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The next morning I packed up, then walked over to invite conversation with a lone man car-camping in a nearby site. Friendly, named Marios, I soon learned that he was from the Greek/Turkish island of Cyprus, lived in Scotland, and had been working in solar in Albuquerque. Finding that we both shared this in common led to more conversation, and we quickly learned that our respective work was on opposite ends of the solar industry continuum. He’s PhD candidate doing research with a company (name forgotten) located in the old Advent plant at Mesa del Sol that is working on utility-scale tracking concentrated PV. He also said that while he appreciated the funding and the work (and the experience on his academic resume) he didn’t plan to stay in this particular aspect of the PV industry, as he didn’t see a strong future for such a complex and high tech system.

Marios and I at a meadow up on Mount Wheeler, with a storm approaching behind us.

Marios and I at a meadow up on Mount Wheeler, with a storm approaching behind us.

I learned from Marios that the next cave tour was at 9 am, so we agreed to reconnoiter there, as a tour appealed to me as well. When we got to the Lehman Cave Visitors’ Center we learned that it was full, and the next full tour was at 1 pm. So we hiked together up a high-alpine climb (1,700′ up), talking all the way. The exercise felt great – driving doesn’t offer much for staying in shape. But once we reached the high meadow trail junction, heavy weather looked imminent – rain was spitting and wind was gusting. As he had on only cotton, I suggested we return promptly, and we did – we even ran the lower trail.

He’s taking a whirlwind tour of some of the west’s parks – Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Great Basin, Canyonlands and Arches – before his flight back to Europe in two weeks. He’ll be heading back to Albuquerque in a week or so, and we may connect again as he passes through Santa Fe. I gave him a few suggestions of routes and places that would allow him to see more while spending less of his time driving.

The cave tour was worth the effort. The cave had been known for centuries by First Nations people, but “discovered” and commercialized in the 19th century. Many of the cave’s rooms had broken stalactites, the result of that early commercialization before the Park Service took it over, I think around 1933. We were guided fairly deep into the cave where the damage was less, and the rest of this post will be some of the better pictures of cave formations. Keep in mind that 100 years of growth may produce an inch of formation from minerals in the dripping water, so any damage is permanent, and the formations in the photos may be well more than 60,000 to 100,000 years old or more.

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Clicking on each of the photos brings a higher-resolution view, the better way to appreciate the magical forms.

Mount Wheeler from the east, with the peak hidden in the clouds.

Mount Wheeler from the east, with the peak hidden in the clouds.

Heading down the road in strong headwinds, I restocked a bit in Cedar City, including a stop at an east Indian – Middle Eastern grocery. Not having expected to see such in a small Mormon town in Utah, I learned from the proprietor that the Muslim, Arab and Indian students at the local Southern Utah State were pretty much the entire clientele.

I headed up the mountains to the east, passing through Cedar Breaks National Monument, and on east. At 10,350′, the road along the ridge above Cedar Breaks was cold. Dropping down to the east I found a forest road and a quiet spot to camp. My backpacker’s air mattress has failed (even in hot springs pools I haven’t been able to spot bubbles), but last night I slept comfortably on a thick bed of pine needles in the woods.

 

 

Cedar Breaks celebrates 4,000' eroded red cliffs

Cedar Breaks celebrates 4,000′ eroded red cliffs

Heading east from Cedar Breaks. At this elevation the aspens are already turning, although it's technically still summer for another week or so.

Heading east from Cedar Breaks. At this elevation the aspens are already turning, although it’s technically still summer for another week or so.