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Oregon Caves tour (Part one)

Welcome to Oregon Caves National Monument. We are about to go on a virtual Oregon Caves tour. Hope you’re ready to climb 527 stairs in the next half mile, mostly up. In order to protect this special place, I will ask you not to touch the cave walls as oils from your skin are left behind and the story of this cave is based on water. Oil and water just don’t mix.

The main entrance of four natural cave entrances
Elijah Davidson discovered the cave in 1874 on a hunting trip when he followed his dog chasing a bear into a dark cave opening. With only six matches he didn’t go far. Yet he ran out of fire and groped his way through the dark exiting the cave several hours later.

Entering Watson’s Grotto

Please watch your head. Is everybody comfortable? I can let you out the gate right now. Otherwise, you’re stuck with me until we reach the 110 exit, about half way through the Oregon Caves tour.

The rock surrounding us is marble which metamorphosed from limestone that was once at the bottom of the ocean. Uplift caused cracks and fractures in the marble which was then dissolved and eroded away by the power of water.

Leaving Watson’s Grotto

We’ll be walking through some of these enlarged fractures.

Petrified Gardens

And discover how water can also decorate a cave. As acidic water from above ground slowly works its way through cracks in the marble it absorbs and carries the mineral calcite. Then when the drop of water enters an air filled passage the carbon dioxide is released into the air, the water falls, and the calcite is deposited. If the water falls slowly the deposit is usually on the ceiling in the form of stalactites (that’s “c” for ceiling). If the water falls rapidly the calcite can be deposited as flowstone or stalagmites (that’s “g” for ground). We’ll see stalagmites further ahead.

At about 60 ft, deepest known Douglas Fir tree root

Enter the Belly of the Whale

An active creek still runs through parts of the cave and flows out the main entrance. This flowing water erodes rock and increases the size of passages. Openings in caves come and go over time changing the dynamics of the creek. This key-hole passage formed because of the change in flow. Evidence is seen by the shelf-like bevels on the walls. Look down into the River Styx to see how it still carves the marble.

Water erosion reveals the true shades-of-gray marble

Dynamite blasted connection tunnel

Yet humans also had a hand in shaping the cave. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps blasted a connecting tunnel between two known cave passages to make touring easier. No more crawling on hands and knees unless desired.

Jack’s Pass once had a bottle-jack sporting some rock fall

We’ll just lip through Jack’s Pass into the Imagination Room.

I call this the “heart” of the cave, Imagination Room

This imaginative heart shape is formed by a combination of mineral and bacteria. Originally named Gnome’s Milk in Germany, it is believed to have curative properties similar to Neosporin.

We’re almost to the next natural cave entrance, or exit if you’re ready to leave. Just up these stairs…

Stairs from Imagination Room

….and through this squeeze.

Originally called “Fat man’s squeeze”

This is called the 110 exit as we have climbed about 110 feet up inside the mountain. Historically, it was referred to as “the ladies entrance” because of the easier and shorter journey deeper into the cave from here. Imagine crawling in long skirts. So you can leave here and walk a gentle quarter mile on paved trail back to the visitor center.

110 exit

Or continue with me deeper into the earth and discover more natural sculpture in part two of the tour.

National Parks and Monuments, Oregon, Oregon Caves National Monument , , , , , 9 Comments

The gypsy life of a seasonal park ranger – Summer 1992

Since 1992 my world has changed about every six months. As a seasonal park ranger I usually work only six months of the year during late spring, summer and early fall. And, I work in some of the most beautiful places in the world, still limited to U.S.A.

Mount Saint Helens National Monument Washington 1992Mount Saint Helens 1992
I started my career as a seasonal park ranger naturalist while attending Western Washington University during the early 1990s after I’d taken a class in Interpretation.  That’s not a foreign language thing, I was interpreting a landscape.  I learned about the natural and cultural history of the area making it possible to share stories with visitors and answer questions.  My internship was a summer at Mount Saint Helens National Monument 12 years after the big eruption.  I was hooked.  What an amazing job to learn, share, meet people from around the world, and live in a beautiful place.  After graduation, I returned for four more summers to share the never ending stories of Mt St. Helens, a landscape in amazing recovery.  I found it almost unbelievable to see the subtle changes that occurred daily.

Spirt Lake Mount Saint Helens National Monument WashingtonSpirit Lake

When the mountain blew on May 18, 1980 I was planning a wedding in Illinois. Where were you?

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Mount Saint Helens, My gypsy life, National Parks and Monuments, Washington , 19 Comments

My office is the Grand Canyon

Ranger Gaelyn Sunset North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

I have the best job ever, my office is the Grand Canyon, and the season is almost over. Winter’s on its way here at the North Rim of Grand Canyon where I’m a seasonal National Park Ranger. This was the first summer at the canyon for me but not the last. I really can’t see myself ever getting tired of looking into the Grand Canyon. It changes subtly every minute, no every second, as the light and shadows play hide and seek in and out of crevices.

This morning I worked the earliest shift, starting at 6:30 roving around the Grand Lodge area and Bright Angel Point trail. Roving means I take a walk, check out the view, and chat with visitors trying to answer their numerous questions about anything from geology to birds, trails to weather, and how far is it to…. This job is impossible to beat. I get paid to learn, share, meet people from around the world and live, breath, eat, sleep, play and work at one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Grand Canyon National Park. Wow!

I’m not a morning person—or typically late night either—so getting up at 4:30am was a struggle. It felt cold outside the covers and Carson, my dog, slept on while I made my ritual morning double-almond-mocha-breve which I like to enjoy for a quiet hour as I write in my journal and listen to NPR. No fashion statement, wardrobe of the day includes the historic Ranger uniform complete with badge and name tag. I’ll add the iconic “flat top” hat once on duty. My toughest choice is what jewelry to wear. I feel naked without some jewelry.  Yet I’m still not happy about the early hour, until…

Morning in the Pines North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

I step out of my truck and the golden sun rays strike the clusters of needles and corky trunks of this Ponderosa Pine forest. It’s magic. And I haven’t even looked into the canyon yet. So I hurriedly done my hat, zip up both layers of OD-green, grab my backpack and skip 50 yards to the rim of Roaring Springs Canyon to be bathed in the warmth of another sunrise. I’ve heard it said that Rangers get paid in sunsets, yet sunrises are like overtime.

And so I move on to my next duty of the day, a nature walk, leading 11 enthusiastic visitors through the forest for an hour and a half. I talked about the various natural communities that can be experienced, a desert and riparian by hiking into the bottom of the mile deep canyon—14 miles from the north rim—meadows driven through on the way into the park. We got to know the Ponderosa Pine by touch and smell, and yes, there was a little tree hugging going on as well. What a contrast between rough textured bark and its sweet aroma that some describe as vanilla or butterscotch. We also searched for fossils in a rock pile along the trail while enjoying the gentle rattle of leaves from the now golden Quaking Aspen. A delightful morning so far, yet just a little sad, as this is the last nature walk I’ll lead this season.

Then on to the visitor center for awhile. I remembered to bring Shirley’s birthday present, only five days late. I made her a necklace with jasper, serpentine and seed beads over the weekend and my days off. She loves it and instantly put it on. Shirley also makes beautiful jewelry and we’ve been working on a bead trade most of the summer. Guess we better wrap it up, as my season is almost over.

I finished my work day talking about how the endangered California condor has faced many threats yet defied extinction and is on the way to recovery because people cared. And the people there did care. In fact just about everybody who comes to the canyon does care, and they appreciate what a beautiful, beyond words place, Grand Canyon is. This was the last condor talk I’ll give this season.

View south from Point Imperial North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Yet because I too care and love this amazing place I will return and continue learning about the condors plus the geology, plants and animals, and the cultural history which abounds here. Am I a little sad that my season ends Oct 15th, you bet. But the canyon isn’t going anywhere so I’ll return to the best job ever next summer. And I do look forward to my off season, when I move my RV further south for the winter.

Welcome to my summer world.

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Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, National Parks and Monuments 10 Comments

Lijit

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