While this is not necessarily caving related, the presentation is by Orion and Jan Knox so I thought some of you would be interested in attending.
Geary Edwards Aquifer Philosophical Society - aka brown bag luncheon Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 11:58: AM Edwards Aquifer Authority 1615 N. St. Mary's Street, San Antonio, TX We are pleased to announce that Orion and Jan Knox will make a presentation titled: Walking in the Footsteps of Chinggis Khaan, Trekking the Altai Tavan Bogd Mountains of Western Mongolia Orion and Jan are world travelers, adventurers, and world class photographers. They will be making a multimedia presentation on their recent travels to Mongolia which is scheduled to play at the Texas State Museum this spring. Here is a great opportunity to meet Orion and Jan in a small group setting and here there presentation on a part of the world rarely visited by westerners. The presentation will be held on Wednesday, August 27 from 11:58 AM to 12:58 PM at the Edwards Aquifer Authority's Conference Center. This will be an informal presentation so please feel free to bring your lunch and a friend. Seating is based on availability. For directions, please feel free to call our receptionist at 210-222-2204. The Edwards Aquifer Authority is located at 1615 N. St. Mary's Street, San Antonio, TX 78215 Thank you, Geary Schindel Chief Technical Officer Edwards Aquifer Authority Walking in the Footsteps of Chinggis Khaan Trekking the Altai Tavan Bogd Mountains of Western Mongolia Orion & Jan Knox Abstract Having previously made a three hundred mile trek in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, followed the Silk Road across the width of China then across the Karakorum Mountains into Northern Pakistan and visited Bangkok, Thailand, Jan and I were intrigued by a Wilderness Travel trip to Mongolia. Mongolia is located between Western Russia and Northeastern China. It is bounded on the south by the Gobi desert, on the west by the glacier covered Altai Mountains and on the north by Siberia. It contains some of the most remote and beautiful land imaginable. Mongolia is noted for its paleontology with some of the world's best dinosaur discoveries having been made in the Gobi Desert starting in the 1920s by Roy Chapman Andrews. We visited the Flaming Cliffs, site of many of his digs. Mongolia's human history begins almost 500,000 years ago and it is thought by some to be the origin of Native Americans who crossed the Bering Strait during the Ice Age. For centuries Mongolia was populated by a loose confederation of rival clans until Chinggis Khaan arrived on the scene near the end of the 12th century. Chinggis, by persuasion or brute force united the Mongols and established his domain over much of Asia as far west as Eastern Europe. In more recent history, Mongolia was part of the Soviet Union until 1996 when the country elected a non-communist party for the first time in 75 years. Our trip started in Ulaanbaatar, the capitol, where we visited Buddhist Monasteries, Museums and attended an incredible performance of traditional music and dance. Leaving Ulaanbaatar, we next flew some 750 miles to Olgii, Mongolia's westernmost provincial capitol. From there we made a six day, 260 mile loop by a combination of four wheel drive vehicles and hiking. We visited a world heritage rock art site, hiked in Mongolia's highest mountain range, and visited Kazakh nomads who live in the valleys once traveled by Chinggis Khaan. Our final stop was the Gobi desert where we visited the Flaming Cliffs, ice filled canyons and desert sand dunes.
