Badlands Residency Day 8
Woke up to yummy bison chili aromas. Turned off the heat to the roasters and let them cool a while before putting in the fridge.
Met Ed around 9 to go on a fossil hunt. We brought Dudley along, drove up to Cedar Pass and stopped along the loop road. Hiked back into the buttes to an area I was in last spring. It is rather cold today, my phone said 25 degrees after our hike, and of course it was a bit breezy, being the plains. We spent a couple hours out, and found an abundance of fossils from oreodonts to canines to little deer-like mammals, and more. It is overcast, so I really didn't take many photographs. It is gorgeous up in this area, with the scrubby brush, washes, and layers of buttes going off into the distance. Lots of clastic dykes as well and many are the greenish-blue tinge of grey that offsets the oranges and tans of the surrounding rock materials so nicely.
Had lunch in the quad. Sampled a bite of chili to make sure the taste is reasonably adequate, and I really like it. Another day in the roasters tomorrow should finish it perfectly. Uploaded photos and updated blog for yesterday, then sorted through all my photographs from the south unit from last spring. It started snowing lightly, flakes blowing about in the wind. Within the hour it turned to fairly dense snow and stronger winds. By evening we had drifts around the quad (housing area), accumulation in the grass and on the roofs. The lines of the buttes are nicely highlighted by the snow.
Waited around this afternoon for the group from Calhoun School in NYC to arrive. Updated ETA was around 5:30. They called again to say they were up at Pinnacles, the roads were icing up, and their 15 passenger van was fishtailing. They opted, smartly, to head back up to Wall and continue via the freeway instead of chancing the passes along the loop road. They made it in around late evening. Ed and I we were just waiting around - we're each involved with their camp experience and needed to be available. Ed cooked steaks and offered to share, so I made potatoes and carrots. Yum. After Calhoun made it in and we introduced ourselves to the new batch of kids and chatted with the teachers for a bit, Ed and I went to meet up with everyone else at Wagon Wheel for their St. Patrick's celebration. Yes, I brought my pipes along and played for them!
Met Ed around 9 to go on a fossil hunt. We brought Dudley along, drove up to Cedar Pass and stopped along the loop road. Hiked back into the buttes to an area I was in last spring. It is rather cold today, my phone said 25 degrees after our hike, and of course it was a bit breezy, being the plains. We spent a couple hours out, and found an abundance of fossils from oreodonts to canines to little deer-like mammals, and more. It is overcast, so I really didn't take many photographs. It is gorgeous up in this area, with the scrubby brush, washes, and layers of buttes going off into the distance. Lots of clastic dykes as well and many are the greenish-blue tinge of grey that offsets the oranges and tans of the surrounding rock materials so nicely.
Had lunch in the quad. Sampled a bite of chili to make sure the taste is reasonably adequate, and I really like it. Another day in the roasters tomorrow should finish it perfectly. Uploaded photos and updated blog for yesterday, then sorted through all my photographs from the south unit from last spring. It started snowing lightly, flakes blowing about in the wind. Within the hour it turned to fairly dense snow and stronger winds. By evening we had drifts around the quad (housing area), accumulation in the grass and on the roofs. The lines of the buttes are nicely highlighted by the snow.
Waited around this afternoon for the group from Calhoun School in NYC to arrive. Updated ETA was around 5:30. They called again to say they were up at Pinnacles, the roads were icing up, and their 15 passenger van was fishtailing. They opted, smartly, to head back up to Wall and continue via the freeway instead of chancing the passes along the loop road. They made it in around late evening. Ed and I we were just waiting around - we're each involved with their camp experience and needed to be available. Ed cooked steaks and offered to share, so I made potatoes and carrots. Yum. After Calhoun made it in and we introduced ourselves to the new batch of kids and chatted with the teachers for a bit, Ed and I went to meet up with everyone else at Wagon Wheel for their St. Patrick's celebration. Yes, I brought my pipes along and played for them!
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| Climbing up around Cedar Pass. |
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| A clastic dyke. |
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| Out my back door as the flurries began. |
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| Out my back door as the flurries began - just starting to stick. |
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| Same scene just a short while later. |
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| Accumulating snow and increasing winds. |