what happened to the St. George (Color Country) grotto?

[jman]

I haven't checked the forums for over 3months+ now and was hoping to find where I could find where the Color Country Grotto meeting was held at...but to my surprise - it's gone!

What happened?

[jumar]

Good question. I'm not sure. I'll have to look into it and see if I can find you an answer.

[jumar]

I don't see anything about a grotto in S. Utah. Looks like your options are Timp grotto or the Nevada grotto, based out of Vegas
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NNVGrotto/

[Deathcricket]

I met the guy who headed it up in the Bloomington Caves. I think his name was Kyle Voyles. He didnt go into details, but said there was a lot of drama and it was too much trouble to keep it going. So he walked away from the project. I dont think anyone has picked it up since he left.

Wish I had more info, but at the time I didnt press him because he was jackhammering a big sign in the ground and was a little busy, sorry.

Very nice guy though, he was telling me he saw 2 whip scorpions in the lower pool when they were down there removing the human feces from it. Actually I think he's my hero :hail2thechief:

[jman]

hmm..that's weird. I have tried many times to get in contact with him but he is very busy I suppose and never gets back to me.

Thanks for the info. Yea, Bloomington cave is a dirty cave. It's highly traffiked and the first two large rooms and filthy with so much litter and uring and feces everywhere...but beyond that, and surprisingly, it's pretty clean (not too many explorers past that point huh?) haha.

so I finally realized that people in St. George's definition of "caving" is "getting glowstick and going to the lava tubes in Snow Canyon.". My "caving" is going to Bloomington Cave and getting lost for 4 hours and squeezing and sliding past lots of tight places...and not with glowsticks either but with real flashlights. wow...people in st. george are really dumb sometimes...and it's suppose to be a outdoor community. haha, yeah right...I am willing to bet that 10% of the population actually do something outdoors at least 2x a year. how sad...talk about taking things for granted huh?

[Deathcricket]

hmm..that's weird. I have tried many times to get in contact with him but he is very busy I suppose and never gets back to me.

Thanks for the info. Yea, Bloomington cave is a dirty cave. It's highly traffiked and the first two large rooms and filthy with so much litter and uring and feces everywhere...but beyond that, and surprisingly, it's pretty clean (not too many explorers past that point huh?) haha.

so I finally realized that people in St. George's definition of "caving" is "getting glowstick and going to the lava tubes in Snow Canyon.". My "caving" is going to Bloomington Cave and getting lost for 4 hours and squeezing and sliding past lots of tight places...and not with glowsticks either but with real flashlights. wow...people in st. george are really dumb sometimes...and it's suppose to be a outdoor community. haha, yeah right...I am willing to bet that 10% of the population actually do something outdoors at least 2x a year. how sad...talk about taking things for granted huh?

Sorry I was late reading your reply... LOL! What you say is so true... A work friend of mine came up to me last week and told me he finally got a chance to go caving himself. I got all excited and asked him how it went. His reply was " pretty good, I only got tagged once". "Huh??" After a couple of questions I found out they went into the lava tubes with a case of glow sticks and a single flashlight. They then broke open the sticks and spattered them all over themselves and the walls and played tag. And no, to answer your next question, this guy is not 12.

Oh well, at least he got out for his semi yearly event eh? :roflol:

P.S. Have you found the crystal cavern section of the Bloomington caves yet? That is my favorite section. It's pretty easy to find once you know not to go too deep. From the map I was thinking it was way lower that it was. There is also a dog skull (I think its dog anyways) in a section called the northern exposure. How the heck did a dog get all that way? Some weird stuff in that cave I tell ya :)

[jman]

wtf mate? their's a animal skull in the cave? I explored that cave about 7+ times now, each route at least 2-3 times. Someone perhaps has moved it...but yes I have been all to all sections of that cave. I personally like the "miseries" section...that's fun. I had to turnback twice due to two girls both getting clastrophic in the squeeze section. wow. We were more than 3/4 through the cave too...oh well. Either way it was still fun.

Ever heard of a cave called "Lost Cave". I just got the beta for it and wanted to check it out. It's located near Enterprise. I'm going to check out either this weekend or the next.

Other than that...that's all the caves I know of in Washingon County.
Kyle Voyles has quite a few other maps for caves on the AZ strip, which I am EXTREMELY familiar with but no one is willing to help me...although I do know where are some ice-caves(lava tubes actually) on Mt. Trumbull of the AZ strip (about 70+ miles south of St. George) which I would be more than happy to give to someone in exchange for more info...

[Deathcricket]

Yeah it's in a little chamber at the bottom of the northern exposure section. There is a dead end room about 5ft by 5ft. It looks like a very small dog, reminds me of my Jack Russell terrier. Found it half buried in the mud about 6 months ago. I pulled it out and set it on a rock so no one would step on it and crush it, it's super brittle. I bet if one were to dig they would locate the rest of the skeleton, I'm just curious how the heck it got down that far. If it's still there next time I go in I'll take a picture for ya.

I've not heard of lost cave, very interesting. Let me know if it works out. I did however locate something interesting at cascade falls 2 weekends ago by accident. The river comes right out the side of the mountain, so it could be a cool cave back in there. I didnt have a headlamp with me, so I was only able to explore about 30 yards back (it gets dark quick). But that river has to come from somewhere eh? Here is a link and a pic. I intend to go back and check it out. Just super busy working 2 jobs right now :frustrated: Just my luck though it will turn into a tiny crack and be impassable.

http://www.zionnational-park.com/dfhike.htm Tonya recommended it, awesome hike if ya got the family along and want something short and sweet.

[jman]

I believe Cascade falls is a outlet fom Navajo Lake...and that's where the crack, as you mentioned before, would eventually take you I am sure. Although, I have not done that hike before - but I have read quite a few comments on the site about it.

hmm..I'll have to locate those bones now. sounds like a interesting discovery you found...I'll check it out sometime in the upcoming weeks.

[caverspencer]

Kyle Voyles was the person to get in touch with down there. He was very active at finding new caves and surveying them.

A few years ago he got married, that is pretty much when any sort of organized caving down there ground to a hault.

Another person you may try to get in touch with is Harrison Holden. He moved down there a few years ago and was a very active caver. He comes up a couple of times a year to go caving. If you could get in touch with him I sure he would be happy to show you around.

I will see if I can dig up personal contact info for him and shoot you a private message.