Monthly 2nd & 4th Monday / 7 PM   Bexar Grotto meeting.  Chester's Hamburgers, 16609 San Pedro.

Monthly 2nd Wednesday   Texas Speleological Survey Work Session in Austin  Contact Ron Ralph for details.

The first Rancho Diana Karst Survey day will be Sunday, September 27.  We will meet at 9:00 am and directions are below.

Rancho Diana is a 1300 acre tract owned by the city of San Antonio over the recharge zone north of Helotes.  It is in an area with dozens of known caves nearby, some of significant size and the property has great potential!  There are about 10 known cave and karst features on the property but most of it has not even been ridgewalked.  The goal of the project is to survey the known caves and to search the whole property to locate and survey new cave and karst features.  For each trip, we will split into two teams - a smaller survey team and a larger ridgewalking team.  We will start by working on the smaller, but less explored, 500 acre Scenic Canyon tract.

Project Date for this fall are:
Sunday, September 27
Saturday, October 31
Saturday, November 21

Each person will be required to sign a City of San Antonio indemnification release.  Also, please contact me to tell me you are coming (if you haven't already) so I can ensure we don't have too large a turnout since parking space might be a bit limited.

Directions:

Go to Bandera and 1604 on the northwest side near Helotes.
Head out Bandera Rd, going completely through Helotes until you get to Scenic Loop Rd., which is the first traffic light after you get out of Helotes.
Turn right on Scenic Loop and head north.  Eventually you will get to a 4 way stop sign intersection.
Stay on Scenic Loop for almost another mile.  As soon as you pass the Grey Moss Inn, look for a gate on the left with a curved stone wall on either side.
Turn left, go through the gate and park in the grassy area on either side of the dirt road.

A map showing the location of the meeting site is here.

Let me know if you have any questions - hope to see you there!

Thanks,
Joe
210-859-2105

Calling all cavers........... The bats will soon leave us and the caves of Southeastern New Mexico will be opening for permits again.  Some however will remained closed!  The BLM and Jim Goodbar wish to see these projects finished so the caves that are closed may reopen and other caves may begin long needed clean ups.

Give back a little time to the caves we all love and to the very caves in which many of us got our first taste of a wild cave.

The dates for the ENDLESS Restoration Project are:
OCTOBER 24, 25,
NOVEMBER 21, 22, 28, 29
DECEMBER 12, 13, 19, 20

This project is considered priority by the BLM.

PLEASE sign up and come help!  Have fun and see a great cave and maybe even some others............... Stay in a nice warm house with hot showers, no need for freezing on the Hill.

To sign up please contact me at txcavemaid@yahoo.com
or write to
Karen Perry
925 N Guadalupe
Carlsbad, NM 88220

or call me at 575 - 887 - 9783 (H) or 575 - 885 - 7727 (W) or 575 - 499 - 9839 (C).
The caves need you, the BLM needs you!

Thanks for reading and look forward to seeing y'all soon,
Karen Perry

For publication in newsletters, list or any other cave related materials that get the word out.  Please pass on!

This one may be cancelled because of its proximity to Christmas

Reminders will be sent out several weeks ahead of time.  Contact Marvin Miller with any questions

830-885-5631 (home)
210-415-5190 (cell)

Hey Texas cavers,

The most remote lead in Honey Creek Cave will be pushed in a series of three trips in late January-early February 2010.  Help is needed to haul gear for cave divers Jean "Creature" Krejca and James Brown.  Please let me know of your interest in being part of one or more of these epic adventures.

January 30, 2010 - James and Creature's dive gear will be taken to the upstream HS Sump, a six hour in-cave trip, from the shaft entrance.  The gear will be left there for the dive the next weekend.  No other trips into the cave will take place this weekend.

February 6, 2010 - Creature and James will go to the sump and do the dive.  The sump is 1,435 feet long.  James and Creature have explored and mapped about 1,000 feet of air-filled passage beyond it to the next sump.  They will dive this second sump on this trip.  When they return through the long sump, they will stash their gear on the entrance side of the sump.

NOTE: This weekend is the weekend when the cave is open for other trips.  Entrance to entrance swim trips, the Grand Finale Loop, or anywhere else in the cave, is fine this weekend.  Anyone planning to do this should make it known of their interest and plan to have at least one person on your trip who has done your proposed trip before.

February 13, 2010 - A large group will go back to the sump and retrieve the gear.  No other trips into the cave will take place this weekend.

I am keeping track of who would like to be part of this historic caving.  E-mail me of your interest and ask me your questions.

Cavingly,

Bill Steele

Reminders will be sent out several weeks ahead of time.  Contact Marvin Miller with any questions

830-885-5631 (home)
210-415-5190 (cell)

Reminders will be sent out several weeks ahead of time.  Contact Marvin Miller with any questions

830-885-5631 (home)
210-415-5190 (cell)