http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php Copyright 2012, Tim Deady Tim Deady en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.7.1 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090901-101257
I spend a lot of time in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but since I'm usually up there on Michigan Karst Conservancy business, I don't get much time to just look around and have fun. I mean, I usually have fun, but it's usually in the same places over and over again. I figured this first mini-vacation would be a good time to see more of the U.P.

One of the places I'd heard a lot about but never had the time to check out is Drummond Island. I'd kept hearing about the great offroad opportunities there, and it's really not too far from MKC's Fiborn Preserve, a little over an hour maybe, but it is an island and the ferry trip has always been a point of contention for me, so I'd never bothered to go there before.



Fossil Ridge
As it turns out, the ferry was fairly cheap ($12 for vehicle and 1 person), and the ride went quick. After only about five minutes or so, I found myself driving my jeep off the ferry and onto the island. Cool.

In anticipation of our stay, I'd rented a cabin for our two nights on the island, and my brother Kevin, along with our friend Jim, went directly over to settle in before heading out on the trail. It was decent as cabins go - three bedrooms, full kitchen, and partial bath (no shower) - but it was also rustic: dead flies on the floor and funny smell rustic. No matter, after sweeping the flies up and opening the windows the cabin proved quite comfortable.

After settling in, we decided to do some trail riding. We didn't have a specific destination in mind at this point, but eventually we wound our way up to Fossil Ridge. There are some pretty interesting limestone ridges up there, and of course lots of fossils. Some of the ledges project out into the water, so if you don't mind getting your feet wet, it's worth a walk out there. The one I examined slowly got deeper, to about four feet, before dropping straight down about another ten or so. Very interesting. I'll have to bring a mask and snorkel next time.



On the tee at The Rock
The next day, we got up early and went over to The Rock - one of the two golf courses on the island. One of my many loves is golf, so I was looking forward to this. I'm new to the game - just started last year - but I understand now why so many people are obsessed with it. Since the first time I picked up a club, I've worked hard to improve my game. I've come a long way in two seasons of golf, and I'm proud to say I no longer go through an entire box of balls in the course of 18 holes.

I'd been looking forward to The Rock, and it was no disappointment: Remote and scenic fairways, deer frolicking in the rough, trees and rocks on either side, and some nice greens at the end - I had a lot of fun.

I also nearly broke even on the ball count.



On the trail
Later that day, Kevin and I decided to head out to do some serious offroading while Jim went off on an obligatory souvenir hunt to get gifts for the family. Kevin and I worked our way over to the east side of the island, with our eventual target being Marble Head.

Most of the trails on the way in were easy, just very bumpy. We stopped at Glen Cove briefly to look around, then headed south to some tougher trails.



The cliffs at Marble Head
The way in to Marble Head was mostly just bumpy, but then we got to the stair-steps. Kevin and I took a few minutes to look at the obstacle, and we determinied I might be able to get down it with my stock Rubicon Unlimited. My Unlimited has a longer wheelebase than my brother's normal Rubicon, so we were worried I would catch my skidplate on the way down.

That's exactly what happened.

I had no trouble backing out of the obstacle, but it was obvious (short of piling up rocks, which we were too lazy to do) I wouldn't be riding my Jeep down it that day. I walked down to the bottom of the steps so I could spot Kevin on the way down, and also to take pictures. He had no trouble, of course, with the tighter breakover angle and slightly oversized tires on his Jeep.

Once down, we headed over towards the cliffs. We had to park only a little of the way down the trail however, as there was a sign forbidding motorized vehicles beyond that point, but it was only a short walk to the cliffs from there and the view was well worth the effort.

On the way back to the cabin, we decided to try a different trail on the way out. This one started out merely bumpy, too, but soon worked it's way up to muddy. Soon after, it was muddy with ruts, then muddy with holes. This was a lot of fun, but it was getting late, and neither of us wanted to do an extraction in the dark, so we cut our losses and turned around to head back the way we came in.

Of course, with that trail left unexplored, there's even more reason for me to come back next time.

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Pics and movies here.]]> Jeep http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090901-101257 Tim Deady Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:12:57 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=09&entry=entry090901-101257 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090409-201629

Looking up at Kevin from the mouth of the Hendrie River Water Cave

Well, I missed the 5th Annual MIG Snowshoe Trip due to job obligations. Unhappy, but determined, I started planning my own trip. In the end, Jim, Kevin, and I trekked up to the U.P. on February 28th to trudge through the snow in the Fiborn Karst Preserve.



A very slight time exposure with a flash fill.

We arrived at Fiborn to find some pretty deep snow. Fortunately, the road into the preserve had been plowed, so we were easily able to get to the parking area. From there the plan was to head to the cave to check for ice formations, with me breaking trail with my snowshoes so that those un-snowshoe-shod members of the group stood a chance of following.



Just a few of the spectacular formations we found this year.

Once reaching the cave entrance, I took off my snowshoes, and stepped off the trail. It was then I found out just how deep the snow really was, when I sank in up to my hips. We were still able to reach the cave entrance, however, and spent the next hour or so photographing and examining some fantastic formations of ice.

Well worth the effort, we hope to come back next year.

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More pics
here. ]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090409-201629 Tim Deady Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:16:29 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=04&entry=entry090409-201629 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090306-132120

Cut River Road



Early morning frost



A view from the Bay View Inn


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More pics here.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090306-132120 Tim Deady Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:21:20 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=03&entry=entry090306-132120 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090305-213626 thousand cavers get together in West Virginia around Labor day to cave and party (though not necessarily at the same time). I usually cave on the first day of the event, then have fun the rest of the time (it's no fun caving with a hangover).


Two dedicated members of the Brew Crew. This year's theme was "Pirates" - Arrrr!

In addition to enjoying the normal festivities at OTR, my friends and I have a tradition of doing something special each year. It usually involves sight-seeing or something along those lines, and this time we decided to check out the Green Bank National Radio Observatory.


The big dish at GBNRO

Now, you may think that since it sounds educational, a trip to GBNRO would be boring, right? However, like I've said before, I have an appreciation for no-nonsense engineering. If you also add to that the fact that I'm an Amateur Radio Operator, you can understand why I was in geek heaven.


Hmm

Being that this place is a radio observatory, the whole area was a "quiet" zone. I found it interesting that the entire visitor's center was essentially designed to be one big Faraday cage.


A rare shot of yours truly

Outside of the visitor's center, in the direction of the radio telescopes, there was a line beyond which we weren't allowed to use electronic items - like a digital camera. On the plus side we were chauffeured on a nice tour of the telescopes in a small diesel powered bus (no spark plugs), but unfortunately I wasn't able to get any close up pics with my digital camera. Still, even the far away ones look pretty neat.

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More pics here.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090305-213626 Tim Deady Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:36:26 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=03&entry=entry090305-213626 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090304-221945
The 2008 convention was held in Florida, and it wasn't a disappointment.


The campers seemed to favor this shade tree

Granted, the weather was hot, and it rained a lot, but I still had a chance to check out some interesting sights.


This is a Banana Spider. Named such, I suspect, since it looks to be large enough to take down a small gorilla.

Aside from the normal NSS sessions, vendors, and related events, there were a number of nature preserves, sinkholes, and springs to check out.


One of many wonderful springs in Florida

I always love swimming, snorkeling, or scuba diving in springs. The water is so crystal clear it messes with your perceptions. What looks 5 feet away might really be 30 feet away...

Of course, this is sometimes a cause for concern, such as when you're wearing loose fitting swim trunks, and you're not really sure just how big that snapping turtle below you is...


The business end of the most powerful machine ever built


There's always some great places to visit when you go to a convention, and this year was of course no exception. One place I'd wanted to see for a long time was the Kennedy Space Center. I'd visited once about 15 years ago, but it never gets old, so I was thrilled to visit there again. There's something about "no nonsense engineering" that's always attracted me, and I certainly wasn't disappointed this time. You don't get much more no nonsense than a Saturn V.

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More pics here.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090304-221945 Tim Deady Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:19:45 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=03&entry=entry090304-221945 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090304-170945

For those who want to get up close and personal, there is a barge-like self-powered observation raft available with a glass bottom that provides a fantastic view of the spring from directly above.


About 15 minutes north of US2 near Thompson, Michigan, this very scenic spring is well worth a look-see.

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More info here.

More pics here.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090304-170945 Tim Deady Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:09:45 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=03&entry=entry090304-170945 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090224-162648


Fayette is an historic park, with many well preserved buildings at the townsite, and a protected harbor open to the public. The town was founded by the Jackson Iron Company in the late 1860's for the sole purpose of facilitating the smelting of iron from ore mined nearby.



The natural scenery is fantastic, the man made scenery is in incredibly good shape, and the place lends itself to other activities besides just walking around and taking pictures. Kayaking, scuba diving, and hiking come to mind. Camping is also available, and swimming is an option too (though I'd pick late summer, when Lake Michigan is at it's warmest).

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More pics.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090224-162648 Tim Deady Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:26:48 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=09&m=02&entry=entry090224-162648 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081124-114548

That's the top of a trash can, poking up through the snow.

... Where the snow was also waist high.



... but we found some interesting formations here too, due in large part to the influence of the falls.



And, for those of you who don't know yet, there's a Micro-Brewery at the falls - aptly named the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub. After a hike around the (deep) snow covered trails at Tahquamenon, we stopped by the pub for dinner.

So it wasn't a wasted trip after all: Interesting sights, good food, good beer, and deep fried pickles. Mmm.

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More pics here.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081124-114548 Tim Deady Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:45:48 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081124-114548 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080506-173921
After two days of sleep deprivation, chronic shivering, and fun but - to my out of shape body - sometimes hard caving in Wind Cave, I needed a break. I think I could have handled the caving by itself, but adding the cold and lack of sleep (especially the lack of sleep - darn cots were uncomfortable) took it's toll. On Saturday I threw in the towel, and decided to go sight-seeing instead of spend 12 more hours in the cave.


The Big Heads
As I mentioned before, Andy talked me into checking out Jewel Cave, so I hopped in the car and started heading in that direction. I had several hours to kill though, so after getting some lunch, I decided to check out Mount Rushmore, and just generally drive around and look at the scenery.



Something neat in Jewel Cave
After a couple hours of great scenery, I aimed myself at Jewel Cave. Once there, I got in line with the other tourists, and soon I was listening to the guide giving his Introduction to Caves speech and asking questions along the following lines (to paraphrase):

"Has anyone been in a cave before?"

Most of us raised our hands.

"Has anyone been on a non-guided trip into a cave before?"

Some of us raised our hands.

"Has anyone ever been the first person to explore a newly discovered cave before?"

I alone raised my hand... and everybody turned to look at me. I didn't know whether to feel smug or embarrassed. I guess I was a little of both. Felt good though. :)

Anyway, I kept my mouth shut through most of the trip, and the guide did an excellent job introducing everyone to the wonders of the cave environment. Everyone seemed to enjoy their 90 minutes in the cave, and, since there's no such thing as a bad cave in my book, I had a good time too.



And, by the way, I just had to chuckle when the guide, at the beginning of the trip, warned everybody that this was going to be a "very strenuous 90 minute trip, up and down several flights of stairs"...

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Note: My venerable and very well used caving camera - a Sony Cybershot - managed to damage itself just before I headed out to South Dakota. Of course, it had a little help from below freezing temperatures, and the fact I'd left it in my Jeep overnight. The LCD display cracked, and consequently caused me to have to guess at camera settings during this whole trip. Still a few of the pics came out pretty good. You can find them here.]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080506-173921 Tim Deady Tue, 06 May 2008 21:39:21 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=05&entry=entry080506-173921 http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080403-161929
At the start of the trip, Chris Amidon picked me up at my house Tuesday morning, and we drove to Minneapolis to stay at Neal's place for the night. In the morning, the three of us hit the road again, to arrive at Wind Cave National Park early that evening. Chris then went to the airport to pick up his brother, Eric.


Looking back at the elevator entrance to Wind Cave. This looks strangely out of place.
During our stay, we bunked in the VIP center, which is just across the road from the cave's main entrance. The VIP center has one large room where you can set up cots, two bathrooms, several showers, and a kitchen. It also has a furnace, but this didn't really work the first two nights we were there. It seems I was the most susceptible to the cold - waking up miserable each morning - but everyone agreed the furnace wasn't doing it's job, so on the third night Eric and I decided to take a look at it. Eric right away discovered that the air filter was clogged with cave dust. Remember, we were in a bunkhouse for cavers - no matter how clean and conscientious everyone tried to be things were still going to get dirty. Groups of cavers stay in the VIP center on a regular basis so, even with regular cleanings, this quickly takes it's toll on the furnace. It's just a fact of life. We replaced the filter, and the furnace started to kick out out some favorable BTUs - for about the next day or so...


There's got to be a story here...
Back to caving: The plan was for two 6 to 8 hour resurvey trips in known passage, Thursday and Friday respectively, then a twelve hour survey trip in more remote passage on Saturday. I felt lousy Thursday morning, from cold and lack of sleep, but was looking forward to the trip - if only to get warmed up from the exertion. We took the elevator into the cave, then set out down a tourist trail. Shortly, Chris steered us off the trail and into the cave proper. This was my first trip into Wind Cave, and I was impressed by how maze-like it was. There were leads heading every which way, and it didn't take long before I lost my sense of direction. I made sure I stayed with the group.




After maybe 45 minutes, we were in our survey area. We spent the next 6 hours surveying and taking inventory of notable karst features, with a break for lunch somewere in there. On our way out, I tried to look for familiar passage, but the cave had the better of me.


Eric looks happy.
The next day, Friday, I again woke up miserable. Because I was also out of shape, I had a little less energy for the day's trip. Things went well, however, and we got a fair amount accomplished. I was definitely starting to run out of gas though, and for the rest of that day and on into Saturday I had an exertion headache.


"Al McDonald Discoverer -----> January 8th 1893 AD"
Saturday morning came, and knowing I had a twelve hour caving trip ahead of me, I swallowed my pride and decided to back out of the trip. I just wasn't feeling well enough to safely do a whole twelve hours in that cave and, even though they'd have been willing to change their plans to accomodate me, it wouldn't have been fair to the others to insist on a shorter trip. I decided instead to go sight seeing that day while the others had their fun.


Neal checks the wine list for something that goes well with Cliff Bars.
As luck would have it, that morning I ran into Andy Armstrong, a caver friend whom I'd originally met in Michigan. I told Andy I was taking the day off because Wind Cave had kicked my butt, and he recommended I head on over to Jewel Cave to check out the tour there. This sounded like a great idea, so he called over to Jewel and reserved a ticket for me. I'm thankful he did, too, as the tour was sold out by the time I got there. Jewel Cave is another fantastic cave, but I'll leave the details for my next blog entry.

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More pics here.
]]> Karst & Caving http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080403-161929 Tim Deady Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:19:29 GMT http://www.cavefrog.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=04&entry=entry080403-161929