Friday, May 30
Today was just an off day. I guess its bound to happen at least once on a month long trip, it just still took me by surprise since everything has gone flawlessly the entire trip up until now. First thing this morning Kelsey and I both cracked our new coffee mugs. I was bummed! My new Badlands retro mug! There goes $10 down the drain. But that was the just start of our off day. We traveled through Beartooth pass into montana to study some geology formed by volcanic activity. There were some spectacular views that we all enjoyed too, every turn on the winding mountain road brought into view a range of snow capped monstrous mountain tops. We pulled over at a place with one such spectacular view and played around. There were snowball fights of course. That's when the next unfortunate event occured.
Tim walked a little further towards the edge of the snowy slope and layed down, then proceeded to sink chest deep in snow. I laughed. A lot. Then we went to pull him out and realized his foot was wedged between tightly packed snow and a rock. Oops. It took about 20 minutes for Elly and Kathryn to reach down in his small hole and dig around his legs and feet in order to free him from his self induced snow prison. It wasn't all that funny towards the end, although I felt I had to capture it on Dr. Suresh's camera so that eventually we can all look back an laugh. We got him out of his wet boots and all chipped in a pair of socks, jackets, a blanket, and hand warmers as Tim muttered the quote of the day, "I'm a dumbass."
But it doesn't end there.
When we get to the top of the canyon loop and start heading back down, Tim realizes he doesn't have his nice newish camera with him. Oops. We turned around and went to the site where he had gotten stuck in the snow. After looking for about a half hour with no luck, we all felt pretty defeated. Not to mention, we had all been looking forward to driving over to the pay showers, but with the sun setting soon and a long road ahead of us, we just wanted to get back to camp before it got too late.
At about 9pm we rolled up to the Yellowstone lodge and the professors surprised us with a meal from the cafeteria! It was just what we all needed, and I plugged my dead cell into the wall outlet while I pigged out on a pesto wrap and a side of mac n' cheese. After we all practically licked our plates clean it was just about 10 o'clock. I realized my phone wasn't still plugged into the wall..... Oops.
The cranky manager had picked it up and had it taken to the visitor's center and put in the lost and found safe, all while I was sitting about 20ft. away from it. I was a little frustrated. I walked over to the office and patiently waited in line, then patiently waited for the right person to be free, then patiently waited for her to find the key to the safe. I was still a little frustrated when they asked me to identify my phone and then sign not one but two release forms.... I didn't lose it! But still, I had such a happy full stomach I couldnt stay mad for long and had to laugh about the whole thing.
What an off day.
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Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Phelps Lake Day Hike: the Day I Became a Trailblazer
Sunday, May 25
We set out for our day hike with lunches packed and gaiters and snow gear tucked away into our day packs. The first part of the hike around Phelps Lakes was beautiful! Well the whole hike was beautiful but the lake was also a pretty easy hike compared to the rest... but I'll get into that later.
We stopped at a few places around the lake with some awesome views. I this picture I was still really excited and had no idea what I was in for. As we had been advised by the rangers, we kept a can of bear spray close at hand, and I'm starting to realize I'm just visiting the homes of all different kinds of animals. On this hike alone i saw at least three marmots, and they looked at me like I was an invasive species.
After a couple of miles we had made it halfway around the lake and stopped to eat our lunch. Well, actually I would more acurately describe it as devouring our lunches. You would think I might get tired of eating the same kind of sandwIch every day for lunch, but nope, I am just as excited every day around 12:30 to inhale my hummus, turkey/ham, and pepper jack cheese sandwhich, and munch on carrots and an apple or granola bar.
There was, of course, a photo shoot.
And after we ate and relaxed a bit, we headed up on a different trail called Death Canyon.
As we climbed higher and higher up the canyon, the dirt trail turned snowy. At the top there was yet another snowball fight. I call it the top, but really we couldn't get all the way up to the top becuause there had been a couple avalanches and the debris was covering the path making it impassable without shoe spikes. When we came back down the canyon we headed towards the other side of the lake to finish the trek, but because of the snow and fallen trees we got thrown off the trail into a wetland aread by the lake. It seemed as though every way we went was met with a deep and wide rushing river. After a head-clearing rest and water bottle refill using Dr. Ranson's hand pump water filter, we finally found the snowy trail that would take us the last couple of miles back to the trailhead. Eight hours after our 10am start time, we were exhausted and starving. But I felt pretty badass, I have to be honest. Like we made our own trail and fought off dehydration, mosquitos, and bears.... Kind of.
As a consolation and reward for the tough day the professors bought us ice cream! It was also probably to keep our mouths too busy to complain. We got back to camp and I felt so gross I had to wash up somehow. I washed my hair and body outside in the cold under a spicket a foot off the ground. The water was so cold I felt like I was getting acupuncture treatments. My cooking group made stir fry for dinner and then we all dragged our hurting feet to bed.
Climbing up towards Death Canyon, with Phelps Lake in the background.
A selfie with Dr. Garihan and a waterfall
Dr. Ranson, Phoebe, and Elly climbing a tree in the snowy area where the avalanch debris capped off our hike.
The view from the top.
Elly and Dr. Garihan using the water filter pump in the mountain stream. The water tasted so fresh!
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We set out for our day hike with lunches packed and gaiters and snow gear tucked away into our day packs. The first part of the hike around Phelps Lakes was beautiful! Well the whole hike was beautiful but the lake was also a pretty easy hike compared to the rest... but I'll get into that later.
We stopped at a few places around the lake with some awesome views. I this picture I was still really excited and had no idea what I was in for. As we had been advised by the rangers, we kept a can of bear spray close at hand, and I'm starting to realize I'm just visiting the homes of all different kinds of animals. On this hike alone i saw at least three marmots, and they looked at me like I was an invasive species.
After a couple of miles we had made it halfway around the lake and stopped to eat our lunch. Well, actually I would more acurately describe it as devouring our lunches. You would think I might get tired of eating the same kind of sandwIch every day for lunch, but nope, I am just as excited every day around 12:30 to inhale my hummus, turkey/ham, and pepper jack cheese sandwhich, and munch on carrots and an apple or granola bar.
There was, of course, a photo shoot.
And after we ate and relaxed a bit, we headed up on a different trail called Death Canyon.
As we climbed higher and higher up the canyon, the dirt trail turned snowy. At the top there was yet another snowball fight. I call it the top, but really we couldn't get all the way up to the top becuause there had been a couple avalanches and the debris was covering the path making it impassable without shoe spikes. When we came back down the canyon we headed towards the other side of the lake to finish the trek, but because of the snow and fallen trees we got thrown off the trail into a wetland aread by the lake. It seemed as though every way we went was met with a deep and wide rushing river. After a head-clearing rest and water bottle refill using Dr. Ranson's hand pump water filter, we finally found the snowy trail that would take us the last couple of miles back to the trailhead. Eight hours after our 10am start time, we were exhausted and starving. But I felt pretty badass, I have to be honest. Like we made our own trail and fought off dehydration, mosquitos, and bears.... Kind of.
As a consolation and reward for the tough day the professors bought us ice cream! It was also probably to keep our mouths too busy to complain. We got back to camp and I felt so gross I had to wash up somehow. I washed my hair and body outside in the cold under a spicket a foot off the ground. The water was so cold I felt like I was getting acupuncture treatments. My cooking group made stir fry for dinner and then we all dragged our hurting feet to bed.
Climbing up towards Death Canyon, with Phelps Lake in the background.
A selfie with Dr. Garihan and a waterfall
Dr. Ranson, Phoebe, and Elly climbing a tree in the snowy area where the avalanch debris capped off our hike.
The view from the top.
Elly and Dr. Garihan using the water filter pump in the mountain stream. The water tasted so fresh!
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Landslide
Saturday, May 24.
We drove up a canyon past the quaint town of Kelly. Yep. I felt like the queen of this town as we rode by the small log post office with a horse tied up in fron instead of a car parked in a lot. Dr. Garihan lead a study/talk about the Gros Ventre landslide, which damed the river, eventually failing and causing a terrific flood that tore through Kelly.
We hiked what felt like a straight upwards hill to the top with a great view of the slide, the river, and the towns beyond.
The food supplies were low, so after looking around the visitor's center we drove into Jackson Hole. We got to shop around for a bit and interact with civilization! When we all met back up at the van it started raining... Which meant we couldn't really cook dinner since we have no type of cover or tarp. The professors suddenly all gained a glowing halo when they surprised us with a dinner at a local restaurant! At Snake River Grill, I filled myself to the brim with homemade mac n' cheese and a local IPA, and sampled just about everyone else's food too. So good! Jackson is definitely touristy, but it's so charming I want to come back some day on vacation when I can shower and wear makeup; the honky tonk restaurants that turn into funky bars at 6pm seem to be calling my name as I walk by.
We stopped at the grocery store and picked up groceries, and I was so full I felt uncomfortable, and therefore had to ride in the shopping cart. I had no choice. Morale was high as we all waddled around the campsite, unpacking and repacking the groceries, and showing each other our souveniers******
Tomorrow we're doing an all day hike, and we've been warned it may get snowy. I can't wait to be outdoors all day, but I have no idea what to expect; none of us do!
This is what the majority of the landslide hike looked like.
The snow is highlighting the landslide sight. That huge mass of rock became heavy and slippery with water and came toppling down after an earthquake.
We drove up a canyon past the quaint town of Kelly. Yep. I felt like the queen of this town as we rode by the small log post office with a horse tied up in fron instead of a car parked in a lot. Dr. Garihan lead a study/talk about the Gros Ventre landslide, which damed the river, eventually failing and causing a terrific flood that tore through Kelly.
We hiked what felt like a straight upwards hill to the top with a great view of the slide, the river, and the towns beyond. The food supplies were low, so after looking around the visitor's center we drove into Jackson Hole. We got to shop around for a bit and interact with civilization! When we all met back up at the van it started raining... Which meant we couldn't really cook dinner since we have no type of cover or tarp. The professors suddenly all gained a glowing halo when they surprised us with a dinner at a local restaurant! At Snake River Grill, I filled myself to the brim with homemade mac n' cheese and a local IPA, and sampled just about everyone else's food too. So good! Jackson is definitely touristy, but it's so charming I want to come back some day on vacation when I can shower and wear makeup; the honky tonk restaurants that turn into funky bars at 6pm seem to be calling my name as I walk by.
We stopped at the grocery store and picked up groceries, and I was so full I felt uncomfortable, and therefore had to ride in the shopping cart. I had no choice. Morale was high as we all waddled around the campsite, unpacking and repacking the groceries, and showing each other our souveniers******
Tomorrow we're doing an all day hike, and we've been warned it may get snowy. I can't wait to be outdoors all day, but I have no idea what to expect; none of us do!
This is what the majority of the landslide hike looked like.
The snow is highlighting the landslide sight. That huge mass of rock became heavy and slippery with water and came toppling down after an earthquake.
I'm finding it harder to blog.... After keeping up with every day it became almost chore-like and that is not how it should be. So after nearly a week of not blogging here I am. Now the problem is trying to go back a few days and write about what we did. I find myself asking around for everything; what was the name of that one hike??? Did we do this before that or that before this?? So here it goes; I'm giving it my best try.
I was going to skip the two days where we drove from the stockade lake campground in SD to our new campsite in Wyoming, but we actually did a lot of stuff in those days, so I'll fill you in briefly. We left stockade lake on Wed, the 21st, and headed west toward The Bighorn mountains. On the way we stopped by Devil's Tower, the very first national monument and hiked (comfortably strolled along a paved path) around the base of it.
Elly gave her spiel about the huge rock structure, as camera crews about 20ft away gave us dirty looks. Apparently they were filming for some travel show, and I couldn't help but feel bitter that they didn't want us on their show.... Oh well.
I also ran into Mrs. Clause on my way around the tower, and I
raced to try and keep up with her to ask her about her vacationing and to suck up in order to secure my spot on the nice list. She had no comments except for "why is this crazy american in all black following me?!" Ohhh Mrs. Clause you crack me up!
Back on the road again. We got to Buffalo and stumbled upon a campground for the night, appropriately called Deer Park, since a herd of deer sprinted away as we pulled into our site. There were laundry machines and it was wonderful! And the campsite was surprisingly awesome. I borrowed a phone to call my parents, seeing as the only communication I had had with them so far was to text them "I'm alive" in my fleeting moments of cell service. The west does not like Sprint, just an fyi. Waking up the next day, the campsite looked like a scene from Bambi, and the grass and flowers sparkled with dew.
Not to mention we were all buzzing with excitement knowing that at the tail end of the day's drive, a glorious hotel awaited us.
More driving.
We drove up through the Bighorn Mtns. and made a few stops along the way. I have to say our lunch spot had quite the view, and we were all pretty excited to be swapping the plains for a little bit more exciting terrain, a terrain that proved more than adequate for our epic snowball fights.
The hotel was amazing. Hot showers, 24/7 frosted flakes, ecclectic people, and late night SNL re-runs. What more could I even ask for??
Perhaps more driving?
More driving.
Clean and well-rested, our spirits were high enough to tackle the driving, and of course enjoy the views as we approached the Grand Tetons. We stopped in a quaint town to eat our lunches, and I got my hands on an iced coffee. Oh yeah, I also rode on a giant Jackalope (complete tourist trap), see instagram or facebook for those photographic gems. I adorned my head with a flower child crown of weeds and kept it on all day. The views we saw of the Tetons were breathtaking. These are the kinds of mountains that inspire artists and make you feel smaller than an ant, seriously. The Gros Ventre ("grow-vaunt") campsite was awesome too, our tents sat at the edge of a seemingly infinite sage brush field, and the horizon beyond was decked out in hills under the shadows of the looming Tetons. With another spectacular sunset, we capped off the all day driving for a while and settled into our home for the next 5 nights.
Even weeds can make a hippie crown. My third grade self would be proud of my craftmanship.
The Great Wall of Teton
(Not a real thing)
I just want to shout it to the World....
I LOVE ROCKS!!!!!!
Moose and buffalo prints littered our campsite
......foreshadowing?? You'll have to read on to see.
SNOW!!!
I told you our snowball fights were pretty epic... Just ask Elly.
The beautiful sunset that graced our campsite the first night in Wyoming.
I was going to skip the two days where we drove from the stockade lake campground in SD to our new campsite in Wyoming, but we actually did a lot of stuff in those days, so I'll fill you in briefly. We left stockade lake on Wed, the 21st, and headed west toward The Bighorn mountains. On the way we stopped by Devil's Tower, the very first national monument and hiked (comfortably strolled along a paved path) around the base of it.
Elly gave her spiel about the huge rock structure, as camera crews about 20ft away gave us dirty looks. Apparently they were filming for some travel show, and I couldn't help but feel bitter that they didn't want us on their show.... Oh well.
I also ran into Mrs. Clause on my way around the tower, and I
raced to try and keep up with her to ask her about her vacationing and to suck up in order to secure my spot on the nice list. She had no comments except for "why is this crazy american in all black following me?!" Ohhh Mrs. Clause you crack me up!Back on the road again. We got to Buffalo and stumbled upon a campground for the night, appropriately called Deer Park, since a herd of deer sprinted away as we pulled into our site. There were laundry machines and it was wonderful! And the campsite was surprisingly awesome. I borrowed a phone to call my parents, seeing as the only communication I had had with them so far was to text them "I'm alive" in my fleeting moments of cell service. The west does not like Sprint, just an fyi. Waking up the next day, the campsite looked like a scene from Bambi, and the grass and flowers sparkled with dew.
Not to mention we were all buzzing with excitement knowing that at the tail end of the day's drive, a glorious hotel awaited us. More driving.
We drove up through the Bighorn Mtns. and made a few stops along the way. I have to say our lunch spot had quite the view, and we were all pretty excited to be swapping the plains for a little bit more exciting terrain, a terrain that proved more than adequate for our epic snowball fights.
The hotel was amazing. Hot showers, 24/7 frosted flakes, ecclectic people, and late night SNL re-runs. What more could I even ask for??
Perhaps more driving?
More driving.
Clean and well-rested, our spirits were high enough to tackle the driving, and of course enjoy the views as we approached the Grand Tetons. We stopped in a quaint town to eat our lunches, and I got my hands on an iced coffee. Oh yeah, I also rode on a giant Jackalope (complete tourist trap), see instagram or facebook for those photographic gems. I adorned my head with a flower child crown of weeds and kept it on all day. The views we saw of the Tetons were breathtaking. These are the kinds of mountains that inspire artists and make you feel smaller than an ant, seriously. The Gros Ventre ("grow-vaunt") campsite was awesome too, our tents sat at the edge of a seemingly infinite sage brush field, and the horizon beyond was decked out in hills under the shadows of the looming Tetons. With another spectacular sunset, we capped off the all day driving for a while and settled into our home for the next 5 nights.
Even weeds can make a hippie crown. My third grade self would be proud of my craftmanship.
The Great Wall of Teton
(Not a real thing)
I just want to shout it to the World....
I LOVE ROCKS!!!!!!
Moose and buffalo prints littered our campsite
......foreshadowing?? You'll have to read on to see.
SNOW!!!
I told you our snowball fights were pretty epic... Just ask Elly.
The beautiful sunset that graced our campsite the first night in Wyoming.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Last Day at Stockade Lake
Tuesday, May 20.
We took a tour of the Lead Gold Mine today, and picked up an old miner's lunch roll called a pasties ("pass-tees"). We took the scenic Needles highway back to camp and let me tell you, theses are the biggest needles I have ever seen!
Apparently people come from far and wide to challenge their skills and climb these needles. I gave my lesson plan to the class, and climbed around like gollum from Lord Of The Ring.
We also came across some tunnels on the road carved out of rock and naturally had to take pictures by it.
Although we didn't quite get the free afternoon we were told we might have, I had so much fun when we got back. I don't remeber the last time I laughed as hard as I did when Dr. Ranson was telling a story about amphibolites and his daughter Anna pointed out how excited he gets about minerals. Tyler climbed about 20 ft up in a tree to retrieve a frisbee spotted stuck way high up on a branch. We ate tacos around the campfire and I created the best s'more I have ever roasted. Kelsey and I shared videos of ourselves singing and we have made plans to record a song once we get back to Furman.
Our group is random and odd, but I wouldn't have any fun on this trip without them. Quirky, nerdy, and every person unique, our squad is pretty dang adorkable. And top off all the students with Dr. Suresh's teasing, Dr. Ranson's kindness, and Dr. Garihan's witty comments, and you've got a May Experience that can't be beat. Thursday will make it exactly a week into our journey together, and while I'm sure it won't always be smiles and rainbows, I can't wait to see what the next two weeks will bring.
Me and Elly jumping for joy about all the rock formations.
Elly, Kelsey, and I with our gold mine tour guide Ronnie. We may have creeped him out a bit, so I tried to explain that we try to take pictures with all of our guides.... Especially the mildly attractive ones... Isn't that right Kelsey??
Dr. Ranson leading us in some very sarcastic morning yoga. We're all really going to miss this campsite.
We took a tour of the Lead Gold Mine today, and picked up an old miner's lunch roll called a pasties ("pass-tees"). We took the scenic Needles highway back to camp and let me tell you, theses are the biggest needles I have ever seen!
Apparently people come from far and wide to challenge their skills and climb these needles. I gave my lesson plan to the class, and climbed around like gollum from Lord Of The Ring. We also came across some tunnels on the road carved out of rock and naturally had to take pictures by it.
Although we didn't quite get the free afternoon we were told we might have, I had so much fun when we got back. I don't remeber the last time I laughed as hard as I did when Dr. Ranson was telling a story about amphibolites and his daughter Anna pointed out how excited he gets about minerals. Tyler climbed about 20 ft up in a tree to retrieve a frisbee spotted stuck way high up on a branch. We ate tacos around the campfire and I created the best s'more I have ever roasted. Kelsey and I shared videos of ourselves singing and we have made plans to record a song once we get back to Furman.
Our group is random and odd, but I wouldn't have any fun on this trip without them. Quirky, nerdy, and every person unique, our squad is pretty dang adorkable. And top off all the students with Dr. Suresh's teasing, Dr. Ranson's kindness, and Dr. Garihan's witty comments, and you've got a May Experience that can't be beat. Thursday will make it exactly a week into our journey together, and while I'm sure it won't always be smiles and rainbows, I can't wait to see what the next two weeks will bring.
Me and Elly jumping for joy about all the rock formations.
Elly, Kelsey, and I with our gold mine tour guide Ronnie. We may have creeped him out a bit, so I tried to explain that we try to take pictures with all of our guides.... Especially the mildly attractive ones... Isn't that right Kelsey??
Dr. Ranson leading us in some very sarcastic morning yoga. We're all really going to miss this campsite.
Third day at the Stockade Lake campsite
Monday, May 19.
We got to sleep in a little this morning (7:30 a.m.) and the rest of the breakfast group and I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, then headed off to the Wind cave. Our tour guide was Rod and we started with an above ground tour, then after lunch we headed into the caverns.... But not before what seemed like hours of personal stories and information about Rod's 15 years at Wind Cave. Don't get me wrong, it was all very interesting, its just that we stopped every ten yards on the way to the cave and I was anxious to go inside. Of course there were even more stories told in the elevator and at the cave entrance. Aside from the 53 degrees temperature which kept me very comfortable, my feet were hurting before we had even gone 20 feet (or 4 stories) inside the cave. The cave features were super cool, and very different from my last cave experience in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.
The most prominent feature is called box work (left), a crosshatch pattern of minerals. Rod was quite the character, and I loved his enthusiasm and passion for his job. I could tell he really took a liking to our group, and met our questions with energetic answers.
I saw no cave creatures, very few insects, and only one bat, but the cave came to life with the stories of 16 year old Alvin Mcdonald, who explored the cave in the late 1800's, and unfortunately died of typhoid fever at age 20.
When we got done with our tour, we were allowed about 20 minutes with wifi to update our blogs, and I posted my first three. Then we rushed off to make it to the mammoth excavation site before it closed
This place is super interesting, and happens to be the most successful paleontology site in the US. It's an in situ mammoth graveyard, meaning the bones that are dug up are left where they are found, and the building was built around the site. The mammoths were trapped in a sinkhole from a collapsing karst (cave type) formation which filled with water and became tempting for all animals. Once in the sinkhole, the slippery steep walls made it nearly impossible to get out, and the creatures (especially young male mammoths) sunk and lay still in the sinkhole turned graveyard. Our guide here was also impressed with our questions, and answered them with enthusiasm. Of course, we also had to have a little fun at the mammoth site.
On the trek back in the van we all realized how exhausted we were, however we ran into bison blocking the road which was super interesting for us.
Get out of the way, we're hungry!!
But my favorite part of the day came when we turned the corner on the winding mountain road and stumbled upon one of God's greatest gifts.
What a glorious sunset! We pulled off to the side of the road and ran through the woods untill Phoebe and Elly found this amazing cliff rock to watch the sunset. We were all busy trying to capture it on our various devices when Kelsey said something very insightful to me. She echoed my thoughts and commented on how we are always so busy trying to capture something on camera that we often forgetto enjoy it in person. I totally agreed, and we placed our cameras down to enjoy the now instead of the later on film.
Unfortunately, we got back late and started dinner around 9pm, but the chili and potatoes meal was more than satifisfying. I fell asleep to the sound of light rain hitting the top of the tent.
Can you spot Tim's legs peeking out behind the towels on the clothes line?
Selfie in the elevator with Rod, our tour guide.
We mean business.
We got to sleep in a little this morning (7:30 a.m.) and the rest of the breakfast group and I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, then headed off to the Wind cave. Our tour guide was Rod and we started with an above ground tour, then after lunch we headed into the caverns.... But not before what seemed like hours of personal stories and information about Rod's 15 years at Wind Cave. Don't get me wrong, it was all very interesting, its just that we stopped every ten yards on the way to the cave and I was anxious to go inside. Of course there were even more stories told in the elevator and at the cave entrance. Aside from the 53 degrees temperature which kept me very comfortable, my feet were hurting before we had even gone 20 feet (or 4 stories) inside the cave. The cave features were super cool, and very different from my last cave experience in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.
The most prominent feature is called box work (left), a crosshatch pattern of minerals. Rod was quite the character, and I loved his enthusiasm and passion for his job. I could tell he really took a liking to our group, and met our questions with energetic answers.
I saw no cave creatures, very few insects, and only one bat, but the cave came to life with the stories of 16 year old Alvin Mcdonald, who explored the cave in the late 1800's, and unfortunately died of typhoid fever at age 20.
When we got done with our tour, we were allowed about 20 minutes with wifi to update our blogs, and I posted my first three. Then we rushed off to make it to the mammoth excavation site before it closed
This place is super interesting, and happens to be the most successful paleontology site in the US. It's an in situ mammoth graveyard, meaning the bones that are dug up are left where they are found, and the building was built around the site. The mammoths were trapped in a sinkhole from a collapsing karst (cave type) formation which filled with water and became tempting for all animals. Once in the sinkhole, the slippery steep walls made it nearly impossible to get out, and the creatures (especially young male mammoths) sunk and lay still in the sinkhole turned graveyard. Our guide here was also impressed with our questions, and answered them with enthusiasm. Of course, we also had to have a little fun at the mammoth site.
On the trek back in the van we all realized how exhausted we were, however we ran into bison blocking the road which was super interesting for us.
Get out of the way, we're hungry!!
But my favorite part of the day came when we turned the corner on the winding mountain road and stumbled upon one of God's greatest gifts.
What a glorious sunset! We pulled off to the side of the road and ran through the woods untill Phoebe and Elly found this amazing cliff rock to watch the sunset. We were all busy trying to capture it on our various devices when Kelsey said something very insightful to me. She echoed my thoughts and commented on how we are always so busy trying to capture something on camera that we often forgetto enjoy it in person. I totally agreed, and we placed our cameras down to enjoy the now instead of the later on film. Unfortunately, we got back late and started dinner around 9pm, but the chili and potatoes meal was more than satifisfying. I fell asleep to the sound of light rain hitting the top of the tent.
Can you spot Tim's legs peeking out behind the towels on the clothes line?
Selfie in the elevator with Rod, our tour guide.
We mean business.
Second Day at Stockade Lake Campground
Sunday, May 18.
Today we made a new friend Alvis from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and he led us on a hike looking at the monocline, a structural feature in the rocks that took them from horizontal layering, to vertical, then back to horizontal. I got super nerdy and used my hand lens to look at a couple rocks, and of course this did not go unnoticed by my comrades, who took pictures and lightly teased me about it. We came to rest at a streamside rock after two miles, and Dr. Lisenbee (Alvis) let us rest and bask in the sun like mermaids.
Some people took naps, some explored, and I splashed around in the freezing cold water and took selfies. After about 20-30 minutes of this, Alvis rounded us youngins up to head back, and might I add that this geezer whooped our butts on this hike; I couldn't keep up! He also told us that the rock we had been lounging on was 2.5 billion years old, the oldest rock in the area, and I couldn't help but feel guilty for treating it like any other millions of years old rocks. Sorry!
After the hike we were all pretty exhausted, but what better way to pep a group of college students up than to go see Mt. Rushmore. No that wasn't sarcasm; I quite enjoyed taking ridiculous and probably inappropriate pictures with the presidents...
Poor George probably thought I was picking on him.
I had a blast, but the whole day there was one thing I just couldn't get off my mind....... Shower. I wanted to shower more than I ever had in my whole life. Okay, that's a little dramatic but seriously, I couldn't wait to make the hike up to the bathrooms and take a hot shower. Dr. Suresh had taken one that morning and said it felt great; Dr. Ranson sort of laughed at us, reminding us that it had only been 3.5 days... Only???
When we got back to camp, the new dinner group got started on their burgers, while Kelsey, Elly, and I grabbed our stuff and raced up to the bathrooms trying to beat the setting sun. Let me tell you something, I will never underappreciate a hot shower again. Seriously, it made me realize how much I can take for granted sometimes. A hot shower, running water, a bathroom less than 20 ft from my bed, a razor, my hair dryer, and so much more are things to be thankful for.
Feeling refreshed and like a clean princess, I headed back to camp to inhale my burger and wash it down with a cold beer by the campfire. What. A. Great. Day.
The clouds were looking gnarly, but luckily it only sprinkled for a little bit.
Kelsey trying to live up to our expectations of Furman athletes by planking outside of the Mt. Rushmore monument (she plays furman women's basketball). Not exactly sure what Tyler is doing or why he resembles a grandmother wearing a bonnet.
Aren't we purdy???
These blogs are starting to get easier to write, so hopefully I can keep up with the days!
Today we made a new friend Alvis from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and he led us on a hike looking at the monocline, a structural feature in the rocks that took them from horizontal layering, to vertical, then back to horizontal. I got super nerdy and used my hand lens to look at a couple rocks, and of course this did not go unnoticed by my comrades, who took pictures and lightly teased me about it. We came to rest at a streamside rock after two miles, and Dr. Lisenbee (Alvis) let us rest and bask in the sun like mermaids.
Some people took naps, some explored, and I splashed around in the freezing cold water and took selfies. After about 20-30 minutes of this, Alvis rounded us youngins up to head back, and might I add that this geezer whooped our butts on this hike; I couldn't keep up! He also told us that the rock we had been lounging on was 2.5 billion years old, the oldest rock in the area, and I couldn't help but feel guilty for treating it like any other millions of years old rocks. Sorry!After the hike we were all pretty exhausted, but what better way to pep a group of college students up than to go see Mt. Rushmore. No that wasn't sarcasm; I quite enjoyed taking ridiculous and probably inappropriate pictures with the presidents...
Poor George probably thought I was picking on him.I had a blast, but the whole day there was one thing I just couldn't get off my mind....... Shower. I wanted to shower more than I ever had in my whole life. Okay, that's a little dramatic but seriously, I couldn't wait to make the hike up to the bathrooms and take a hot shower. Dr. Suresh had taken one that morning and said it felt great; Dr. Ranson sort of laughed at us, reminding us that it had only been 3.5 days... Only???
When we got back to camp, the new dinner group got started on their burgers, while Kelsey, Elly, and I grabbed our stuff and raced up to the bathrooms trying to beat the setting sun. Let me tell you something, I will never underappreciate a hot shower again. Seriously, it made me realize how much I can take for granted sometimes. A hot shower, running water, a bathroom less than 20 ft from my bed, a razor, my hair dryer, and so much more are things to be thankful for.
Feeling refreshed and like a clean princess, I headed back to camp to inhale my burger and wash it down with a cold beer by the campfire. What. A. Great. Day.
The clouds were looking gnarly, but luckily it only sprinkled for a little bit.
Kelsey trying to live up to our expectations of Furman athletes by planking outside of the Mt. Rushmore monument (she plays furman women's basketball). Not exactly sure what Tyler is doing or why he resembles a grandmother wearing a bonnet.
Aren't we purdy???
These blogs are starting to get easier to write, so hopefully I can keep up with the days!
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