FRIDAY - We have a very typical 96-mile travel day today, but there is one non-typical aspect to the route.
Just outside of the city limits of South Lake Tahoe we turned onto U.S. Route 50 to start heading west over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The highest point of the entire US-50 Highway, which runs from Ocean City, MD to West Sacramento, CA (3019 mi.), is at Echo Pass Summit (7377' elev.).
Echo Summit is where the 1968 U.S. Olympic high-altitude track & field trials for men were held. The men trained here in an effort to acclimate to a similiar elevation that they would compete in at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico.
As you can see we still have a way to go to climb up over the summit of Echo Pass. Stuck behind this 18-wheeler will slow things down, which will not help with ROVER running hot.
We'll have to compare this rock feature to Half Dome when we visit in 2-weeks.
The upcoming bridge crosses over Sutter Creek on CA-49 east of Sacramento, CA.
In the town of Jackson, CA (pop. 5019) we stopped at a Walmart to refresh our veggies and kill a little time by eating lunch in their parking lot.
When it got close to 2:00PM we drove the final 14-miles to our reserved campsite at Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park.
At California State Parks we recieved a $2 Senior Discount, bringing our cost to just $28 a night.
There are no water/electric hookups here, but there are scattered water spigots around.
By 7:00PM we realized that we booked a site the same weekend the local "scouts" are here. We were soon sharing the small 23-site campground with 30-young "excited to be here" scouts.
SATURDAY - The primary consideration for choosing our present campsite was to position ourselves as close as possible to Black Chasm Cavern.
In that respect, I'd say we were very successful, considering the Cavern is only 1.5-mile down the road.
In January of 1976 Black Chasm Cavern received the designation of being a National Natural Landmark, further protecting it from nearby gravel quarry activities.
BLACK CHASM CAVERN A NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARK
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We waited outside the man-made entrance for everyone to be ready to enter.
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Soon we were entering the cave in a single-file format.
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Just inside the entrance we began seeing the familiar formations.
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We knew the cave was famous for its abundance of delicate helictite formations.
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There were also some very interesting drapery formations.
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Looking up at the ceiling we could see a few more of the helictite formations.
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The tour explores a narrow vertical column inside the cave.
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A rope still hangs from the ceiling that was used to construct the stairs over 20-years ago.
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The ropes and ladder are used to retrieve dropped items from the bottom of the cave. It's done every few years, so no, your not getting your phone or child's shoe back today.
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We had to go up and over to access what's called the "Landmark Room".
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It's it this room where a majority of the precious helictite formations can be seen. It's also the reason the cavern was awarded the National Natural Landmark designation.
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We viewed more helictite formations today than in all 75 of our previous tours combined.
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No two are alike, making each one unique to itself.
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There was of course plenty of other impressive formations to see also.
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Are you ready for a little "Helictite Overload"?
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Faith, our cave tour guide, offered to take everyones photo in front of this formation.
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How could we say no to that? I even combed out my beard this morning.
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A few more final photos were taken on our way back out of the cave.
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It's amazing how thin and transparent these "rock" formations are when backlit.
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Looks like somebody already took a bite out of this "cave bacon" formation.
SUNDAY - I'd be willing to bet that at least a few of you are wondering, "What's with the name of the State Park you all are camped in"? Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, it doesn't really have a ring to it when you say it out loud now, does it?
Well, today we are going to find out together, when we visit the other side of the park and explore the Indian Grinding Rock Museum and grounds.
INDIAN GRINDING ROCK
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The museum is housed in a building meant to represent the traditional Indian Roundhouse. It displays crafts and tools from all of the native Californian Indian Tribes.
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Out behind the museum is a donated piece of metal sculpture depicting a Miwok dancer.
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There are several examples of traditional Indian bark houses.
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Once inside it was easy to see that tree bark was strapped to limbs to create walls.
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A hole was purposely left in the top of the ceiling to allow smoke to exit the dwelling.
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Indian Grinding Rock's name comes from the 1185 mortar holes in the marbleized limestone.
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The holes are a result of grinding acorns and seeds into a mush or meal like texture.
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It's the largest known collection of mortar holes anywhere, estimated to be 2000-3000 years old.
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Also on the property is a reconstructed Hun'ge, commonly called a Roundhouse.
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The entrance was locked today, but it is still occasionally used for ceremonies.
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From the back it's easy to see the building is half buried to control the temperature inside.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
We waited outside the man-made entrance for everyone to be ready to enter.
Soon we were entering the cave in a single-file format.
Just inside the entrance we began seeing the familiar formations.
We knew the cave was famous for its abundance of delicate helictite formations.
There were also some very interesting drapery formations.
Looking up at the ceiling we could see a few more of the helictite formations.
The tour explores a narrow vertical column inside the cave.
A rope still hangs from the ceiling that was used to construct the stairs over 20-years ago.
The ropes and ladder are used to retrieve dropped items from the bottom of the cave.
We had to go up and over to access what's called the "Landmark Room".
It's it this room where a majority of the precious helictite formations can be seen.
We viewed more helictite formations today than in all 75 of our previous tours combined.
No two are alike, making each one unique to itself.
There was of course plenty of other impressive formations to see also.
Are you ready for a little "Helictite Overload"?
Faith, our cave tour guide, offered to take everyones photo in front of this formation.
How could we say no to that? I even combed out my beard this morning.
A few more final photos were taken on our way back out of the cave.
It's amazing how thin and transparent these "rock" formations are when backlit.
Looks like somebody already took a bite out of this "cave bacon" formation.
The museum is housed in a building meant to represent the traditional Indian Roundhouse.
Out behind the museum is a donated piece of metal sculpture depicting a Miwok dancer.
There are several examples of traditional Indian bark houses.
Once inside it was easy to see that tree bark was strapped to limbs to create walls.
A hole was purposely left in the top of the ceiling to allow smoke to exit the dwelling.
Indian Grinding Rock's name comes from the 1185 mortar holes in the marbleized limestone.
The holes are a result of grinding acorns and seeds into a mush or meal like texture.
It's the largest known collection of mortar holes anywhere, estimated to be 2000-3000 years old.
Also on the property is a reconstructed Hun'ge, commonly called a Roundhouse.
The entrance was locked today, but it is still occasionally used for ceremonies.
From the back it's easy to see the building is half buried to control the temperature inside.
