Inside this Issue:    

This month’s meeting will be a Mineral Club Workshop at Gordon & Pam Jackson’s House.  This has become a yearly tradition, and will be held on

Saturday March 11^th, starting at 10:00 am – until Gordon decides to throw us out. (If you plan to stay after 4:30, you might want to bring dinner).  The bad weather date is Sunday, the 12^th. Don’t forget - there will be tables for minerals for sale, trade or give away - a silent auction to end at 11:15 am .  See the Map to Gordon’s house on page 2 and details of the workshop on page 3. 

The Club would like to thank Bill Brown for his presentation on gem cutting at the February club meeting.  Also, thanks to Mike and Natalie Undercofler for bringing the refreshments.

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Kevin Downey will be giving this month’s presentation on his caving experiences.

Kevin is a professional photographer, internationally recognized for his cave images.  He has participated in, or led over 100 international projects in cave exploration, study and documentation, and photographed on more than 2,000 cave trips.  A few highlights include the discovery and survey of the world’s longest underground river, working in the deepest caves on earth and many of the most extensive.  From caves over 500 kilometers long, to some very small places, the world underground has become an artistic palette for Downey’s photographic techniques, many of which he developed or refined, specifically to work in these often challenging places.  Using a hybrid mix of mountaineering, caving and diving skills in a wide variety of environments has enabled a host of discoveries.  Kevin brings a deep sense of responsibility to the study of caves and great care is used to ensure that nothing is damaged or disturbed.  While the sheer excitement of exploration is fundamental to Downey’s work, these projects are also working on scientific frontiers as well.   The desire to understand runs deep.  Each new discovery seems to raise more questions, more challenges and often the understanding that the real limits of human exploration are within us.