The Adventures of Crocodile Joe

As they were riding along, the train stopped out in the middle of nowhere. They soon learned that in the distance was a dust storm headed their way. The entire horizon was light brown to as high as they could see. The conductor told them that it was a sandstorm. Joe had never seen one before and was intrigued. He went out on the rear railing of the caboose to get a better view. Suddenly, the train jerked into motion and Joe fell off the train. Allegheny Alice saw it and her laugh quickly turned to concern as Joe lay in the fast-receding distance. She yelled to Anaconda Phil and Cactus Pete and the three jumped off the train. They ran back to Joe to see if he was alright as the train disappeared into the distance trying to outrun the storm. When Joe stepped out on the caboose deck he only had socks on. He had spent his entire childhood without shoes and the bottom of his feet were thick with callouses. Standing in the hot sand did not produce much discomfort. Pete came up to him, sat him down and removed his socks and wrapped one around each ankle. Bringing him to his feet he had Joe wrap his arms around his chest and hug himself. Pete said, “Tight. Eyes always on the horizon.” Pete started walking. By now they were very accustomed to Pete’s instincts and they followed after him. As they walked Joe realized he could tolerate the hot sand quite well but every time he started to loosen the pressure on his chest or look down the discomfort increased. Just as the sandstorm hit them, Pete and the crew went into a cave. With the howling sand outside they were thankful of the safety of the shelter. Well, if it hadn’t been for the bear, that is. They soon heard a growl, and a big bear was on its hind legs and threatening. Alice walked over to the bear and yelled above the noise outside, “Back off!” I guess the bear would rather brave the storm than face Alice so it scampered out of the cave. In the morning, or at least they thought it was morning, everything was dark in the cave. Quickly they understood why. The entire entrance of the cave was blocked with tons of sand and they would not be able to leave that way. Pete walked to the back of the cave and stated removing some rocks and forced a gap in the rock face. He climbed through. They followed and quickly felt an ice-cold wind flowing towards the cave entrance. Since it was sealed the wind was a slight breeze but still bitter cold. Pete started walking. After what seemed like hours (Pete never stopped walking), they came to a “Y” and could tell that the cold air was coming from a single cave and split into two branches so they took the other. Phil explained to everyone that this was a “Lava Lens”. It seemed, in prehistoric times, when volcanos were active, escaping gas would produce gas pockets in the lava and when the rock solidified, these air pockets remained. They would go for hundreds of miles from the top of a mountain to the plains below. The cold air being heavier than warm air would sink and, hence, drive down through the air pockets. These were called “Drainage Winds”. In Utah, where these are much more prevalent (especially around Soda Springs, Idaho) farmers stored their perishables in these caves which were natural refrigerators. Phil seemed to be an expert on the matter so they continued down that leg. They noted that cold winds were coming from behind them so they felt it was exiting somewhere. As they walked along, half frozen, they realized that the cave was getting less dark. Soon they saw “A light at the end of the tunnel” and knew that escape was in sight. Near the exit were piles of boxes continuing food. After eating some and grabbing some for the coming journey, they exited the cave. (Phil left some money for payment.) Miles away they could see a city. As they neared it, they learned it was a town called Winnemucca, Arizona. (They found out later that the town was named after Sarah Winnemucca, a Northern Paiute Native American. After studying at a Catholic school in Santa Clara, California, she traveled to Washington D. C. to speak before Congress on behalf of her people.)