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.

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.

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!

Leaving the Badlands

After our hike we were all exhausted and smelly. So naturally we crammed back into our van and headed out to the stockade lake campground, not knowing what to expect and of course making a few stops along the way...

These are the yellow mounds, with the yellow sediment layer called the pierre shale (millions of years old). This area was awesome for seeing the different layers very clearly, and we climbed up to the top of a tall mound for a great view.

Of course, at the top I felt like the sun was taking a direct hit on me, and kathryn and I were thankful for our trendy zip-off pants.




On our way out of town from the Badlands to Custer State Park, we started seeing little heads pop out of the ground. We spent a good bit of time pulled off to the side of the highway watching a colony of prairie dogs, and I would definitely have taken one home with me if not for the sign warning of the rodents carrying the plague. Nevertheless we got up close and personal with the adorable critters, and I get the feeling they are pretty used to roadside visitors and their snacks.

Elly got the closest, and snapped her pictures from about a foot away.

Aren't they cute?






















But the best surprise of the day was our campsite.

We drove through the park and saw a couple buffalo, some deer, and a family of long horns. The terrain went from grassy prairie to winding climbing road surrounded by pines, which stretch their roots into the underlying sandstone. After passing a few lakes I was worried our campsite would be tucked away far in the woods, but boy was I wrong...

The campsite is beautiful! Right on the edge of Stockade Lake, with a campfire area (finally), bathrooms (glorified hole in the ground), and a covered picnic area! But the best part....... A couple blocks away are SHOWERS!!!!
It was my group's turn to cook dinner again, and we made chicken seasoned with italian dressing, rosemary quinoa, and green beans. No expense is spared when it comes to food, even when that expense goes towards 8 bags of kettle chips. After sitting around the campfire and making s'mores I headed off to bed a happy camper.

Badlands

Saturday may 17

The first night in the tent was.....cold. Its hard to believe it was so cold because it is such a beautiful morning. My tent group placed our tent at the edge of the campsite, which gave us a great panoramic view of the Badlands. We ate our spaghetti and salad dinner around an invisible campfire (the campground doesn't allow them), and I washed it down with bourbon and root beer.

Yesterday we explored the park, and even climbed up into some small passageways, which

was difficult since the sediment is clay-ey and saturated and crumbles beneath force. The weather was just about perfect, and the sun had finally come out to give the badlands some color.





We climbed up high on the structures over the wall, the sediment separating the lower prairie from the upper prairie.

Here's me sitting on the peak of saddle pass, the trail settlers hiked up long ago to get to the upper prairie... And they weren't as fortunate as I to have camelbacks, dry fit shirts, and a digital camera to document my journey.







we packed up the camp site before we headed out that morning, and while the view was great, I had high hopes that the next side would have showers and hot water other than a small sink 100 yards away.

It's hard to be peppy at 6:45 a.m.

Here you can see the upper prairie, covered in grass with the sound of a rattle every few yards.

Our tent at the front corner of the campsite.

Familial Roles: Airport Musings

After two flights and into our second layover together, we spontaneously decided we knew each other well enough to give a role to each person in our hypothetical (yet soon to be very real) family. ** disclaimers: roles are only given to us students; roles are given to you and you have no say; and as of our first night together these are the roles, which will likely change as we spend more time outdoors together and get to know each other in our truest form**

Okay, so here is our family, born from boredom and childlike imaginations:

I was given the first role as mom, I think because of my supplies of anything anyone could possibly need, for any ailment or illness. Hopefully not because I nag or wear highwater jeans above my belly button....

Tyler followed with the role of dad, since he also brought a bunch of "stuff" and is very responsible and wise beyond his years.

Kelsey has been deemed the cool aunt, the one who bails you out of jail and doesn't tell your parents your secrets. The aunt that you tell everything to without the fear of being judged. Of course, kelsey has added to this that she is also wealthy and married to a hot young professional athlete.

Elly has a complicated story. She is the daughter who stumbled back into our lives after being long lost for many years. This is the child you put on a leash at Disney World.

Melissa, being recently graduated and the oldest student, has been given the title of badass grandma. The grandma that can kick your butt on a hike, and gives the coolest presents at Christmas.

Sweet and quiet Phoebe fills the role of the golden child. The one who keeps everyone in line. But of course she has a secret dark side that momma doesn't know about, like sneaking out at night, while maintaining straight A's.

Tim is the son living in the basement. The ultimate momma's boy that graduated but works a part time job and spends the rest of his time playing video games.

Alex, being a ROTC girl, is the daughter in the military, making the family proud and starting fires with her bare hands.

Kathryn, also being motherly, has been given the role of the god mother, the one you grew up with and know will always take you in.

These are the roles as of now, definitely subject to change, but pretty accurate for the personalities that have shown through so far. I'm excited to get to know everyone better and see how our family develops. We have such a dynamic group and so far we work very well together.