Arrival in the field
7-15-06
At last! I am in the badlands, and my heart is home. There is something about the wildness, the remoteness, the isolation that echos what I feel.
So, you know you are in my Montana when you get directions like this: drive north 25 miles or so, till you see a pile of gravel near the road. When you get to the pile, turn left, for another 20 or so miles?.if you notice that the road splits into 3, take the middle road, and go till you see a red mailbox. Turn right till the road forks, take the right fork, and eventually you get to camp. How can you explain to one who has never been there how a red mailbox truly IS a viable marker, for it is the only sign of civilization other than the road, for miles and miles and miles, where cows outnumber people 20 to 1, and where sagebrush is more prevalent than anything but mosquitos. But oh, when the white-hot, desert sky begins to blaze with the setting sun, so the whole world is on fire from the inside out, and then the sun sets behind the badland bluffs and the sky turns from orange to purple to black, ablaze with diamonds--there is nothing like it.
When the air cools enough to carry a scent, it is the clean fresh smell of sage that blows through my tent. I am home.
Tomorrow, we are going to do some light prospecting. When we arrived at camp, it was almost 8 pm, and still reading 102 on the car thermometer?but it is cool now, 2 hours later?.and a light breeze has kicked in because a storm is moving through. The lightning is spectacular, and hints at a night of wild prairie thunderstorms?I hope so. We will be with the NOVA crew. I don?t know if they know what they are in for?.it should be interesting.
The camp has been productive so far, with some exciting material coming out. No excavations yet, but the bone that has been found is incredibly well preserved, and hints at some truly exciting finds. This is the part of paleontology that I love. Without the field, I often forget why I do what I do. I am grateful for the chance to be here.
Posted at 03:23PM Jul 18, 2006 by tppeake in General | Comments[0]
"Leverite" Bone
7/16/06 - continued
Well, it was hot. Very hot. And dry?the wind blew all day, but that was a good thing, because it meant we FELT less hot. But that was a bad thing, because we didn?t think to drink as much as if it felt the 100+ degrees it really was. The sun was blazing and their was really no relief. We stopped for a water break about 10 am, and I looked over the horizon, which was strangely purple. A fire had broken out, probably sparked by last night?s dry lightning, and fanned to full flame by the winds.
We continued walking the outcrops, looking for dinosaur traces, when the radio crackled a warning to look again to the horizon. A second fire broke out, much bigger than the first, and we could actually watch it grow. For a while, it seemed that it would come between us and the camp, cutting us off, but the crew chief didn?t feel that it would be a danger.
So we continued to look, with one eye toward the horizon. Eventually the smoke began to die down, and the danger was over.
We found 4 ceratopsian skulls?but all badly weathered and fragmented?.according to Bob, "Leverite bone" as in "leave her right there". So, we did. We also found theropod remains, and a wonderful microsite that was producing all kinds of dinosaur fragments. So, a good day, and a great reminder of why I love paleo.
Dinner is over now, and time for camp dishes?.I look forward to another night under the stars?hopefully without the wind dogs worrying my tent tonite.
Posted at 09:32AM Jul 18, 2006 by tppeake in General | Comments[0]
Cowboys and Campsites
7-16-06 Last night on the way to my tent, Bob stopped me (yes the Bob of ?B-rex? fame). He said there was a cowboy camped in the next draw, with his two horses (a paint and a bay) and his gun. He was hoping to catch some cattle rustlers, who so far had made off with about $150,000 in free range cattle. For a moment, I had to remind myself that this was the 21st century?but then again, some things just don?t change out here on the prairie. I woke up after a couple hours sleep, to the sound of gentle raindrops on my tent. It was wonderful, and peaceful, but it was not long before the gentle rain gave way to gale-force winds and dry lightning. The wind came roaring down the draw where I set my tent like a pack of angry dogs, throwing their bodies full on against the sides of my tent, first on, then the other, then back to the first, determined to gain entrance. Soon I was spreadeagled across my tent, trying to hold it down and wondering if my stakes would hold the rain fly down, and where I would find it the next morning. It was a long time before the wind died down, but when it did, it was utter silence, the kind you never ever experience in the city. Except of course for the coyotes yipping in the distance. It is hard to describe?. Breakfast this morning was bacon, eggs and sausage cooked over the griddle in the canvas cook tent. It was incredibly hot at 6:30 am in there. The heat is searing, but as they say it is a dry heat. You would not think this would make much difference when it hovers around 110, but it does indeed. It is more comfortable at 100 than when it is humid and 80. Sweat actually accomplishes something here. But there is always the danger of severe dehydration, because you forget to drink. It is more comfortable, so you are not constantly reminded of how miserable you are. We are off to prospect, so I will write at days end to report any finds. I hope there are some new ones.
Posted at 09:30AM Jul 18, 2006 by tppeake in General | Comments[0]