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Thread: Lava and LAce

  1. #1

    Lava and LAce

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    Michelle has an accounting client in Delta so once a quarter we go there so she can get their financials. We try to do some exploring in the area while we are there. This time we explored the Pahvant Valley with my brother, Sterling and his wife Joyce. We explored two places in particular that were truly amazing.

    Our first stop was Old Fort Deseret. It was an adobe fort, built during the Black Hawk Wars to protect the settlers. It was kind of interesting and beings it is right off the pavement worth the visit.
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    Travelling to our next stop we passed through the Clear Lake Wildlife Management Area. This was one of several surprises we had on this trip. I had no idea that the West Desert had anywhere with this much water. The ponds and marshes covered many square miles.

    Our next stop was Pahvant Butte. This is a very interesting geological formation. As we approached it from the west we could see that the side and top of the butte was dotted with copper colored hoodoos. While this was very cool and unexpected it did not prepare us for what we would see as we rounded the buttes north side.

    This area is known as the Lace Curtain. The north side of the butte looks like it was cut by the hand of a giant welding a meat clever, slicing a shear wall a couple of hundred yards long and two hundred feet tall. Then it would appear that the same giant poured caramel syrup over the wall leaving lava stalactites clinging to its surface. It was more reminiscent of something you would see in a cave, not clinging to a wall in the middle of the desert. We were in awe by this unexpected discovery.
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    We continued heading south towards some lava fields in search of lava tubes. The dirt road wound its way passed piles of lava, many looking like large scale broken pieces of asphalt. We reached the area were the lava tubes are found and quickly found the large opening to one. We dropped into the area where the tube had collapsed eons ago and approached the opening. We had to climb up through some lava boulders before we could drop into the tube itself. We entered a large room, with a ceiling twenty feet tall and forty feet wide. We could see light filtering in from the far end, a hundred yards in the distance.
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    As we made our way towards the light the cave lowered and narrowed until we had to squeeze through a narrow passage to reach the next room which was a little smaller than the first. As we made our way through the tube you could feel yourself being taken back millions of years to when the world was younger and molten rock flowed through the landscape.

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    Emerging into the sunlight we found several other collapsed tubes. One was very interesting were only a section of the roof had caved in and you could look down to the floor of the tube below.
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    By the time we were through exploring the lava beds the sun was near setting so were sat and waited for what looked like the makings of a spectacular sunset. We were not disappoint, as the sun dropped and began illuminating the low lying clouds. Over the next twenty minutes the color would intensify until the sky was a vibrant collection of reds and oranges. The clouds looking like the molten lava we were sitting on when it was first sprewed to the surface by mother earth a millennia ago.
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    We must go forward, even if we can't!

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  3. #2
    One of the best TRs I've seen in a long time. Wow! Incredible stuff! Thanks for the amazing images.
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  4. #3
    Lots and lots of Photoshop. a little too distracting for me. Looks like a really fun trip though!
    CanyoneeringUtah.blogspot.com
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    "As you journey through life, choose your destination well, but do not hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten path[s] ... Such things are riches for the soul. And if upon arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly as you had dreamed, ... know that the true worth of your travels lies not in where you come to be at journey

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Kuya View Post
    Lots and lots of Photoshop. a little too distracting for me. Looks like a really fun trip though!

    Yeah, they could tone down the saturation a tad, but nevertheless the images are quite surreal even w/out the enhancements.
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  6. #5
    Way cool! I will now add it to my list of places to check out, some day. Aren't there some hot springs in the Delta area, too? Bored to death with Zion....sheesh.... if I ride another tram ride in the next 10 years, it will be too soon hehe
    "Just waiting for a sip of that sweet Mojave rain"
    The Killers

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Rented mule View Post
    Way cool! I will now add it to my list of places to check out, some day. Aren't there some hot springs in the Delta area, too? Bored to death with Zion....sheesh.... if I ride another tram ride in the next 10 years, it will be too soon hehe
    There are two I'm aware of. One is West and North of Delta called Baker Hot Springs and the other is near Meadow.
    We must go forward, even if we can't!

  8. #7
    Very interesting shots. Thanks!

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