set it on a 10 sec delay to give me time to get into position. Most of the time in these situations I use the hood or roof of my car, and this time was no different. I took a few pictures with the digital. As another car approached the pull-off I finished my last picture and jumped back in the car.

A lady and her son get out to take a picture by the sign. On the way up to the sign she suddenly jumps in front of my car as I start to pull out.

“Wait! Wait!” she cries, waving her arms.

I stop and open the door (my Dodge Stealth’s drivers side window doesn’t work) and she picks my camera up off the hood of my car and hands it to me.

“You don’t want to lose this do you?” She laughs.

I thank her over and over. I ask if she wants me to take a picture of her son and herself but she says no thanks. This makes the second time I was saved by a complete stranger in the past few days. I think a trend is starting to develop.

I pull up to the visitor center in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which sits perched on top of a small mountain, and took notice of a sign as I pulled up. “Absolutely NO pets left in vehicles or allowed in caverns. Must use available kennel”. I hope this isn’t going to be too expensive…

I see a lady leaving the visitor center and I ask her about the kennel. She says it looks like it is a good place, and that it costs $5 for the day. Not bad. This is going to make my day much easier!

After picking out a kennel for Ellie and providing her with a fresh bowl of water I wander into the visitor center to purchase my tickets. I had REALLY wanted to go on a wild caving tour, but when I went to purchase tickets two weeks ahead of time online they were already sold out for this day. I was hoping for a cancellation or two when I arrived but there was no such luck. The only tour available was of course the self-guided main tour that takes you through the natural entrance, descending over 750’ and the winding through 1.25 mi of pathways until you reach the Big Room pathways. The Big Room, which includes the Hall of Giants, is quite literally a BIG ROOM full to the brim with gorgeous speleothems of all sorts. Over 6 football fields could fit inside this cavern area. Now THAT is big. This tour only costs $6, and is full to the brim with exciting things to see of the underworld. I HIGHLY recommend going on this tour. It will certainly be the best $6 you’ve ever spent!

I paid for my ticket and headed down the pathway towards the gate where a park ranger gives you a drill down of what you can and cannot do. No food or drink allowed in the gave, this includes gum. Kids must stay within arm’s length of their guardian. Absolutely NO TOUCHING of the formations. (For those of you unfamiliar with a cave’s natural state, touching the formations can actually kill them. The oils from your hands stop the water/mineral mixture from adhering to the rocks surface and it stops growing.) Then, a handful of people at a time, the release you into the pathway that descends past the bat watching auditorium and into the great underground.
As I walk past the bleachers that are there for the bat fly-out I remind myself I must return in the spring to see this. Every night from about March thru October thousands of bat swirl out of the cave into the darkening sky to feed on mosquitoes and other annoying bugs. Every night they take the exact same path, and have been doing so for years and years.

The descent into the cave is a pretty nice walk. The pathways are very rough, like a chunkier sandpaper, so that you don’t slip walking down the steep grade. Each time you turn the path you can feel the air of the cave hit your face. It’s a familiar feeling for me and I absolutely love the scent that accompanies it. The air is slightly cool, but only because it is damp. The smell is a damp, earthy tone that reminds me of several things from my childhood that I enjoyed. For example, The “Fire in the Hole” underground rollercoaster that sprays water on you at Silver Dollar City (Branson, MO) has a similar scent. Anytime I am in a cave I breathe it in deeply and let it calm my senses.

The tour of the cave itself is hard to explain except in pictures, and I took plenty (over 230 of them). Every time I turned a corner I would think that certainly it would end soon. Nothing so wonderful could last that long. But turn after turn I was further amazed at the increasing prevalence of speleothems and the opening of the rooms into larger and larger ones. It was almost too much to take in.

In fact, I had to sit down on a bench after I passed the Hall of Giants. I was so happy, and the caves were so much to take in, I almost started crying. I fought with myself, sitting there in that beautiful underworld. I am NOT an emotional little girl, I told myself. I don’t cry when I am overly happy, it just doesn’t happen. I fidgeted with my camera, pretending to mess with the settings and furrowing my brow in frustration of my sudden emotional turn. An Indian man approached me and asked me if I needed someone to take my pictures. I smiled and used it as an excuse to shove away these emotions and handed him my camera. He took a picture, of which I am not sure I will post because I look a little out of it, and then I continued along my way.

I also came across a really nice park ranger along my travels in the caverns. She works at Carlsbad Caverns for 6 months, then travels up to a Colorado State Park and works there for another 6 months. We talked about caves for a while, and she told me about some friends she has that work at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and the research they get to help out with. I told her about “The Longest Cave” and encouraged her to read it, and showed her some pictures I had on my phone of bats in Missouri caves. She gave me some information on how I could get a job working for one of the National Park caves. I stored it in my phone. This was certainly something to SERIOUSLY consider.

When I finally reached the end of the tour, where a large series of elevators take you up through the rock (with windows on all sides so you can watch the rock fly past you), I was again feeling that sweeping emotion. I walked into the bookstore, which uses all it’s profits for cave conservation, and concentrated on getting some souvenirs and post cards. While sitting in front of the post cards staring at them but not seeing them a man I had met earlier in the caves approached me and asked me if I had enjoyed the tour. I chatted with him a while, he said he could tell I was a caver by my gear. (I had brought in my adventure bag, which is stained from cave mud and had a small led flashlight attached to the zipper). He told me about some caves from where he lives back in Texas and told me it’d definitely be something worth seeing. He introduced himself as Victor and said it was nice meeting me, I shook his hand and gave him my first name as well and he left with his family.

I ended up purchasing a book and a t-shirt, and a few postcards. The t-shirt I am in love with. It is made out of bamboo, so it is environmentally friendly, and has Carlsbad Caverns in beautiful script down my left side. I picked up Ellie, who was soaking wet from being in her water bowl, and we left the top of the mountain.

On the way down the winding roads we stopped at one of the trails and walked to the end where there was a wonderful outlook over the canyons. Ellie got plenty of exercise, and we both enjoyed the warmth of the sun after spending the previous day in a winter wonderland. The sun was nearing it’s position for set and I decided to head back to the hotel which was about 20 minutes away.

I decided that since I was in New Mexico the dinner of choice should be some authentic Mexican. I headed into town and discovered that since it was Sunday the couple shacks I had seen along the main drive were closed. I decided to use my borrowed GPS to locate a Mexican restaurant.

Here’s the time to explain the characteristics of the GPS I borrowed for this trip. It is older, and when you plug it into your cigarette lighter outlet it takes several minutes, sometimes up to 10 or 15, to warm up and figure out where you are. It also has a very sensitive power cable that if you touch the wrong way restarts the unit, and you have to wait again for it to find where you are. It is also a little out of date with the information in it. After the GPS warmed up I followed it to a couple places that were closed, and the final attempt at finding a restaurant ended at an empty grass lot.

Much less to say, and a little amusing, I ended up getting Taco Bell.

It was a wonderful day and I will certainly treasure these experiences for a lifetime. Tomorrow I continue my journey to another land, I will be driving almost 1000 miles to the west, back to my birthplace.

GEOLOGIC NOTES:

In this blog I use speleothem and formation interchangeably. Formation is not necessarily an appropriate term for a speleothem, but it is used widely to describe stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, cave pearls, cave popcorn and more. If you want to get technical, these definitions are:

SPELEOTHEM:

any of the crystalline deposits that form in a solution cave after the creation of the cave itself. These deposits are generally composed of calcium carbonate dissolved from the surrounding limestone by groundwater. Carbon dioxide carried in the water is released as the water encounters the cave air; this reduces the water’s capacity to hold calcite in solution and causes the calcite to be deposited. These deposits may accumulate to form stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, helictites, cave pearls, and many other formations. Deposits formed along ceiling cracks may produce drip curtains or draperies that may then reach the floor to become walls. Speleothems may grow in pools to form the nodular encrustations of cave coral or the natural dams that continually elevate themselves through accretion of calcite. The pure white of the calcium carbonate is often tinted with hues of red, yellow, and gray and may even be translucent. The growth rate of speleothems is highly variable due to seasonal variations in the rate of flow, carbon dioxide content, and other factors. Caves owe most of their beauty and much of their interest to these secondary growths.

FORMATION:

5. geology
a.  the fundamental lithostratigraphic unit
b.  a series of rocks with certain characteristics in common.

I would also like to add some information about Carlsbad Caverns versus the caves I usually visit in the limestone beds of Missouri. You may notice that most caves are carved out of water, and tend to have a long, linear shape to them as the groundwater travels in a stream or certain direction. After the limestone, or other soluable rock formation, is dissolved, the deposit of speleothems can begin. As the groundwater continues to trickly through the bedrock and it reaches the cave the water is enriched in minerals that get redeposited on the walls, ceilings, floor, etc of the cave. This is how a speleothem is, generally, formed.

Carlsbad Caverns has a very large and open nature to each of their rooms, and while the speleothems in Carlsad Caverns are formed in the same manner as above, the cave itself formed in a different manner than many of the caves we visit in the midwest.

Somewhere between 4 and 6 million years ago, water that was rich in hydrogen-sulfide mixed with other rainwaters to form sulfuric acid. It is this acid that allowed the caverns to form in large, magnificent rooms rather than long, lineated passages like those we are so familiar with.

For more information about this, I highly recommend visiting the National Park Service’s website on Carlsbad Caverns, particularly this page:

http://www.nps.gov/cave/naturescience/cave.htm