Whenever I move to a new town, I always try and talk to the locals as much as possible and pick their brains about the little-known places of interest in the backcountry. You know, stuff that you can't find in your typical travel guide or the internet. One such place is "crystal cave" up in the hills just east of Cedar. I'm not sure where the name came from. I found no crystals and it actually isn't a cave, but a mine.
A lot of the mines around here are a little strange. This one is dug into a prominent sandstone ledge within the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation - a rock formation that is not known to have any mineralization around here (well, uranium has been found in and near this formation in some parts of southern Utah). Someone put a lot of back-breaking labor into digging this and I'll bet they got nothing in return.
Someone, perhaps the miner who excavated the crystal cave, also put a fair amount of work into this sturdy little rock cabin.
On another note, last weekend I went on a campout with the local scout troupe to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Only a couple of boys showed up, but it was still fun.What is up with kids these days? I heard more discussion about video games around camp than the trees, rocks, or critters.
One of the oldest living things on earth - Bristlecone pine trees.
Also, some of the high alpine singletrack up on the plateau is finally snow free!
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5 comments:
How old are those trees? Looked like a fun adventure. You gotta love out doors Utah! -Eros
The oldest known bristlecone was about 4700 years old and lived in California. I say WAS because the guy that discovered it cut it down to study it, and later realized he had killed possibly the oldest living thing on earth.
There are crystals on the walls of the mine. Not real ones, but beautiful none-the-less. We were told not to touch them though because they are poisonous. Don't know if that's true.
I went there with my older brother one time; we brought home a jar full of 'crystals' If they were toxic, it would explain a lot.
Those crystals are most likely the crystalline form of potassium nitrate or saltpeter. Probably OK to touch.
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