Last Field Work of 2013

We went out to collect a last few samples before winter truly set in - though we may have been a few days late for that. The result was successful rock gathering and some pretty spectacular scenes.

 

 We even got some time to look for dinosaur tracks while we were out there...

I took my Geomorphology class to the Grand Tetons, and then the National Parks all got closed by the government.

Though the weather was rather cold, we got some great streaks of luck to carry us through a most successful field trip.

Awesome luckiness #1: minutes after getting to camp a big bull moose walked through and managed to not poop on anyone's stuff.

 

Awesome luckiness #2: ran into the son of the late great David Love, who wrote the geology of the Grand Tetons. He gave the class an overview of the geology. It was fabulous!

  

students drawing sketches and taking notes

 

 Gros Ventre landslide

 Spectacular view from Lizard Creek camp at the north end of the park

 Spectacular view from Gros Ventre camp

Spectacular view from the driver's seat right before heading home

Wedding at Croctuta

From one wedding straight to another... drove up to some of my most favouritest mountains and celebrated a cabin-mountain-meadow wedding in the hot California sun.

Casual, rustic, short & sweet.

Since we were in the neighbourhood, had to make a trek to Lassen Volcanic National Park and hike up Mt. Lassen.

It was bright and sunny, but the air was cool, which made for perfect hiking weather and also perfect "sunburn the crap out of yourself" weather.

This fatty chipmunk went directly from the peanut he was shoving in his mouth to the green m&m he wished he'd noticed first but was glad he discovered before any other critters got to it.

After hiking Lassen we went to check out the (extremely disappointing) cold boiling lake. Not much of the lake was "boiling"... most of it was "filled with plants".

But... 2.5 miles later, the trail did take us up into Bumpass Hell via the little-traveled back route, which made it completely worthwhile.

The semester ended, and I went into the field

Field work this spring involved borrowing some rafts and getting a couple of special permits to collect samples in Desolation-Gray Canyons... while rafting down said canyons...

It started out pretty ominous and with a few snafus, but by day 2 everything had worked itself out, including the weather! Many samples were collected during the week on the river, it was spectacularly beautiful, hot, loads of dead animals floating down the river, too much food, and overall a grand success.

 

 stormy beginnings

 

 open skies

 

 just the right amount of white water

 

 desert blooms

 gorgeous camps

mountain lion tracks

parking boats at awkward landings to reach awkward outcrops to do field work - hooray for lots of field assistants!

can't complain about that.

Antarctic Adventures - Livingston Island - South Shetlands

Our final landing before the Drake Passage was on Livingston Island where we saw the only "flowering" plants of the Antarctic - in flower! In addition, we were blasted by the most horrendous of foul stenches imaginable. So horrendous they were, in fact, unimaginable. Consequently I bee-lined for the rocks as far away from the horrifying odors as possible.

Day 19:
Cobbles and lichen at peninsula Hurd
The to Hannah Point all covered in turds
The penguins were sharting
Elephant seals farting
And plant fossils for geology nerds

Hairy lichen - in "flower"

"Pixie Cups"

Hairy lichen

Plant fossils!

Pearlwort

Antarctic Adventures - Port Lockroy & Neko Harbor

This was our final landing in the Antarctic before heading north. Port Lockroy is a British research station that has been around for several decades, and naturally, being British, has a post office. Part of the station has a "museum" set up the way Antarctic scientific research was done in the 40's and 50's (it's basically just preserved, complete with food, from that time). It was really cool, and this is where I sent a few postcards. Mail from here goes by boat to the Falklands, then military plane to the UK, then enters the British postal system!

Day 18:
Postcards were sent from British Base A
Then back on ship for BBQ day
Humpbacks, zodiacs
Snowslides on our backs
Then from the Antarctic we sailed away

Food shelf!

Recipe book, complete with instructions for penguins, seals and cormorants

I knitted a vengeful fur seal, here it is looking satisfied after a hearty whale snack. Picked those bones clean!

Weddell seal

Neko Harbor sunset

Antarctic Adventures - Cuverville & Booth Islands

Cuverville and Booth Islands, just along the Antarctic Peninsula, were both spectacular. Spectacular ice, sunset, and penguin chick cuteness.

Day 17:
Today truly feels Antarctic
Gentoos stealing stones and feeding chicks
Leopard seals afloat
On ice near our boat
Icebergs at midnight - all over too quick

Line of porpoising penguins in the foreground of a spectacular scene

Porpoising Gentoos near calving glacier front

Penguin highway

Gentoo chicks eating barfed up krill

Gentoos!

Gorgeous iceberg

Leopard seal

 

 Metamorphosed, sheared & folded iceberg!

 

Rather phenomenal sunset

I couldn't resist!