Bekahs Wedding

This weekend we went down to San Antonio for a good friends wedding. It was a lot of fun. Very beautiful, very simple, and fast....... just like our friend. : ) We also got to hang out with some friends of ours, and had a blast with them! And I spilled Blue Coconut Creamslush all over myself before the wedding........ but because I was wearing my stain resistant pants from Eddie Baeur, it didn't leave a single mark. It was so cool! Here are some pics...

Devils Sinkhole LIDAR project

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer my time and abilities towards a project down at the Devils Sinkhole. It is located in south Texas near Rocksprings. The project itself was very successful for the first weekend, and we still have two more to go! Sponsors involved include the TCMA, Bexar Grotto, TPWD, Bat Conservation International, Pigeon Mountain Industries, George Veni and Associates, Jerry Atkinson, Don Auburn, Andy Howe, William Stephens, National Cave and Karst Research Institute, National Speleological Society, and the Devils Sinkhole Society. I am really looking forward to the next time! This is a summation of what we did and what we are doing.


While I was asked to be a photographer for this project (photojournalistic photography), there were actually several projects going on at once. The first (and main project) was the LIDAR project carried out by scientist Jerome A. Bellian with Texas Bureau of Economic Geology . The LIDAR is one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. It stands for Light Imaging Detection and Ranging, and it is being used in the sinkhole to create a 3D image of the cave.
Why? So that it can be turned into a interactive 3D program that visitors can see while visiting the sinkhole. Since the general public can not enter the cave because of safety issues related to the vertical drop of 145 feet, and out of consideration of disturbance of the roosting bats during the summer, the LIDAR project will produce a 3D image of the cave for the public to see. Also, the LIDAR is extremely accurate so measurements and dimensions of the cave are taken through the LIDAR without having to put peoples lives at risk. This project is breaking ground for the future and has never really been done in caves like this.

The second project was a two part project, and consisted of the photographing of the cave and photographing the process. I covered the documentation of what went on and Photographer Kevin McGowan covered the documentation of the cave itself. He is taking extremely accurate pictures of the cave surface itself. Once this project is done, the pictures that Kevin has taken will be laid over the top of the 3D scan to create a detailed 3D map. This is also something that is breaking ground in the caving community. Kevins work can be seen at www.kevinmcgowan.com. To carry this out, Kevin brought the coolest toys ever! He had these giant stobes that where about 2400watts. In a dark hole, they left quite a permanent impression on your eyes if you accidentally looked into (or even near) them. I accidentally did this several times, and of course, my eyes were burned out of my sockets. :) Just kidding, but it sure felt like it.

These lights were powered by these giant capacitors (which you can see Don holding up above) that hold the same charge as about 10 defibrillators. When he was done shooting, I asked him if I could use that last flash (which had to be done to discharge the capacitors) and he said sure! With that last flash we did this fun picture of the shadows.

The other projects consisted of measuring water levels, biological analysis, and exploring for virgin caves. They also had to remove a rattlesnake from the bottom of the cave before we went down into it... that was cool.

It was a ton of fun! Saturday night we got to watch a 1940's film of the Devils Sinkhole. It was hilarious! Sitting in our chairs, stuffed into our sleeping bags, and projecting the movie onto a white sheet... we were all so enthralled with the movie that we began to add our own themes and words... and believe me... it wasn't pretty. It sure was funny though. If you ever go down there to visit, you have to buy the video. It is well worth it! You will a good laugh everytime you watch it.
The food was amazing and I look forward to next time! I had a blast and hope that it all goes just as smooth, if not smoother, next time.

5 days in Jeff. Park

My last week of being in Oregon, I decided to go up to Jefferson Park, which a beautiful area at the base of Mt. Jefferson. Now I know what your thinking... "Oooohh, that sounds fun!"... but when you have luck like me that is not always the case. You see, God has blessed me with a life that is bound to be eventful. Don't ask me why... I guess he just has more memories for me or something. If you go on a trip with me, usually you will have a freak snowstorm, problems with the road or car, or just plain wierd stuff happen to you. I have had it all happen to me.... I have even been attacked by a prairie dog before! How many people do you know that have been attacked by a prairie dog?!?

Day 1
To get a layout of the trail, and to kinda see what I was up against, my sister and I decided to hike up there. It was rough. 75% of the trail was uphill... and when you are not used to hiking it tends to be even worse. We had fun though. We made it up to a point just before the park, but didnt know we were so close. We were really about a 1/4 of a mile from the park. After that though, I knew what I was going to have to do in order to get up there, so it was worth it. We were pretty sore by the time we got back. :) I think Sarah cried some on the way up, but she was a trooper.

Day 2
So a couple of days later I decided to go back and spend the night. I knew that it was supposed to rain, but I wasnt prepared for what was going to happen. I booked it up there! It took about 3 hours when I was with my sister to get up, and it took me two hours to get up that day. In fact, I was sweating so much that it looked like I was in a terenchal downpour! But... then again... that is why some people call me Rainman... becuase I do not sweat.... I RAIN!
As I was working my way up, it started misting... then the mist slowly turned to small drops... (this was fine with me)... THEN as soon as I got up to the actual park the clouds closed in and it started raining! And this was not just little rain... it was BIG rain! I thought, "This bites!"... but I still maintained some enthusiasm.
It was about lunch time, and the temperature was starting to drop a little... so I found a big tree to sit under to cook my lunch. As I was cooking my lunch, just my luck, guess what happened!?! The temperature dropped suddenly about 15 dgrees, and it began to snow. Not just little snow flakes. These were the big, clumped together kind! The ones that when you get hit in the face with your whole face gets wet! If I was at home they would have been a lot of fun to play in.... but that was not the case. I was huddled under a tree, trying to stay dry, and trying not to get my camera wet. It was after this change in the weather that I really started considering not spending the night.
I finished my lunch and checked the snowfall, and it dropped about 1/2 inch of snow in 40 minutes! It didn't look like it was going to let up either. Visibility was about 50 ft, and what was supposed to be Mt. Jefferson was just a cloud...... so I decided to go back. I am glad that I did it too, because when I went back the next day, about 5-6 inches had fallen.

Day 3
Knowing that there was going to be a good amount of snow there... I decided to just go up for a day. There is one spot that I scoped out in my cloudy, blind wanderings the day before. It was just before the park, and I made it up there pretty fast. I could see the mountain just before I went up and man was it pretty! Snow covered with clouds hanging at the bottom of it. I thought, "This is going to be awesome!" Well... I got up there, and it was cloud covered. I actually think that it was only cloud covered where I was at... because when I got back down to the Jeep at the end of the day, it was clear and shiny again. This image is the most of Jeff. that I saw... I think though that it turnout ok. The I just stayed in the one spot and really picked apart my location photographically. I think that I got some good shots.

Day4 and 5
So now knowing that this is going to be my final plug to try and conquer Ol' Jeff., I decided to go up and stay the night. I get up late, booked it up there... and whalah! Beautiful! Finally all this work paid off! I was up there for a sunset and sunrise.... and no four-legged animals came to visit me in the middle of the night. I had a wonderful time while I was up there, I even climbed up Park Butte to look over the entire park. I haven't had much time to look at these pictures... but I know that they are going to be good! Here are a couple. I relaxed some, read my bible, and went back later in the day.

Final results
So altogether I backpacked about 50 miles that week. I lost 12 pounds, and one inch off of my waist! I had about 50% of my time as frustration...... and wore myself out almost everyday. All this for a couple of good pictures! Was it worth it?.... Definately.