texascavers Digest 21 Apr 2009 18:59:34 -0000 Issue 745
Topics (messages 10530 through 10539):
TSA Convention--Auction items
10530 by: Andy Gluesenkamp
Grutas de Juxtlahuaca
10531 by: BMorgan994.aol.com
10532 by: Fritz Holt
Re: TSA Convention
10533 by: JerryAtkin.aol.com
10534 by: Mark.Alman.l-3com.com
Acrchaeologist Roger Moore (and GHG member) on the cover of Houston Chronicle.
10535 by: Kevin McGowan
10536 by: Minton, Mark
Tales of caves and caving at the 2009 Spring TSA Convention
10537 by: Diana Tomchick
10538 by: Diana Tomchick
10539 by: Mark.Alman.l-3com.com
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--- Begin Message ---
I have a couple of items to donate for the auction. Could someone come to my
house and get them?
Andy
Andrew G. Gluesenkamp, Ph.D.
700 Billie Brooks Drive
Driftwood, Texas 78619
(512) 799-1095
[email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Once upon a time, and a long ago time it was, I took a wonderful trip to
the Grutas de Juxtlahuaca in Guerrero, Mexico
It was in celebration of the successful completion of my first big
commercial waterfall project in 1981 that I invited my Mom to accompany me on a
trip to Acapulco. The Peso had been devaluated a few days before so everything
was virtually free. We stayed in a luxury hotel for three bux a night and
lived exclusively on artichokes.
That was all well and good but a bit boring so after some daze on the beach
I rented a VW and headed inland. Somewhere around Chilpancingo I somehow
learned of the existence of the Grutas de Juxtlahuaca and headed there on a
scenic but horribly bumpy cobblestone road. The ride alone utterly
destroyed my poor mother, so when we got to the quaint village with it’s plaza
full
of palm trees and playing children she announced that she would be happy
to sit there as long as necessary drinking beer in the square while I
explored the cave.
The friendly owner of the cave made the necessary arrangements for a guide
and Coleman lanterns for me and a nice Mexican family that also wanted a
tour. The only problem was that I insisted on using my carbide lamp which
they considered to be an untrustworthy newfangled invention.
The middle class Mexican family consisted of Dad, a big rancher with a
sombrero and cowboy boots, his wife, and their absolutely stunning daughter, a
tall thin girl, pale of skin, with luminous dark eyes and long black hair.
We were instructed to wear swimming suits, but only the lovely daughter had
one, a very skimpy bikini which served her well. With them was her twenty
something fiancé, a completely unworthy little wimp. We all piled into the
rancher’s 4x4 and off we went.
The cave gate alone was worth the price of admission. It was apparently
designed by Picasso during his psychedelic period and made of auto parts and
grillwork ripped off from Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia cathedral all welded
together.
Inside there were wonders to behold such as an image of Quetzalcoatl
himself, a large painting of a sacred jaguar and a crystal covered human skull
laying in a pool of cave pearls. The beautiful nearly naked girl was fearless
and led the way despite the protestations of our guide, a young man almost
as wimpy as the fiancé who was whimpering and trailing behind the elderly
Señora.
After about an hour in the cave we arrived at a pool of water blocking the
passage. The guide explained that beyond there lay a chamber filled with
snowy anthodites but that it was impossible to get there without swimming.
Mom and Dad were growing very tired and the fiancé could only gurgle, so they
and the guide stayed behind while the beautiful girl and I forged ahead
into the water.
The chamber of anthodites was truly a magical place. The needle fine
crystals completely covered the walls, but would melt with even the touch of a
breath. I cannot imagine that they still exist today.
The panicked guide swam in to tell us that the parents were in bad shape
and the fiancé had begun to cry, so we made our way out. It was grim. Mom
could barely walk so Dad had to help her, but he was having heart palpitations
and stumbling badly in his soggy cowboy boots. The wretched fiancé had
become an object of complete scorn, especially by Dad who made it very clear
that under no circumstances would such a wimp ever marry his beautiful
daughter. That crushed him even further so the guide had to help him out. That
left me to help the pretty girl who became extremely flirtatious, pretending
to need help when she didn’t need any help whatsoever. “Jew brave Jankee
please to help push my bottom while I climb por favor!” I loved it!
There was a final treat as we exited the cave, a fine big Lyre snake was
twined through the gate snagging bats as they flew into the darkening sky.
Dad was just about done, so on the ride back he lost control of his truck
as we crossed a small bridge. Luckily for us a crowd of cowboys saw the
accident. One look at the Senorita was all it took and they rushed to our aid.
They hitched the truck to their horses and soon we were back on the bridge.
Back in town I looked for my Mom but she was no where to be found. We had
been gone for hours and I was alarmed. She spoke no Spanish and had never
been out of the country in her life. Not to worry, the friendly family that
owned the cave had adopted her. She sat in their beautiful private garden
hung with Acalypha blossoms sipping tequila while being attended like a Queen
as children played at her feet. She announced in a tipsy voice that she
would never leave.
My mother was happier than she had ever been in her entire life, and it
makes my heart glad to remember it. Still, I cannot help but wonder whatever
became of that brave hearted raven haired beauty?
Sleazel
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Sleazel,
What a great, and I am sure, factual story which could have been the
inspiration for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". I always
enjoy reading about your experiences and it sounds as if you enjoyed this one.
Fritz
________________________________
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 1:02 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Texascavers] Grutas de Juxtlahuaca
Once upon a time, and a long ago time it was, I took a wonderful trip to the
Grutas de Juxtlahuaca in Guerrero, Mexico
It was in celebration of the successful completion of my first big commercial
waterfall project in 1981 that I invited my Mom to accompany me on a trip to
Acapulco. The Peso had been devaluated a few days before so everything was
virtually free. We stayed in a luxury hotel for three bux a night and lived
exclusively on artichokes.
That was all well and good but a bit boring so after some daze on the beach I
rented a VW and headed inland. Somewhere around Chilpancingo I somehow learned
of the existence of the Grutas de Juxtlahuaca and headed there on a scenic but
horribly bumpy cobblestone road. The ride alone utterly destroyed my poor
mother, so when we got to the quaint village with it's plaza full of palm trees
and playing children she announced that she would be happy to sit there as long
as necessary drinking beer in the square while I explored the cave.
The friendly owner of the cave made the necessary arrangements for a guide and
Coleman lanterns for me and a nice Mexican family that also wanted a tour. The
only problem was that I insisted on using my carbide lamp which they considered
to be an untrustworthy newfangled invention.
The middle class Mexican family consisted of Dad, a big rancher with a sombrero
and cowboy boots, his wife, and their absolutely stunning daughter, a tall thin
girl, pale of skin, with luminous dark eyes and long black hair. We were
instructed to wear swimming suits, but only the lovely daughter had one, a very
skimpy bikini which served her well. With them was her twenty something fiancé,
a completely unworthy little wimp. We all piled into the rancher's 4x4 and off
we went.
The cave gate alone was worth the price of admission. It was apparently
designed by Picasso during his psychedelic period and made of auto parts and
grillwork ripped off from Gaudi's Sagrada Familia cathedral all welded together.
Inside there were wonders to behold such as an image of Quetzalcoatl himself, a
large painting of a sacred jaguar and a crystal covered human skull laying in a
pool of cave pearls. The beautiful nearly naked girl was fearless and led the
way despite the protestations of our guide, a young man almost as wimpy as the
fiancé who was whimpering and trailing behind the elderly Señora.
After about an hour in the cave we arrived at a pool of water blocking the
passage. The guide explained that beyond there lay a chamber filled with snowy
anthodites but that it was impossible to get there without swimming. Mom and
Dad were growing very tired and the fiancé could only gurgle, so they and the
guide stayed behind while the beautiful girl and I forged ahead into the water.
The chamber of anthodites was truly a magical place. The needle fine crystals
completely covered the walls, but would melt with even the touch of a breath. I
cannot imagine that they still exist today.
The panicked guide swam in to tell us that the parents were in bad shape and
the fiancé had begun to cry, so we made our way out. It was grim. Mom could
barely walk so Dad had to help her, but he was having heart palpitations and
stumbling badly in his soggy cowboy boots. The wretched fiancé had become an
object of complete scorn, especially by Dad who made it very clear that under
no circumstances would such a wimp ever marry his beautiful daughter. That
crushed him even further so the guide had to help him out. That left me to help
the pretty girl who became extremely flirtatious, pretending to need help when
she didn't need any help whatsoever. "Jew brave Jankee please to help push my
bottom while I climb por favor!" I loved it!
There was a final treat as we exited the cave, a fine big Lyre snake was twined
through the gate snagging bats as they flew into the darkening sky.
Dad was just about done, so on the ride back he lost control of his truck as we
crossed a small bridge. Luckily for us a crowd of cowboys saw the accident. One
look at the Senorita was all it took and they rushed to our aid. They hitched
the truck to their horses and soon we were back on the bridge.
Back in town I looked for my Mom but she was no where to be found. We had been
gone for hours and I was alarmed. She spoke no Spanish and had never been out
of the country in her life. Not to worry, the friendly family that owned the
cave had adopted her. She sat in their beautiful private garden hung with
Acalypha blossoms sipping tequila while being attended like a Queen as children
played at her feet. She announced in a tipsy voice that she would never leave.
My mother was happier than she had ever been in her entire life, and it makes
my heart glad to remember it. Still, I cannot help but wonder whatever became
of that brave hearted raven haired beauty?
Sleazel
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Mark;
Will there be a time on Friday evening when the front gate is closed and
locked like last year ? And if so, how are we supposed to get in ?
Jerry.
**************Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the
web. Get the Radio Toolbar!
(http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000003)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
That's a good question, Jerry, and was a rule that was set up by the
folks (The City of Kerrville) that run the park.
Rob, do you know if they still plan on doing this?
Could you check?
Thanks. I had forgotten all about this.
Mark
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 12:37 AM
To: Alman, Mark @ IRP; [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] TSA Convention
Mark;
Will there be a time on Friday evening when the front gate is closed and
locked like last year ? And if so, how are we supposed to get in ?
Jerry.
________________________________
Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the web. Get
the Radio Toolbar
<http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000003
> !
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
In honor of San Jacinto Day, archaeologist and GHG member Roger Moore was on
the cover of today's issue of the Houston Chronicle:
_____
Artifacts shed light on San Jacinto battle
By ALLAN TURNER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
April 20, 2009, 11:14PM
Nick de la Torre Houston Chronicle
Archaeologist Roger Moore shows off a Mexican bayonet found near the
battleground.
Time has taken its toll on the Mexican bayonets, but their rust-pocked
remains still hint at a lust for blood. The balls Santa Anna's men loaded
into their muskets fared better. Still round, they glisten like sinister
grapes. A grenadier's badge gleams as proudly as it did when, 173 years ago
today, Texans struck the winning blow for freedom at San Jacinto.
Today, these and more than 400 other artifacts - fruits of a recently
completed archaeological project near the famed battlefield - are helping
fill the gaps in the oft-told story of Sam Houston's routing of the Mexican
military.
Archaeologist Roger Moore believes the trove of artifacts gleaned from the
recent dig are the armaments discarded by 200-400 Mexican soldiers before
they surrendered to a handful of victorious Texans.
Funded through grants administered by Friends of the San Jacinto
Battleground, Moore led a brigade of 20 professional and amateur
archaeologists in scrutinizing a 50-acre site about 1.5 miles south of the
battlefield.
"There had been folklore, word that had filtered around from illegal
collectors that artifacts had been found on that property," Moore said.
"That's what piqued our interest."
Land choked by trees
The site, located on land owned by NRG Energy, was an archaeologist's
nightmare. Though open prairie at the time Santa Anna's troops beat a hasty
retreat, the land Moore faced was choked with an almost impenetrable tangle
of Chinese tallow, an invasive tree species.
That's when Moore called in the heavy archaeological artillery - a massive
Woodgator whose spinning toothed drum mowed down trash trees as easily as
cutting a lawn. After a few test clearings, in came a volunteer expert in
the use of metal detectors.
"With 50 acres," said Friends of the San Jacinto Battleground president Jan
DeVault, "the possibility of pinpointing anything was pretty dicey. The
first day out, we hit the jackpot."
With the first find, more test clearings were made. Moore and his colleagues
soon discerned a pattern. The artifacts seemed concentrated in a swath of
land roughly 130 yards long and 20 yards wide.
"I'm an archaeologist," Moore said. "I'm not a historian."
Still, he believes the pattern of his findings suggests the site may be the
point at which soldiers under the command of Santa Anna stalwart Juan
Almonte gave up.
As Moore re-creates the scene, Almonte's men - surprised like other Mexican
troops by Houston's midafternoon raid - retreated through boggy ground and
prairie until they reached a gully shielded by trees. In that brief respite,
the Mexican commander organized his troops into formation, then ordered them
to discard their weapons before marching forward under a white flag.
The action was an almost anticlimactic ending to an afternoon - the battle
lasted less than 20 minutes - that reversed Texan disasters at San Antonio
and Goliad. When the battle smoke cleared, 630 Mexicans were dead and 730
captured. On the Texan side, nine were dead and 30 wounded.
Moore said artifacts retrieved from the site eventually will be exhibited
through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
New interest
DeVault said the project points the way to more exploration.
"It just blows you away," she said. "I think people became very lax. They
just assumed that the battlefield was picked over by souvenir hunters. Now
we have tools that are very sophisticated - magnetometers,
ground-penetrating radar, a generation of metal detectors that can penetrate
far below the surface.
"The first systematic archaeological survey of San Jacinto began in 2002 and
2003," DeVault said. "We believe we have just scratched the surface."
[email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
>In honor of San Jacinto Day, archaeologist and GHG member Roger Moore was on
>the cover of today's issue of the Houston Chronicle:
The link to the story is
<http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/east/news/6383420.html>. There is a
photo of Roger and map of the site.
Mark Minton
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Don't miss the 2009 Spring TSA Convention, held at lovely Kerrville-
Schreiner State Park! Come and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow
underground amigos while listening to the following Saturday
presentations:
George Veni – “Fragile Earth: Sinkhole Causes, Risks and Management”
– hear about the recent large sinkhole collapses seen in New Mexico
salt dome karst.
Lyndon Tiu & Mark Alman – “Longhorn Lowdown” – wherein Mark & Lyndon
regale us with tales of digging in Longhorn Caverns State Park.
Ron Ralph – "The Friendship Project: Announcing the Texas
Speleological Survey Cave and Karst Survey at the Amistad National
Recreation Area, Val Verde County, Texas” – a new TSS project with
the National Park Service.
Jon Cradit – “NSS Convention, International Congress – What a Great
Shindig Texans Can Put-On” – just in case you were wondering what to
do with yourself the 3rd and 4th week of July, Jon has some ideas.
Andy Grubbs – “Salt Domes, Karst and the Daisetta Sinkhole” –
everything you ever wanted to know about gels and thixotropy!
Ellie Thoene – “I Always Wanted to be a Caver, and Now I Am!” – one
woman’s inspiring account of her first year of being an honest-to-
goodness caver (not spelunker).
David Ochel – “A Beginner’s Walk Through ‘Walls’” – David offers a
cave-mapping introduction to a venerable computer program.
Jim Kennedy – “White Nose Syndrome and Texas Cavers” – What’s causing
the recent die-off of large numbers of bats in caves of the
northeastern U.S.? Hear about the latest research and recommendations
on how cavers can (hopefully) minimize the spread of the scourge to
caves in other parts of the country.
Peter Sprouse & Geoff Hoese – "Oaxaca 2008: Skeletons and Scorpions in
Dark Places” – don't miss this one, it's sure to be an entertaining
(and funny) talk by these two Austin-area cavers.
Bill Steele – “Sistema de Los Toros, Now the Deepest Cave in Nuevo
León” – sticky mud, beautiful formations, cave-diving in an
inaccessible resurgence, and friendly locals all added up to a
successful end-of-year expedition.
Diana Tomchick – “Las Grutas de Guerrero” – how a recent expedition to
this Mexican state managed to avoid drug traffickers and find great
future cave exploration potential.
Audience – “Caver Show and Tell” – open to anyone who wants to spend a
few minutes showing off a caving-related object. Items can be
something that you currently use and can’t go caving without anymore,
something that you used to use decades ago but younger cavers never
see nowadays, or some artifact that you picked up on a trip that has a
good story to accompany it. Don Broussard has already volunteered to
“bring an earlier item rarely used in the US yet still used in
Australia” so bring something to show and stick around and listen to
what others brought (hint: this might be a good way to publicize
auction items).
Diana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
As far as I know, dogs are allowed in Kerrville-Schreiner Park as long
as they stay on a leash. Check with the park for confirmation.
Diana
On Apr 21, 2009, at 12:20 PM, Sheryl Rieck wrote:
Are dogs allowed?
Thanks.
Sheryl
-----Original Message-----
From: Diana Tomchick [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 12:04 PM
To: Cave Tex
Subject: [Texascavers] Tales of caves and caving at the 2009 Spring
TSA
Convention
Don't miss the 2009 Spring TSA Convention, held at lovely Kerrville-
Schreiner State Park! Come and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow
underground amigos while listening to the following Saturday
presentations:
George Veni – “Fragile Earth: Sinkhole Causes, Risks and Management”
– hear about the recent large sinkhole collapses seen in New Mexico
salt dome karst.
Lyndon Tiu & Mark Alman – “Longhorn Lowdown” – wherein Mark & Lyndon
regale us with tales of digging in Longhorn Caverns State Park.
Ron Ralph – "The Friendship Project: Announcing the Texas
Speleological Survey Cave and Karst Survey at the Amistad National
Recreation Area, Val Verde County, Texas” – a new TSS project with
the National Park Service.
Jon Cradit – “NSS Convention, International Congress – What a Great
Shindig Texans Can Put-On” – just in case you were wondering what to
do with yourself the 3rd and 4th week of July, Jon has some ideas.
Andy Grubbs – “Salt Domes, Karst and the Daisetta Sinkhole” –
everything you ever wanted to know about gels and thixotropy!
Ellie Thoene – “I Always Wanted to be a Caver, and Now I Am!” – one
woman’s inspiring account of her first year of being an honest-to-
goodness caver (not spelunker).
David Ochel – “A Beginner’s Walk Through ‘Walls’” – David offers a
cave-mapping introduction to a venerable computer program.
Jim Kennedy – “White Nose Syndrome and Texas Cavers” – What’s causing
the recent die-off of large numbers of bats in caves of the
northeastern U.S.? Hear about the latest research and recommendations
on how cavers can (hopefully) minimize the spread of the scourge to
caves in other parts of the country.
Peter Sprouse & Geoff Hoese – "Oaxaca 2008: Skeletons and Scorpions in
Dark Places” – don't miss this one, it's sure to be an entertaining
(and funny) talk by these two Austin-area cavers.
Bill Steele – “Sistema de Los Toros, Now the Deepest Cave in Nuevo
León” – sticky mud, beautiful formations, cave-diving in an
inaccessible resurgence, and friendly locals all added up to a
successful end-of-year expedition.
Diana Tomchick – “Las Grutas de Guerrero” – how a recent expedition to
this Mexican state managed to avoid drug traffickers and find great
future cave exploration potential.
Audience – “Caver Show and Tell” – open to anyone who wants to spend a
few minutes showing off a caving-related object. Items can be
something that you currently use and can’t go caving without anymore,
something that you used to use decades ago but younger cavers never
see nowadays, or some artifact that you picked up on a trip that has a
good story to accompany it. Don Broussard has already volunteered to
“bring an earlier item rarely used in the US yet still used in
Australia” so bring something to show and stick around and listen to
what others brought (hint: this might be a good way to publicize
auction items).
Diana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
>From their website and Rob's TSA Convention announcement:
All buildings are smoke free and pets are not permitted. Persons arriving with
animals will be required to kennel them outside of park property prior to being
registered and issued keys for any facilities.
Dog's are allowed in the campground on a leash!
There are cabins available but if you are renting a cabin, dog's are not
allowed in or out of the cabin.
Thanks,
Mark
________________________________
From: Diana Tomchick [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tue 4/21/2009 1:56 PM
To: Sheryl Rieck
Cc: Cave Tex
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Tales of caves and caving at the 2009 Spring TSA
Convention
As far as I know, dogs are allowed in Kerrville-Schreiner Park as long
as they stay on a leash. Check with the park for confirmation.
Diana
On Apr 21, 2009, at 12:20 PM, Sheryl Rieck wrote:
> Are dogs allowed?
>
> Thanks.
> Sheryl
--- End Message ---
