Spring time Adventure part 1 - Spring Creek Cave

In March of 2007 a few friends and I went on an adventure. This is part one of three from the trip which took us to the depths of the earth and to some of the highest reaches of the mountain tops.

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Part 1 Spring Creek Cave _{aka Spring Canyon Cave}


Located on the walls of the Stratobowl near rockerville on Hwy 16.




Click here for a satellite image

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Perched on the edge of a cliff in the Stratobowl, this cave is formed in the
Paha Sapa Limestone.










Here the cave has collapsed. This can be common in this the middle section of
the formation were the limestone is blocky and fragile. That makes this cave especially dangerous. 3 years ago when I last ventured here this is were I entered the cave.





The rocks at the surface exhibit beautiful boxwork and dogtooth spar crystal
formations.





This is were we enter the cave. Located near the bottom of the upper part of
the formation, it is common in this unit of the limestone for passageways to
have low ceilings with wide rooms. This generality held true here with the passageway being an average of 2 feet high by 12 feet wide.










Pauly! About 25 feet into the cave.










This is the typical low ceiling with wide room passageway. The entire cave was
a belly crawl.





Fracturing plains in the limestone.















The long thin passageway leads to this 12 foot drop. No way I would fit through
there. That and it leads to the area that colapsed.





Turning around....





....is not an option it is just way to tight. You have to back out.










Yes those are fresh pine needles 30 feet into the cave. Brought in by
porcupines. Pulling the porcupine quills out of ourselves was not fun.


You can see Pauly in the back. A good example of how thin the passageway is. Remember the whole cave is this way.





Leaving the cave you can see the green mold growing near the entrance














Jamie working her way out of the cave.





I was small, it was dirty, but it was fun!


Stay tuned for part 2 of our adventure as we hike down teepee gultch for lunch.

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Deadman Gulch by Night

Deadman Gulch is located off of Sheridan Lake Road a few miles outside of Rapid City.

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Click for a Topographic map of the area.

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We left my house around 11 at night, drove a few mile out into the hills, bundled up against the cold night time air. You have to park on Sheridan Lake Road and walk in as the area is closed to motor vehicles. It is the location of the big horn sheep reintroduction area. Even though we did not come across the big horns we certainly had fun and found ourselves in awe of the beauty that is the Black Hills by the light of the 'Moon of the Red Grass Appearing'. _{So named by Black Elk as recorded in the book Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt.}

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Vega - jewel set in body of Lyre, the harp.




Vega, third brightest star in the northern sky. Only 25.3 light years from us making it one of our closest neighbors.

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Entropy -



A measure of the disorder of a system. Systems tend to go from a state of order (low entropy) to a state of maximum disorder (high entropy).



Gemini Hides behind the tree. Old buildings die, entropy of the archaeologist.

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Were the north wind from the border of heaven does come.



In the moon when Red Grass Appears may I find that which I seek, that being the quest of love, peace, and fulfillment of life dreams.

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Jupiter rises with Scorpio.



Jupiter ruler of religion, philosophy and social issues of the day. Jupiter also rules optimism in living, prosperity, and growth, both mentally and physically.



Scorpio so calm and steady... dangerously so? The surface cool... but inside...



"The greatest mania of all is passion: and I am a natural slave to passion: the balance between my brain and my soul and my body is as wild and delicate as the skin of a Ming vase." - HST from The Curse of Lono

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