Kings Canyon National Park, California

One of our favorite spots in the world is Kings Canyon National Park in California.  The beauty has held it’s spell on us for what feels like forever.  Don and I spent part of our honeymoon in Kings.  We were lucky and landed jobs at Boyden Cavern in the canyon on our honeymoon.  The first seven months of our marriage we worked there as cave naturalists.  Living in the forest, we really got to know the area.  We have gone back almost every year to visit the canyon.  Our kids Dani and Josh have grown up seeing the many sights the park has to offer.  It’s like a second home to us.

The Zumwalt Meadows trail located towards the Roads End in Kings Canyon offers some of the most glorious views.  The beauty is immediately enjoyable, from the parking lot overlooking the Kings River surrounded by marble and granite cliffs.  Get out of your car and head along the right side of the river.  Play close attention to the right side and you will see some grave sites.  Head over to the bridge to begin this easy one and a half mile trail that follows the river to the edge of the cliffs to the meadow and back to the forest.

We, the DeLucia’s have seen Zumwalt Meadows in many forms of weather.  One of the most captivating was our last trip there right before the roads closed for the season in late November to late April.  Having lived in Southern California all our lives we wanted to experience the essence of Fall and the legendary colors of the leaves.  Our family knew what to expect, but we were all still blown away by the beauty.  The vibrancy was amazing, equivalent to nature’s own fireworks display in textures, colors and patterns.  And we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves.

We continued our trip to Knapp’s Cabin and took the obligatory photo opp with the kids.  Don and I figure if we put those years of photos together, we’d have a photo montage of the kids growing up.  Something to think about, insert mental note here.

Of course we had to visit the caves along the way.  And we saw the wildlife we have grown accustomed to seeing.  But what we didn’t plan on, and it has come into play before, was a flat tire we got on the steep canyon road.  Fixing the problem at hand, we all had to admit that it was a positive to work in such spectacular scenery.  Flat tires and being cavers just seem to go together we have learned.

Our next stop proved to be even bigger.  We planned to end our trip venturing into major tree territory, to see the giant Sequoia trees.  These majestic wonders resemble melted candles and can give one a stiff neck peering up too long to awe at their magnitude.  The Sequoia trees can measure up to 300 feet in height and are the largest living trees on earth.  The reddish brown bark can measure up to four feet deep and is fire repellent.  The age of the Giant Sequoia trees are believed to be more than 2,000 years old.

We invite you to join us on our hike of Zumwalt Meadows, waterfalls, poking our heads into small caves, visiting the biggest trees in the world, and the most impressive colored leaves we’ve seen.  It’s just another one of our adventures where we like to go “OutDoors And not…”  Guaranteed you’ll have a good time, any and every time.

Let’s go!

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park is a surprise of a gem tucked away in the desert 50+ miles from Las Vegas, Nevada.  Here you will find a variety of natural wonders including petroglyphs, petrified logs, Rainbow Vista, Seven Sisters, White Domes, Arch Rock, Atlatl Rock, and the Beehives.  Valley of Fire was named for its vivid red sandstone uplifted 150 million years ago.  Temperatures are usually mild, but can go from freezing in winter usually without snow, up to 120 degrees in the summer.

The first inhabitants were the Basket Maker Indians beginning 300 B.C. followed by the Anasazi Indians who farmed the area to 1150 A.D.  These ancient occupants loved to draw and left behind stunning petroglyphs sprinkled all over the red sandstone walls which are amazing to see today.  Don, Dani, Josh and I, enjoyed a long walk through the canyon and climbed the walls for exercise and found petroglyphs and watering holes.

If you are not into hiking up canyons, there are other fine features in the park such as Atlatl Rock that you can drive right up to and it has its own campground.  Near there is a two mile loop drive that goes to to Arch Rock and Piano Rock along with impressive valley views.  The Beehives are unusual formations carved by wind, water and time.

There are also petrified logs survived from an ancient forest and located in two places in the park.  If you like grand views you will want to see Rainbow Vista named for the colored sandstone view.  The ultimate in red rock formations can easily be seen at Seven Sisters, while White Domes offer an impressive bright contrast in sandstone.

Walking through Valley of Fire is like hitting the jackpot in geological terms, and you didn’t even have to go to Vegas to find it.

Fee:  $6 Entry, $14 Entry/Camping

Let’s go!

Groaning Cave, Colorado

Before I got married, the only reason I visited Colorado was for the snow skiing. Now I know there’s much more to this mountainous state, and for me it’s for the underground. Picture this, the most beautiful hiking country… that also leads to an impressive wild cave named Groaning Cave.

Don and I were there for a caving regional and excited to see Groaning, the longest cave in Colorado. The cave at that time was surveyed at six and one-half miles and protected by the U.S. Forest Service.  To enter the cave we had to get a permit and sign a waiver of liability.

Groaning is a phreatic cave meaning it was made by solutioned water under the static water table.  In speleogenesis, phreatic action forms cave passages by dissolving the limestone or marble via the cracks or joints in the rock in all directions.  So in other words the cave passages were carved underwater.  The action left behind passages resembling a grid that makes it easy to get turned around.   It’s a high altitude maze that is confusing and easy to get lost in.

The cave was discovered in 1968 and was officially surveyed in 1975.  By 1995 it had 8.8 miles of surveyed passages.  On the 2010 World’s Longest Cave List, Groaning Cave came in at number 242 with a total surveyed length of 11.15 miles/17951 meters and a depth of 149 feet/45.4 meters.  The cave sits at an elevation of  9800 feet and has a temperature of 38 to 42 degrees.

The flowers on our hike to the cave were incredible with my favorites, Columbines in purples and yellows, all growing wild on the mountains. I was in Heaven before we even ventured into the cave, our reason for the trip.  Of course living at sea level and hiking in the high country makes for a more difficult climb while trying to catch my breath.  But there is something to breathing all that fresh mountain air that can rejuvenate the body and spirit.

A Colorado caver who knew the cave well led the trip for us.  We got to see the highly decorated rooms that are filled with gypsum and dripstone passages. The names of these rooms are descriptive:  Serenity Hall, White Forest, the Black Cathedral, Snowball Hall and the Land of the Inverted Mushrooms located in the farthest reaches of the cave.  Groaning then was mostly a horizontal cave with the largest room the Shattered Hall requiring a 28-foot rope drop to get to the farthest reaches.  The cave has since been pushed many more miles as evident by the longest caves list.

Let’s go!

DeLucia continues caving tradition

By Kelsey Chung

Reprinted from “The Anchor,” January 15, 2010

Her heart beat loudly under her shirt as she stretched her body and hand out to the small foot hole in the wall.

In her mind she questioned herself, “can I seriously do this?”  Her dad was tiptoeing to hold his daughter’s foot while she reached for the hole.

It was obvious that it was too far of a reach when she grasped the little ledge.

Half dangling in midair and her body stretched out diagonally, her heart dropped when she lost her grasp on the wet, slippery rocks and started to slip down.

Without any harnesses to secure her or a helmet to protect her, she slid down four feet into the unknown and fell on her butt.

Unhurt, she laughed as she stood up from the wet and dirty rocks.

Although it may sound like a nightmare for some people, for Senior Daniella DeLucia, this was just one of her many trips to caves.

Spelunking, or caving, is exploring caves and the different rock formations and crystals that are made in the caves.

“It’s like walking into a mine but one that is made by nature,” DeLucia said.

After her parents married and became passionate about caving, caving has been part of DeLucia’s life even before her birth.

“I started caving basically before I was born.  My mom actually led an expedition when she was pregnant.  Everyone told her that she was crazy but she still did it.  I first went in when I was three weeks old,” DeLucia said.

Caving for DeLucia has become more than an unusual hobby.

“Once I started, I was like ‘Whoa! Cool!’ but now it’s more like when my parents talk about really hard caves, I want to go because it’s a challenge to do it and it feels pretty amazing when you come out of a challenging cave,” DeLucia said.

For DeLucia, caving offers her the challenge and excitement she needs in her life.

“I love the excitement and thrill of it; and the mystery of not knowing what’s in each cave.  Every cave is different.  Some are just walk throughs but some have big drops and you have to crawl around,” DeLucia said.  “Most of the time, I’m excited but I do get nervous when there are drops.

Caving also shows the many natural wonders of the world.

“My favorite place is Church Cave because it’s really pretty.  Inside, there’s a part called the Cathedral Room.  It’s like a big granite room.  And in the middle of it, there is an alter looking thing that shines and sparkles.  And it’s all nature made,” DeLucia said.

Although caving offers beautiful scenery, the nature made caves can also be a dangerous place.

It’s definitely a hobby but it’s also one of those things that I’m serious about.  You always have to think and you have to be serious about it because you could not come out from a cave because of one bad move,” DeLucia said.  “It’s dangerous because there are sharp rocks everywhere and if a rock from above fell, it could bring you down and you could fall.  You always have to be alert and aware of your surroundings,” DeLucia said.

Because of the dangers, the buddy system is required when caving and communication is critical in case of an emergency.

“You have to respond to other people.  My dad’s thumb was crushed one time because the person above him failed to warn him that a rock was falling,” DeLucia said.

DeLucia’s family try to plan at least 2-3 trips every year.  Although it is possible to sleep overnight in some caves, their trips are mostly one day long.

“I hope that I continue to do this when I’m older.  When I have family someday, I would want them to be involved in it too,” DeLucia said.  “The beauty and challenge of caving is just amazing and also humbling knowing that nature created this stuff.”

Mount St. Helens National Monument, Washington

On March 20, 1980 a 4.1 magnitude earthquake shook the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington, sending a plumb of ash 7,000 feet high.  The eruption was so intense the blast was heard from as far away as Vancouver, Canada and Redding, California, and set off a wave of volcanic activity that lasted for months. Trees were blown down, strewn haphazardly all over the mountain, and forever changed the landscape, that has yet to recover.

By the end of April Mount  St. Helens, a once perfectly shaped volcano, now had a one mile long and half mile wide bulge that was 320 feet high.  Debris avalanches fell half a mile down the mountainside.

Another eruption on May 18, 1980 sent pumice and ash northward into the valley below and caused 57 fatalities, including a U.S. Geological Survey scientist.  It was one of the largest ever recorded.  Satellite images show the 1980 eruptions blast zone affected 230 square miles of forest.  Old trees were ripped out by the 650-mile per hour blast leaving splintered remnants behind resembling toothpicks littering the mountainside.  At the base of the volcano is the ash that was deposited more than three feet from the 15-mile high eruption plume that lasted nine hours killing all vegetation for 100 miles.

Thirty years later the ash covering the mountain that once stripped all life now benefits the land by serving as mulch in the harsh blast zone and aiding foliage recovery and growth.  Trees and colored flowers now fill the open landscape, demonstrating the eventual transformation to normalcy in the pumice filled forest.  Prairie lupine and Lodgepole pines now dot the land.

We went there two years ago and you could still see an occasional puff of smoke from Mount St. Helens.  Though now passive and quiet, the volcano is not shy to show she is still very much alive.  Follow us, the DeLucia’s, as we tour Mount St. Helens Volcanic National Monument.

Let’s go !

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

If Indian ruins are interesting and exciting to you then plan to visit Chaco Canyon in New Mexico.   During the middle 800s the Chacoan people began building the great ceremonial houses of Chaco Canyon and this lasted for the next 300 years.  These buildings were planned out from the inception, rather than adding on to existing buildings as was the past way of construction.  The buildings were made to be aligned with either the sun or moon and by 1050 Chaco had become the ceremonial center of the San Juan Basin with these buildings housing up to 3000 people in the large ceremonial kivas.

The great buildings of Chaco Canyon included Pueblo Bonito, Una Vida, and Penasco Blanco.  In time Hungo Pavi, Chetro Ketl, Pueblo Alto and other structures were added to the growing number of ceremonial buildings.  The largest, Pueblo Bonito held four story buildings with 700 rooms and was the size of the roman coliseum.  It seems that all of the separate sites were connected by roads to more than 150 other great sites in the surrounding area.  This open path created the roads that the religious migrations took to get the area  As the landscape was between sacred mountain sites and mesas, Chaco Canyon was a place of deep spiritual meaning for the past inhabitants which is still evident today with the remaining ancestors.

Chaco Canyon descendants believe the pueblo was a special ceremonial gathering place for all the local clans people to share cultural traditions and knowledge rather than a farming community which housed people.  Chaco was central to the Navajos who flourished in the complexity of its community and created a ceremonial main hub unlike any other even to this day.

By 1100-1200 construction began to slow at Chaco Canyon.  The region was shifting and Chaco’s influence spread to Mesa Verde, Aztec, and the Chuska Mountains’s centers as the people also migrated away from the great Pueblo.  Eventually the Chacoan Indian ways were incorporated with other cultures.  The descendants of was once the prominent Pueblo in the vicinity merged to become the modern Southwest Indians of today.  Chaco Canyon to them is a sacred and spiritual place to be respected and honored as among one of the most important recorded archaeological sites with nearly 4,000 ruins in the park.

Chaco Canyon is located at an elevation of 6,000 to 6,800 feet in a semi-arid desert in the southeast edge of the Colorado Plateau.  The park gets an average of 9.1 inches of rain a year.  Human occupation in the area spans 7000 years with the Chacoan Indians.  Artifacts found in Chaco are among the largest collections in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Chaco Collections at the University of New Mexico.  These collections reveal the average height of the Chocoan man was 5 feet, 5 inches, evidence gained from the smaller doorways.  The small doors also allowed for more stable heating, as a slab over the door works effectively to keep the warmth in.  This was also a great defensive measure.  Research indicates the timbers apparently came from 60-70 miles away to build the great pueblos of Chaco Canyon.

The history, great pueblos, and beautiful landscape all add up to a wonderful adventure awaiting you at Chaco Canyon.

Let’s go!

Wupatki National Monument, Arizona

Wupatki National Monument in Arizona is one of those places where you can easily lose your frame of time walking among what is left of the once largest Pueblo from nearly 800 years ago.  Located on the Colorado Plateau, Wupatki was known as the meeting place for several Native American Indian cultures.  Even then, this area was dry and very warm making it not the most comfortable environment for living or growing crops for food.

To this day, no one knows why Wupatki flourished despite the harsher conditions of the land.  But it did, and that could be one of the reasons why the ancient Pueblo survives today.  Visiting the national monument is a joy to reconnect with the old ways of life.  It is also a great way to delve within your inner self, as this monument is the least traveled and easy to lose yourself in the past as you walk along quietly, usually only with your own group as company.  That is what makes visiting Wupatki so special to our family.  We love to feel as if we’re the only ones out there and that can happen at Wupatki, even in 2010.

The hikes are easy.  It is only a ½ mile round trip to see the largest pueblo in the park which is named Wupatki Pueblo.  Records indicate that about 100 people lived in Wupatki Pueblo around 1182.  Then it was the largest building within 50 miles.  The thousands of people who lived in the vicinity at that time, had a day’s walk to get to the pueblo.  The stories of the Wupatki Pueblo are passed on among the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and other tribes who understand the importance of remembering and sharing the history of their generations.  Hopi Indians believe the people who lived and died at Wupatki remain as spiritual guardians.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona/Utah

A place that is sure to leave a lasting impression on your soul is Monument Valley located on the border of Arizona and Utah in the U.S.A.  That could be the reason this place is the most used for filming movies on location.  The beauty is stark, dramatic and so riveting it’s hard to take your eyes off of the splendid nature in front you of you spanning 360 degrees.  If Mother Nature had indeed created her own art gallery, it would be the impressive sandstone monoliths sprawling in every direction in Monument Valley.

Our family recently went to Monument Valley to celebrate the beauty of life.  Don and I wanted to share this special place with our children Dani and Josh now that they are older and more aware of the emotional ties that make us who we are today.  I lost my oldest sister a few years ago.  When her husband told me that Monument Valley was their favorite place in the whole world, it made me want to see the red cliffs even more.  I knew then that just standing among the beauty of the valley would make me feel a bit closer to her spirit.  And that thought alone made my own spirit soar as we traveled.  I just couldn’t wait to get there again.

Monument Valley is a special place.  The quiet is so still there you can actually hear it within your own beating heart.  The valley is infused with the rich traditions and tranquility that personifies the Navajo Indian spirit.  Driving in the Monument Valley Tribal Park gives you the flavor of what the Navajo way of life was in the past and up to the present.  The Navajos have seamlessly bridged and preserved their old ways with the new ways without losing their rich cultural traditions.

The park has a visitor center, campground, restaurant and a lodge.  There is a $20 entry fee to take the 14 mile graded loop drive which takes you to the famous monoliths:  the Mittens, Totem Pole, and the Yei Bi Chai among others.  These are the ones that have become the landmarks of the area and highly recognizable from movies, TV shows and commercials.

As you drive keep a good look out for the livestock.  The Navajos who still live in the monument and have for generations, raise sheep who graze in the open lands.  The Navajo way of life is preserved and sheep wool is spun and woven into native rugs which are sold in the valley and in surrounding stores.   The weavers raise the sheep and sear, wash and spin the wool in the traditional ways of their old cultural ancestors who passed on the methods through the generations to preserve the art.  It is not uncommon to see a weaver sitting on the floor in front of a Navajo log loom as they spin their tradition.  This is most exciting to see near a Hogan, the ancient Navajo dwelling, which are still used for living in the valley.

Our family loves to visit Monument Valley and see the rich ways of the Navajo life.  The sandstone orange and red hues are vivid any time of day and make for spectacular photos.  If you are ever in the valley, we hope you will stop and visit the Monument Valley Trading Post.  We are proud to say our “OutDoors And not…Arizona” travel DVD is on sale there and your purchase helps the Navajo way of life endure.  As the Navajo people perceive their homeland, this strong spiritual belief in the land of Monument Valley requires that Mother Earth be treated with the deepest respect.

Let’s go!

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Did you know where the seventh deepest lake in the world can be found?  That would be in the state of Oregon in the U.S.A. with Crater Lake, the deepest in the nation.  Measuring 1,943 feet deep, and at  100 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, Crater Lake is located in Southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Mountains.

Crater Lake was not formed due to a meteor as many believed.  The lake lies inside a caldera, or volcanic basin, on the once 12,000 foot Mount Mazama which collapsed 7,700 years ago after an eruption.  In time large amounts of winter snow melt (up to 533 inches a year) filled up the caldera and formed a deep blue lake of fresh water.  The lake has no inlets or outlets.  Its water provided purely from nature is among the clearest found anywhere in the world.

The reason for the beautiful cobalt blue color of Crater Lake is the purity of its water molecules.  Water molecules with no sediments, algae, pesticides or pollution, will absorb all the colors in the light spectrum, except the blues.  Those wavelengths bounce back and give the lake water its gorgeous deep blue hue.  It takes lots of pure water to get this effect, for there has to be enough water molecules to absorb all the other colors.  Crater Lake has 4.6 trillion gallons of water, making this possible, and proving the point well.

Due to its deepness the lake rarely freezes over in the winter.  A 95% freeze occurred in 1985 and the only known complete surface freeze was in 1949.  This area in Southern Oregon rarely gets cold enough to freeze water of that depth.  You would think that a lake that doesn’t freeze over would naturally be filled with native fish.  That is not the concept with Crater Lake where six species of fish including Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon were introduced between  1888-1941.  Because the lake was stocked with non native fish, means fishing is encouraged and there is no limit, but you must use artificial bait.  Fishing is allowed on the shore and on Wizard Island.

Animals are rare to spot but are there at the lake, including Roosevelt Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Coyote, Bobcat, Porcupine, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Pine Marten, Snowshoe Hare, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, and the Townsend Chipmunk.  In the summer Bald Eagles have been seen, especially near Wizard Island.

In 1902, legislation was set forth to dedicate Crater Lake as a National Park to preserve and protect its natural state for all future generations to enjoy.  The National Park Service manages the park resources to this day.  Crater Lake is a nice way to spend the afternoon.  If you are ever in Southern Oregon, make sure to plan a visit.  You can then say you’ve seen the deepest lake in America.

Let’s go!

Echo Canyon and Inyo Mine, Death Valley, California

It’s now 2010 and only 105 years since the inception of the Inyo Mine in Echo Canyon of Death Valley National Park, California.  In January 1905, two prospectors named Maroni Hicks and Chet Leavitt made the mine discovery in Echo Canyon.  By March the two men returned loaded with provisions and took out more claims in the area.  In May the men had twenty claims and began to dig a tunnel in June on one of them.  By summer the Hick and Leavitt property was the most prominent and talked about in the Echo-Lee District.

Hicks and Leavitt were able to convince investors to go in on their purchase of the Inyo Mine.  The capitalists were interested and by August nine of their 20 claims were bonded to Mr. Tasker L. Oddie for $150,000 and Mr. Charles Schwab for the remainder for $100,000.  The arrangement was for Mr. Schwab to pay the prospectors $5,000 on September 1^st, if he was to move forward with the purchase of the gold mine.  Mr. Oddie was to pay $5,000 on December 1^st with the remainder paid in one year.

Schwab never did pay his portion and never tried to develop any plans.  Mr. Oddie did move forward and his men began working the Inyo Mine.  The men soon developed a deep shaft that went 50 feet down.  The farther down the miners went in the mine the more ambitious their plans grew.  Talk began of the development of a mill with a tramway and electrical power plant to cut off the presently used 35 mile drive to Rhyolite, Nevada.  The present road was so winding, Mr. Oddie highly considered constructing the new wagon road to Rhyolite even at a cost of $1,500.  The road never materialized when Mr. Oddie let his option expire in November due to a misunderstanding of the terms.

The Inyo Mine claims were then bonded to two Colorado capitalists for a payment of $10,000 to be paid upfront with the balance of $140,000 due later that year.  The deal was never sealed when the Colorado men were unable to raise the cash or refused to move forward in their option.

The Inyo Gold Mining Company was sold in December to Utah promoters L. Holbrook and associates.  The company sold stock for $1 each, with a capitalization of $1,000,000.  By March the mine was 100 feet deep and employed nine men.  Chet Leavitt retained his interests in the mine and served as VP of the company, and directed the mining operations.

By June, the Rhyolite Herald newspaper hailed a big gold strike at the Inyo Mine.  When the blistering heat of the summer months set in, virtually all mining work ceased at the mine when temps could rise as high as 120 degrees.  By 1906 no shipments were made when work progressed slowly although a new 73 foot shaft was completed.

When the mine reopened in 1907 three new shafts at depths of 100, 73 and 30 feet had been tunneled out.  Chet Leavitt was still working the mine directing all operations as superintendent.  By February 20 men were working the mine.  A commissary store was in the works.  Water was now hauled 8 miles away from Furnace Creek.  The town kept growing to support the growing number of miners working the Inyo Gold Mine.  A new boarding house and commissary for groceries was built.  The local newspapers wrote about the boom in the new gold fields along the Nevada-California border.  The town continued to grow until the Panic of 1907 set in and forced the Inyo Gold Mine into bankruptcy.

We were just at the Inyo Gold Mine in late 2009.  It is interesting to see that a little over one hundred years later, we as a nation, are in another financial crisis.  Guess it’s true that history does repeat itself.  Regardless of whether you know the history of Inyo Mine or not, it’s still worth a visit.  But be forewarned, the road is bumpy and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle.

Let’s go!