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ugly
01-12-2006, 08:33 PM
Hello everyone! Those who are local to Utah are some of the luckiest people.

I am a young man who has had the privilege to live in most parts of the US and visit the rest. I have myself pretty well locked into Oklahoma currently. I wish I didn't but life has trapped my here for the time being.

I slave for the company store 50 weeks a year so my outdoors adventures are few and far between. A few years ago I took a whirlwind road trip through the Mid West and Utah has the best sites. I have managed to hook my wife on the love of outdoors and hope to have more adventures in the future.

My wife has become very fascinated with caves since I have drug her into a few of the more structured and guided locals. I have been telling her how much more spectacular and unique the feelings are when the caves aren't back lit with a park ranger spinning a yarn for you. I was trying to relate to her my first experience spelunking and I couldn't remember where it was.

I thought a detailed Internet search may find it but to no avail. There seems to be a great deal of experience here though so maybe someone can help me with my memory.

I was a young child at the time (hence my poor memory) but let me relate some details and see if anyone can pinpoint where I was. I don't remember much so lets see how this goes. I was living in Green River, WY at the time and I know that this trip went a short way into Utah. I believe we traveled south of Green River but I can't be sure. I remember that the opening to the cave was close to a seemingly deserted road but that there was a moderate creek or river between the cave and the road. It was a desolate area in a narrow canyon. I think that the opening of the cave was not only across the creek but also up a steep side immediately across the creek. The opening I remember even as a child was long and low, enough so that even my being small I had to crawl through a ways before we were able to stand. We went in the winter I believe due to it being impassable when the water came. I don't remember much of the interior, I recall the most impressive of the sites. There was a very large domed room with what looked to be a large body of water and a fine rock or sandy floor to it.

If this is a common cave or any place one might recognize it would be cool to know where I was. I was just reminiscing and was wanting to put a location with a memory. It is a place I would like to revisit sometime in my life.

I'm afraid I will be just as the kid from back East and will loom around silently brooding over the good fortune of those living in Gods Country. :hail2thechief: :roflol: :hail2thechief: :roflol:

I hiked the Grand Canyon a couple years ago, we did the Havasupi area and it was the greatest trip. I want to plan another in the fall this year, I am thinking a return trip to Zion this year would be great. We hiked a good ways up the Narrow on the road trip we took. But I liked the write up of the top down trip someone took!

Later,
Brian

Sombeech
01-12-2006, 08:38 PM
Welcome to the forum, ugly! Hopefully somebody can fill you in on that cave.

I will most likely go to Havasu Canyon this April. Do you have any pictures from your trip(s)?

Iceaxe
01-12-2006, 08:39 PM
:2thumbs: Welcome Brian :2thumbs:

You might post this beta request in the caving section. We have a couple of knowledgeable cavers that stop by occationally who might be able to help you out.

:cool2:

accadacca
01-12-2006, 08:47 PM
Hey Brian, welcome. We allow sooners in here. We did steal one of your QB's from OU. :nod: Pull up a chair and stay awhile. :popcorn:

ugly
01-12-2006, 08:50 PM
Yes, I saw the caving section, but thought I would introduce myself first.

BTTAndy
01-13-2006, 07:34 AM
Welcome aboard Brian. If you are from OK you must be aware of my friend Frank. He is from Tulsa. If they have not run him out of town yet. He is kinda like Richard Simmons on a mtb.

check him out here;
http://www.bikerfox.com/

Enjoy, Andy

goofball
01-13-2006, 02:39 PM
my condolences brian...

we movced from tulsa in 03. went to bluff first, now we are in slc area. after visiting zion years ago, then many other desert playgrounds utah has to offer after that, i decided to move out here, and never a backward glance !

LJ
01-13-2006, 04:30 PM
I feel for you too, Brian -

I had way too many years in Michigan spending all of my "real" life thinking about being out here and all of my "play" time actually out here. With family, friends, work, and other commitments it got harder and harder to find the time to travel to Utah so I bit the bullet and made the move. It worked out in the end but I know not everyone can do it. Those of us here are very lucky and reading this board every day just makes us appreciate what we have even more. It rocks being able to sit down for a Thursday lunch with friends and make plans for the weekend to do things that I used to plan six months out to do. And the best part is each Thursday we easily come up with six or seven ideas each within a few hours and we haven't done anything twice. Utah really is a magical place for people who love the outdoors. There is nothing better and they will have to drag my beaten bruised bloodied dead body out of here to ever get me to leave!

Enjoy the board - haven't gotten any great ideas on things to do yet (maybe I should give some ideas myself) but I do get a lot of great laughs!

LJ

ugly
01-14-2006, 06:26 AM
Sombeech : I have tons of pics I just don't know how to use them. I am computer stupid!!! Something about a host and .... I don't know. How about I email you some?

I have passivly been job hunting in the SLC area but it is tough long distance. It is a long term goal of mine though to do just as you have and live in the same "sand box" I want to play in.

Deathcricket
01-14-2006, 07:53 AM
Greetings,

Was just going to post my newbie intro but figured I would answer you since i recognize the place you are talking about. I believe it is the Bloomington Caves you visited. It has 2 entrances very close to each other. From your description.

I know that this trip went a short way into Utah. I believe we traveled south of Green River but I can't be sure.

It's in the town I live in called Bloomington which is off exit 4 once you get into Utah (St george area).

I remember that the opening to the cave was close to a seemingly deserted road but that there was a moderate creek or river between the cave and the road.


Yeap, its a nasty dirt road all right. Creeks running and eroding it in serveral places. I have a Honda Civic with about maybe 4 inches of clearance underneath and it got beat to hell driving up there. I've since discovered a back trail though that is graded very decent.

It was a desolate area in a narrow canyon. I think that the opening of the cave was not only across the creek but also up a steep side immediately across the creek.

Also correct. I have some pictures I'll see if I can host for ya, maybe that will help out.

The opening I remember even as a child was long and low, enough so that even my being small I had to crawl through a ways before we were able to stand. We went in the winter I believe due to it being impassable when the water came. I don't remember much of the interior, I recall the most impressive of the sites. There was a very large domed room with what looked to be a large body of water and a fine rock or sandy floor to it.

Sounds like you went in the North entrance and down to "The Sandbox" I wouldn't call it a river but that side always has water flowing down it and being a child you might be remembering it a "little bigger" than it actually is. One other thing, you you recall an exteme amount of spray paint on the walls? I bet even when you visited it was probably pretty bad. Why jackasses have to say "Bob was here 1996" is beyond me. Some locals recently went in with sand blasters and cleaned up a large portion of it though. looks nice.

Sombeech
01-14-2006, 10:24 PM
Sombeech : I have tons of pics I just don't know how to use them. I am computer stupid!!! Something about a host and .... I don't know. How about I email you some?

Uploading pictures is actually pretty easy. The basic requirements, are that the pictures are smaller than 256kb in size, and we would ask that they are 640 X 480 or smaller in appearance. For other info, click here: http://uutah.com/forum/attach_rules.php?f=2

Now, if you have a picture that is too big, an easy way to "shrink" it down is by using Microsoft Paint. Just open the photo through paint, click on Image up top, then Stretch/Skew. Then save it to a location that you can easily upload it from. The suggested filetype is ".JPG, or JPEG". Bitmaps, or .bmp's cannot be uploaded here. Below is an image of the process.

It's really easy, just give it a try. And of course, if you have questions, feel free to ask.

Mtnbiker
01-18-2006, 11:52 AM
Sombeech : I have tons of pics I just don't know how to use them. I am computer stupid!!! Something about a host and .... I don't know. How about I email you some?

I have passivly been job hunting in the SLC area but it is tough long distance. It is a long term goal of mine though to do just as you have and live in the same "sand box" I want to play in.

Well Brian you are about to get my Chris Farley motivational speech for the day :lol8:
One more real life Midwesterner-turned Utahn success story: :2thumbs:

Go where life makes you happy! My wife and I LOVE Michigan. We grew up there and all our family and mtn biking friends are there. The water is plentiful and clear, and mountain biking is great.

However, no mountains,slickrock, or real powder. We so badly yearned to experience life "out west" as many midwesterners do... So we decided to bite the bullet after college and just do it. We made the move, and yes it was a pain in the :bootyshake: but the end result is worth it 1000 times over.

It was a headache, living apart for 6 months, (her out here enjoying the mtns and me back home slaving away on the house), long distance job searching and interviewing, traveling expenses, the hassle of selling our home, missing family/friends....... but after all that we are re-established and love every minute. Last weekend we rode mtn bikes on Saturday and snowboarded in fresh powder on Sunday, and like LJ said we had countless other options to choose from.

so there you go.

You can DO IT!! (Rob Schneider), and Life's a garden, dig it! (Joe dirt)

Life's too short not to enjoy it. What line of work are you in out of curiosity?

Welcome aboard! Ian

ugly
01-19-2006, 11:26 AM
Deathcricket: That is very cool. Thank you so much. I will have to see about revisiting it sometime. I have been cold calling people I don't even know or know that I know trying to find if they remembered it. I was there in 86 so no there was no graffitti when I went. I just remembered how cool it was.

Mtnbiker: I am a mechanical engineer with about seven years experience in light vehicle drivetrain/chasis aftermarket manufacturing experience. I understand the sacrifice it will take I just need to set some firm goals with deadlines. I have been looking at property values in the Ogden area this week and they aren't terribly higher than Oklahoma. My problem is that I have bought a couple of houses that will take some work to get rid of and then there is the job which can be done... I need to just dig in and "Git'er done" (redneck tv)

Somebeech: I will try to stumble through this next week and post up some of our photos. I am in Eden skiing the slopes and haveing the best week ever!!!! so I don't have access to my pics. It was such a great trip, you will love it. I would recomend the hike all the way down to the Colorado, it was an extra nine miles down the canyon but was so very worth it. It was awesome!