The Greater Houston Grotto (www.greaterhoustongrotto.org) is one of approximately 200 local chapters of the National Speleological Society (www.caves.org). We've been around for quite a while, and in 2007, we had 58 members. Our meetings are every third Tuesday of the month, and members generally organize one or two caving trips a month. The best way for a person to get active in our group is to come to the meetings and get to know as many people as possible. Networking often opens up a lot of caving opportunities.

In case you're interested, a typical weekend trip with the Greater Houston Grotto might entail caravaning to the Hill Country, followed by a night of camping, cooking, and socializing. In the morning, we'll hike to a cave and either walk, crawl, climb, or rappel inside. Over the next several hours we'll explore the various nooks and crannies of the cavern. We'll witness breath-taking formations, get a bit dirty, learn a thing or two, and maybe observe some interesting wildlife. That evening after cleaning up, we'll cook a good meal and tell stories late into the night. The next day, we might spend a few hours giving back to our hosts by helping to improve the property or by performing some conservation work. And that's a wrap. Good food, good people, good times.

The current leadership structure of the Greater Houston Grotto is as follows:
Greater Houston Grotto OfficersChairman: Kevin McGowan -- kevin@kevinmcgowan.com
Vice-Chairman: George Paul Richmann -- gprichmann@gmail.com
Secretary-Treasurer: Emily McGowan -- emmcg@sbcglobal.net
Speleospace Editor: Ray Hertel -- rayhertel@juno.com
Equipment: Tommy Joe -- duczech@netscape.net
Librarian: Denver Hopkins -- denverh@thoughtfarm.com
Webmaster: Kevin McGowan -- kevin@kevinmcgowan.com
Meetup Site Organizer: Clint Ladd -- btberserker@fastmail.fm