Desert, Caves and Streams of the West Desert

Now that we have summer break. I am able to get out and enjoy the wonders of nature. We visited Crystal Ball Cave, an old mine, and Granite Canyon. It was fun to see how different each place is and to see the power of a wind storm obscure the entire area. 

From the mountain looking down at the valley where the school is centered.

We drove around this peak- left overs from Lake Bonneville.

Buckwheat Flowers growing in schist.

Nice holes in the rocks for us to see.

Small changes to a large mountain.

Short trip into the mouth of the old mine.

Our friend giving a rubdown on his bulls. He invited me to come in and give a hand. He wasn't sure if they would like me.

Beautiful Flowering Bushes near Crystal Ball Cave
 

Desert beauty

Cactus Blooms

Formations inside Crystal Ball Cave. Popcorn calcite.

More Popcorn

We were told this is the only way out. Fortunately it is not.

Looks like ice-cream to me.

The cave is filled with wonderful formation all made of different types of calcite.

Neat cave experience. I lost my notebook there while crawling through low passage ways. It is now lost buried in dust and kicked off the main path by myriad feet also exploring. I suppose it will be found by a future anthropologist studying the cave.

Looking at all of this popcorn makes me hungry.

Stacked Calcite crystals

Flowers in Granite Canyon

Butterfly near the stream.

Very cooperative subject.

Can't pass a flower and not enjoy its beauty.

Cool stream to wade in and my son even fell in when he slipped on the algae covered rocks.

Mountains and surroundings at Granite Canyon- Gorgeous day!

Great way to beat the heat.

Crystal clear pine sap, wow!

Out and About

I Have been out and about so now I am sharing some photos of the mountains and the area to our West. The harsh beauty of the desert contrasts with the spectacle of the granite mountains. There is so much to see and feel; camping, hiking and not enough writing.These were taken on a father and sons camping trip to Blue Mass in Nevada not far from home. My son and I had so much fun climbing in the rocks and exploring the area. It was a great time.

This is the meadow where we camped near the Quaking Aspen grove.

View from near the top of the granite rocks

My son and I call this the finger. You need to climb through narrow clefts in the rocks to get there.

Scarlet Bugler near the base of the rocks.

The view from near the top looking back.

Stunning monoliths to big to climb.

Poison rock we had to climb under. It's poison because one drop will kill you, of course.

Tenacity, lone tree on top growing in pure granite.

Our view from near the stream looking at the impossible side-ward jutting granite peak.

This the Chokecherry thicket that ran on both sides of the road for a mile - gorgeous.

Lupine in bloom near the stream.