Showing posts with label Field Trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Field Trips. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Black Chasm Cavern

While visiting Volcano, California, we toured the Black Chasm Cavern which is a National Natural Landmark. The last time we toured here, Bode was a baby and had to stay back with grandma, so it was fun to have the whole family along. This was also my parents first tour, so that was an added treat. It is nestled in Amador County in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This area is also surrounded by gold rush country, so there are many other historical landmarks to visit.


We went on the walking tour, which lasted a little less than an hour, and was the right amount of time for the kids. Our tour group consisted of the seven of us and another couple. Our tour guide was great and with our small group we felt like we were getting a personal tour.

The caverns are amazing (and very cold). They include stalactites, stalagmites, flow stones, "cave bacon", "cave straws", an underground pool, and the largest collection of helictite crystals in the world, which are what the caverns are famous for.

Heading down to the first room: It had stalactites, stalagmites, and a column, along with some other very cool crystals. Some of the larger stalactites and stalagmites had been cut out by previous explorers of the cave before it became a National Landmark, but we could still see how large they had been.



 
Column

Heading further down: We were able to see down to the underground pool, which quite far down. The guide estimated that the pool was 60 feet deep. From the steps going down we were able to see all the way down to the pool and up to the ceiling of the cavern.

Zoomed-in view of the underground pool


Lastly we headed into the large Landmark Room. This room included a huge collection of helictite crystals, which is what the caverns are famous for. The helictite crystals are formed by pressure. Normally caverns don't have anywhere near this amount of helictite crystals. Helictite crystals are only found in 5% of all caves. This is the largest collection in the world. The collection was quite fascinating to see so close-up.

Part of the huge room

Flow stone - looks like ice cream

Look at all the helictites

Helictite close-up


 
Landmark room ceiling
We couldn't hang out in the cavern without some family pictures.

Family fun


Grampa & Gramma

The boys in front of the helictites.
Heading back out of the cavern we got a different view of how large the cavern was.



Black Chasm Cavern was a great visit for our family.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Book Signing Fun

October 6, 2011


I had such a great time a book signing for Moira Young, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Elizabeth Miles. The only other book signing I've attended was for Christopher Paolini a few years ago with Ian. This one was all for me. I loved listening to the authors speak about themselves, their books, their writing process, etc. The ladies were so personable and engaging.

Elizabeth Miles, Becca Fitzpatrick, Moira Young


Becca Fitzpatrick was very sweet. I commented to her that I just started reading her books this week since I was unsure about the fallen angel bit. But I really like them so far. She and I spoke about how we both don't like scary books. She mentioned during her talk that the fallen angels in her book are more like mortals because she wanted them to have struggles like us and be able to redeem themselves. I like that.


Moira Young was such a confident presence. I loved her demeanor. I told her that Blood Red Road was one of my favorite books (what I meant was one of my favorite books this year but I was a little starstruck and left that out). She looked at me and said thank you and then said, "Haven't you read Wuthering Heights?" LOL, I felt a little silly and joked with her about that.


I felt a little bad that I didn't get Miles' book "Fury," but she described it as scary, and I'm a big wuss. Since it's going to be a trilogy, I think I'm safe to borrow it later or at least get some more reviews on it to see if it is nightmare material or not. If I read it later and like it, then I can buy the books later and attend her next signing.


October 13, 2011

I went to a book signing for Claudia Gray, Kiersten White, Anna Carey, and Amy Garvey. Ian accompanied me and we made a date of it. Ian read in the car on the way there. I thought he would read during the panel discussion, but he actually enjoyed listening to the authors speak about their books and answer questions from the audience. We had a great talk on the drive home about the writing process, outlining, etc. Ian said he enjoyed himself and would attend a book signing with me again. It was really great listening to the authors and meeting them, but Ian's response to the experience made the night even better. I wish I had a picture of Ian at the event, but he didn't want his picture taken with the authors. Oh well, maybe next time :)
Amy Garvey, Anna Carey, Claudia Gray, Kiersten White
Claudia Gray was a wealth of information and inspiration. I've not read her Evernight series, but after listening to her speak, I really want to. Plus, her Fateful book sounds so interesting, and it's not a series, which really appeals to me right now.
Claudia Gray


Kiersten White was super spunky, and came across close to how I imagine her character Evie comes across. She was full of energy, and makes her writing style sound like lots of fun.

Kiersten White


Amy Garvey is also an editor in addition to a writer, so she really brought a great additional perspective to the panel. It was interesting to hear her speak about her writing process, and how she came from writing Adult Romance to Young Adult books.

Anna Carey was really sweet and said she watched me during the discussion because I was encouraging (plus I was sitting right in the middle). Well, my goal while in the audience is to be encouraging to the speaker, so I'm glad I accomplished that. She was very sweet and brought a youthful energy to the discussion.

I've read a few of these books (White's, Fitzpatrick's, and Young's), and am looking very much forward to reading the other books from these fascinating authors. I also look forward to attending more of these signings. It is not only fun getting books signed, but truly the education is during the panel discussions. Hopefully Ian will be able to attend more events as well. Perhaps it will inspire his inner-author :)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Leo Carrillo Beach, Malibu

Last week, the boys and I enjoyed a lovely day at Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu, CA with some friends. It was slightly overcast, but the temperature was perfect. We tried to get there close to low tide to check out the tide pools, but we weren't able to get there early enough. But the boys had a great time hanging out with their friends, digging in the sand, collecting seashells (and parts of lobster shells?), climbing on the rocks, running an obstacle course, playing in the water, and just having a good time.

Beware: My husband told me I posted too many pictures. Believe it or not, this is what I narrowed it down to. There's something so wonderful about seeing my kids out in nature. Besides, isn't that what digital cameras are for - to take lots and lots of pictures? * smile, wink*