Who Wants to Hike Bonanza?!

Good Morning!

This was one of the forms of entertainment of choice at field camp - the dreaded Flash Bang. During periods of downtime and carbo-loading, it was discovered fairly early on that the sighting mirrors of our compasses, particularly those of the Brunton brand, reflected sunlight REALLY well across large distances. (This is also very handy to know for potential field emergencies in which signaling across large distances would be required. Let's hope my buddies and I never have this problem in future excursions.)

This turned into a game and it ultimately became hard for large groups to eat lunch together as we'd all end up flashbanging each other. My favorites were when we could get someone when they were about 1000 ft. away, usually on the other side of a basin or canyon that we were mapping.

The other dominant form of entertainment was the fabled "Suck Bomb," in which someone called out the target victim's name to grab his or her attention. The victim's typical answer is, "What?" The reply would then be, "SUCKS!"

Not really sure which is the more mature of the two, but both are funny. With the latter, people figured out pretty quickly when they were about to receive a suck bomb. If they heard their name called, some would figure it out and instead of "What?" we'd get a "F**k you!" with a giant grin on their face.

A short-lived practice was something some of the boys invented, called "Pass the Rock." Pretty self-explanatory. The trick was that the rock generally had absolutely nothing to do with the lecture going on at the time, but they wanted to see how long it'd get passed around and inspected. People figured that one out within a couple of weeks, I think, after it became frequent and rather obvious.

Back into the present and we find no soy milk in my fridge, so no pancakes this morning. Bummer. I'll probably do eggs again today. Thunderstorms are expected, my running buddy's bike is in need of maintenance (tire blew, so my inefficiently-running arse can't join her today on her 7-miler), and I have grading to blast through. Should be a quiet day, which I'm totally in favor of, and anything could be more productive than yesterday. About the only things I managed to do yesterday were to make/eat breakfast while it was still early, get out for an hourlong walk in the residental section of Urbana (GORGEOUS - saw some crocuses!), wash the pile of dishes I've let build up for a while after 11 pm, then attempted to stay up to watch a movie and fell asleep less than halfway through.

And I'm off to be along with it. Peace out.

As one of my good friends pointed out the other day, I've been posting more about the operational status of my computer (usually during a period when it's actually operating) than I actually do about rocks or field camp. The subjects have more or less become intertwined, though, so I consider the statement nullified. >: )

So, to continue with computer-related posts, the latest incarnation of quirky behavior from this machine I discovered today after work. Powered it up to make sure it would boot without going to sleep (check), tried unsuccessfully to connect to Arialzone (check), then closed the lid and went downstairs to make some (not so good) microwave dinner stuff. Get back upstairs with food in hand and check the computer, only to find it appears to be OFF.

WTF?

Open lid, hit power button --- and the display reactivates. It had just turned the display off (normal for my custom battery settings). No sleep. Must've fixed it too well. Also suggests that the previous malfunctions may have been the computer thinking the lid was closed because of some sort of disconnect between the offending part and the motherboard. It DOES sleep normally when I select the option from the menu.

All in all, I'm hoping it stays this way, because I will take the extra steps to sleep this thing over the alternative any day and everyday.

Anyway, I'm putting up a few more pictures from out West. I'm sitting in front of the (defunct) Burger Down just across the street from campus and am yanking MSU Wireless from Burkee Hall, because it's too nice to languish in my room.


This is the Grand Prismatic Pool in Yellowstone. It's not as spectacular from the ground as it is from the air, but it's still beautiful. I have some great panoramics of this. The color progression is unbelievable.






















Ol' Faithful. It was pretty cool. They have benches ringing most of the way around the geyser and we were there with approximately 500 other people when it erupted (sometime around 1:30 pm). There are several eateries, a visitor's center, and a HUGE gift/food/more food/indoor court thing nearby. Definitely one of the (if not THE) place people in Yellowstone appear to flock to.


























Back to the Tetons. I love this range. Apparently the French did, too (give you one guess what "Tetons" translates to). Took this right after sunset and a GREAT dinner.






















This is from one of the first sites we went to in Yellowstone. Can't remember the name, but I could point it out on a map for you. This was an area riddled with small hydrothermal pools. They drained off into the lake and deposited these spectacular iron oxides mixed with some other stuff -- maybe sulphur?


























Back to the Grand Prismatic Pool area (sorry for the random, I really don't like how Blogger handles images and I'm too lazy to fight with it)! This was in the mid-afternoon and one of the last sites we visited. We spent most of our time there alternatively steam-bathing (in slightly sulphurous steam), marveling at the hydrothermal pools, and watching this beauty of a high-base thunderstorm roll in. In the foreground is one of the smaller pools preceding the Grand Prismatic Pool. The color contrast between the mineral deposits on the ground and the storm above was pretty cool.

Back in EL!

The co-op where I'm staying is still in one piece! It's humid like you wouldn't believe (still not used to this airborne moisture phenomenon), which slowed up tonight's run considerably. That and the 5 hours all told on the road today probably didn't help.

Anyway, the Arialzone network, so pervasive throughout the "historic district" just off campus is actually working, which means teh Valdemort has Internetz!!! Who knows how long this will last, but I'm making full use of it while I can!

Tomorrow is back to work and bug chasing, unless the bossman or the other bossman have new MM5 assignments for me, which would be welcomed!

Anyway, some pictures to cap the evening:

Bo-nanza. One of the many aspen groves. They speak. Not telling what they say, though!






















The Grand Tetons. Simple shot just past dusk. Liking the soft light in this. Tetons and Yellowstone deserve their own post, which I'll take care of tomorrow. I have many fine photos from both parks, some of which you might've seen already.





















More Bonanza! Looking to the southern part of the mapping area.






















Celebrating the Fourth in Utah. The Chateau's in the foreground. It was insane, seeing how many people showed up in our little dog park/Frisbee field.






















Sledding on remnant snowpack! This was near the end of our second Bonanza field day. We were leaving the next morning for the Tetons, so by 3 pm just about everyone, faculty included, lost focus and we kinda dicked around for a while before heading back to the vehicles.

Apparently I either did not use enough superglue or it just doesn't handle heat well: one of the display components separated from the motherboard and my computer, while still operating perfectly, is receiving bad signals because of that disengaged component and going to sleep. Power back up, goes immediately back to sleep, repeat ad nauseam.

Time to go find the solder gun.

When I'm back in Michigan.

In a week.

(I'm borrowing my roommate's computer.)

Sorry y'all, no pictures till I can access them in some way or another. I promise lots of Grand Teton and Bonanza goodness. No pictures of the crap on the fault line, though.

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Working on the Bonanza project. Pictures of the Tetons to come later.

Back from the Tetons

And we have no Internet. I'm typing from the window ledge because I can pick up what I'm guessing to be the library's wireless connection. When Kurt resets the modem, I'll have some pictures!

By the way --- everyone must go to the Tetons. They are amazing. Yellowstone is a hop, skip, and a jump away to the north as well.

Fauna of Field Camp (Or, Nerdy Moments in Field Camp)

A few great moments in field camp so far:

Standing atop an oyster bed at 7500 feet with a 500+ foot drop behind me!

















Lunching in the Midas Mine.

















The Dump Chief. Oh the SMELL.

















BRUNTON FIGHT!!!

















Acme. Fencing.






















Wishing we could swim in the reservoir!






















Roadkill at the end of a long mapping day.






















(Reposted photo) These are not the drinking shoes.

Field Camp Flora

Some shots I've been collecting for the last couple of weeks from some of our mapping areas. More posts to follow in different categories.

Nevada, ho! (heheheheh)

Off to Nevada for more mapping and some mine tours. Back in four days, I think?

(We don't know many of the finer details of this mission - like what we're doing in terms of food, etc.)

Too tired to make a real post tonight . . .

Summary:
Zebra leg
My next real post is going to be amazing. I've been gathering material for it for several days.
Our "day off" will be spent driving to Nevada.
I like mapping . . . a lot. Who knew.
Laundry. Mmmmm.

Back from the field on time today! Today was part 1 of a two day field mapping project. The only comment I will make about it is that agates are present in the Quaternary wash. No surprise, since we were finding them in southern Utah washes back in March, but still cool to come across.

Still haven't mailed myself the shots from my cell phone, but here are a few other fun pictures from the last three days!


This is the Chateau Apres. Hoity-toity-sounding name, no? This has been the site of the Wasatch-Uinta field camp for about 40 years now, and according to the directors, hasn't changed much in that time. It's in very good condition and considerably more modest than most of the places around here. Food's pretty decent as well. We carry sandwiches into the field, and one must be downstairs by 6:20 am to get the sandwiches you prefer!












This was taken at about 10000 feet. I'm estimating, so for all I know I'm 1000 ft off one way or the other. This is looking back toward SLC and Park City. This is from Empire Pass.











Huge oysters in Jurassic age sandstones. Frontier Fm. This one is about 9 inches long and apparently these get up to one foot long! That's some serious aphrodisiac.














This was making everyone nervous yesterday. We had the cold air mass that produced the snow this morning forming those clouds and a decent amount of rain for the climate here, and there were heading directly for us. The system was producing strong, chilly headwinds that were pretty much cancelling out any warmth we were getting from the sun at that point (a considerable amount!).












Just a neat shot during a break from today's mapping.
















Stinky boot garden after our triumphant return!

*grumble*

This is one of the first things I saw today. It's 6:30 am here and it's 34 degrees out.

. . . Welcome to Utah.

Short Post Today

Sorry, no pics yet. Some are downloaded from the camera and still need to e-mail the ones I took on my cell phone to myself. Maybe I'll do that between sites tomorrow.

-Overdressed this morning. Better than underdressing! Being a Midwesterner, it's easy to forget how much one warms up in the sun out here despite the cool morning temperatures.

- ~1/3 mile hike up the Wasatch Fault at our first stop. I'm acclimated to 600-850 foot elevations, having grown up in a basin. : ) We're at roughly 7000 feet, and the atmosphere thins on a more or less logarithmic scale. What does that mean? 1/3 of a mile up a mountain face and I'm panting like I just sprinted a mile. For that matter, so was everyone else. We'll be acclimated in a couple of days, thankfully, and then we can start the "real" geology instead of just hanging out at road cuts.

-Speaking of which, we were looking at a Permian age outcrop at one of our sites, and someone drove by, shouting, "FIND A DINOSAUR!!" Hee hee. I wish, except for the small problem that, um, dinosaurs came a few million years later.

-Large black beetles around these parts really seem to like hanging out on the back of your neck.

-One day in the field and I'm sunburned. Some will fade overnight as usual, but I am definitely breaking out the long sleeves tomorrow.

-Do not, I repeat, do NOT, sit in an ant pile. I don't care if you aren't aware it's there. Thankfully no fire ants. Regardless, these buggers are VERY temperamental.

The Eagle Has Landed!

And the Chateau has wireless, which only started working after I reset my Airport card twice.

I'm at nearly 7000 ft. elevation, and it's mostly clear. Currently about 60F with light winds, so overall VERY pleasant!

Took us three days to get here. We left Friday morning and camped that night just west of Omaha, in a little state recreation area in Louisville. Louisville appeared to be largely industrial and likely a major stop on the transcontinental rail lines. The park bore evidence of the recent nasty weather, as most of the empty campsites had several inches of standing water. We picked out a dry campsite, only to find out it was literally 30 feet from the train tracks and every time a train came through, it sounded like it was going to derail, especially to those of us with very active imaginations!

We left around 8 am the next morning and struck out again along I-80, then took I-76 when it branched off at the Nebraska-Colorado borderline and headed for Denver, where we met up with a recent MSU geology grad who attended field camp last year. We grabbed dinner at a local brewery and hit up a few bars later.

Nursing a hangover this morning, I deferred the first driving shift and napped for a while, then took the second shift, fighting one hell of a wind the entire time. The drive home will be nice -- we'll have a prevailing tailwind and gas mileage will be otherworldly (the good kind, not the otherworldly we saw on the way over here).

So that meant back on 25 north to get back on 80, then we took 80 through Wyoming (LONG, barren, cold drive) and into Park City. I probably knew at some point that Park City was one of the Olympic affiliates of the Salt Lake Games, but hadn't thought anything of it till we got into the city and started seeing world-class ski jumps and Olympics 2002 stuff everywhere. Very clean, organized, nice-looking city. Affluent -- many of the houses probably go for half a million at lowest around here.

Dinner's at 6, and it's 5:42. Time to go see if I can move the car to a proper spot, then prep for dinner! Pictures to come later!