Really didn't do much today. Read Chetnow's synopsis of The Federalist Papers, though. There was also a lot of rain, my sneakers got soaked because I left them outside, womp. Still waiting for news about whether or kot we can go into the cave.
We did go on a very pretty hike though. I'll post pictures soon.
Hope everyone had a restful Sunday!
Kim (a paleontologist from California), Penny, and I went down into Cody today and swiped a free shower and did laundry. But before the laundry part, we went to the Heart Mountain internment camp museum.
It's quite the experience, seeing the displays up and reading first-hand experiences and copied files from the Japanese Americans imprisoned there. My need for the Allegiance soundtrack increased a lot, and the reminder that my heritage as a Chinese descendant is close enough to my grandpa's emigration to the United States that, if history were to repeat itself, would land me in an internment camp.
While we were waiting for laundry to finish, we took some photos and samples from a geologic outcrop on the edge of Cody at this place called Colters Hell. The geyser area in Yellowstone is also called Colters Hell, but the one on the edge of Cody is the original one and has interesting views of angular unconformities (when the land tilts, then erodes, then has more deposited rock on top of it) and some active hot springs and sulfur staining. It's pretty awesome.
Then some really intense wind tore my tent's rainfly when we got back to camp. So I gotta go fix that.
Hope you all had a good Saturday!
Not much to talk about today. Since we're not able to do science, we had a calm day in camp lounging around and listening to Juan stories. I did read a chapter transcript for a textbook that Penny is helping with, though. So that was productive.
I just honestly feel so tired. I decided to splurge on my data and see what was going on with Facebook and I had to shut off the app and the notifications because there was just so much going on about the shootings. It's not like I can do anything or say anything to help anyone especially since I'm so far away from... Everyone, really.
We'll get an update about the BLM stuff tonight or tomorrow, I'll likely get it tomorrow since I'm going ahead and going to bed. Truckie should be ready as well. Maybe my sunburns are making me tired, I dunno.
Hope y'all had a productive and safe Thursday!
So, the current plan with the cave is that the head PI of the project (Julie, who I've heard is awesome) is going to try to appeal to the BLM on Monday or Tuesday to see if we can get back into the cave. We have to retrain people to use one of the more crucial pieces of equipment if we do get down there again, and if that happens then we will science there Until when Julie leaves. It's still a really crappy situation since we're stuck in limbo essentially, but at least we have some potential plans.
Truckie is currently probably in the process of being fixed, we'll check in on it tomorrow.
Today we went on an outing to Yellowstone since someone had an annual pass and Garrett had never gone before. I got a lot of pictures, and also some minor sunburn on my arms. Uploading photos is hard due to lack of proper internet, so those will be uploaded at some point.
I've only just recently become aware of the shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas, and I really hope that all of you have been taking care of yourselves. These events are stressful, regardless of your position on it, and it's important that you're taking care of your needs. I hope you all had a safe Thursday.
Well, that was short-lived.
The BLM came in and shut down our project for the foreseeable future because an individual that was here before we got here climbed into a part of the cave that the BLM didn't want us touching. It also doesn't help that there is a BLM agent that has been giving the project an immense amount of trouble because we are having actual cavers help us and we're essentially stuck in a personality fight with this agent, so right now we're all topside with no matrix to shift through.
So today we mostly hung out while some of the more adulty adults went to check on Truckie (Penny's truck that got parked in the juniper trees) and spent a lot of time talking about psychology and college experiences. Then we opened up a watermelon that was bad and we rolled it down one of the cliffs nearby, followed by this AMAZING chicken and rice dish Juan made.
In terms of Truckie, after the truck got towed out it was deemed to be a wreck because of rusting from New York winters rusting through the frame (which was dented in the junipers). But a local person related to one of the head paleontologists said they might be able to fix it, so we're all crossing our fingers.
So until Truckie is either fixed or replaced, we're stuck here with very little science to do since our next stop doesn't start up their field season until the 20th. Which is a shame, but at least we have continued to learn that bureaucracy will always aggravate paleontology over petty things. So that's frustrating.
Tomorrow a few of us are going on a day trip to Yellowstone, which I am really excited about. There will definitely be an attempt at photos.
Hope you all had a good Wednesday!
I made it into the caves today! It took a lot of positive reinforcement and support (and I won't say I didn't cry, because I did), but it happened, slowly.
I spent the day digging up dirt (with the occasional fossil) and found a bird bone (unsure what kind, likely a wing bone?), a vertebra of some small animal, and "the distal phalanx of an airiodactyl ungulate" (basically, probably a bison toe). I also helped extract more of this bison's foot and was the main fossil sketch artist for a catalogue of fossils found and then surveyed with this awesome prism-light thing. I was really good at keeping the receiver balanced, which was awesome.
Getting out of the cave was strenuous, though. I was struggling with keeping my feet underneath me enough for the "frogging" (essentially pushing yourself up the rope with your legs) to work. So that was exhausting.
Not much else happened, we're taking a day off tomorrow so that some people can go caving in Bighorn. I'll probably stay behind and read or start knitting Penny a Jayne hat.
Hope you all had a great Tuesday!
Today was the first day that we got to (try to) go into the caves. I woke up at a record-breaking 6:45 in the morning (local time, so more like 8:45 in Rochester) and was extremely excited to go.
After a few hours of waiting for the cavers to set up, we began training. We had to learn how to repel and climb a vertical rope and switch between the two while on the rope in case of an emergency. I had significant troubles due to my harnesses being a bit too big initially and not trusting the ropes. Which, I mean, I logically know they're safe, but fear is a powerful enemy.
I didn't manage to actually get into the caves because I freaked out at the "oh, I'm looking into a 65-foot pit" part. So I spent some time socializing with another paleontologist who was topside (not in the cave) and discussing paleontology, California, and several other things.
We all played Cards Against Humanity once everyone got out of the cave, at least until we heard fireworks from the nearby towns. As the sun set, we all watched from the top part of our hill (which lies at the edge of a valley, so we were high up) as 4-5 towns about 20 or so miles away fired off their fireworks.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get into the cave after they change out one of my harnesses for something smaller. Then the real fun will begin.
Happy Independence Day! No Hamilton facts, but a reminder that July 4th, 1776 was when the final signatures were placed on the Declaration of Independence, and that the war formally started after this date and didn't end until 1783 (or 4, I need to look that up at some point). Hope you all had a fun and safe Monday!
So today was a... Wild time.
We left for Lovell, WY after acquiring a lot of perishable goods, which we had to tetris into the back of the truck alongside our stuff. I acquired yarn and knitting needles to make Jayne Cobb hats for me, Penny, and Garrett.
We then get to Lovell, stock up on water, and head on up the mountain on this dirt-path road that feels like being rattled around inside a pinball machine. About halfway up, our transmission stops. And in the process of trying to see what was going on and having people up at camp help us, it... Went into neutral and rolled backwards into a juniper tree.
Everyone was out of the car, thankfully, and only one person got hurt (Juan, the caver-fixer-handyman of the camp, was under the car when it rolled and got a bit dragged, but nothing broke). But we did lose a water tank and a few food items. Nothing else was really damaged, except for the truck.
Don't really have any Hamilton-related anecdotes, but I can say that sunsets in Wyoming are really pretty. I'll set a photo I took of tonight's sunset when I have more reliable internet access.
I'll post this when I get service, which I hope might be soon. I hope you all had a good, safe Sunday!
Hey there from Fairmont, Minnesota! Not much to report for today, just some more driving. We got held up in construction traffic in Chicago and somewhere at the front end of Wisconsin, and I exposed Penny to Hamilton (which, while entertaining, was hard to get all the words over the sound of the freeway sometimes).
We'll hopefully traverse the majority of South Dakota tomorrow, and we're supposedly taking a route through the badlands. So that will be fun and scenic, expect photos. :)
Sleep well, y'all, and I hope you had a good Friday!
