Drive to Moab, UT

We left Dinosaur and drove to Moab today. On the way, we stopped at the John Wesley Powell museum to look around and get a feel for the area. The museum was complete with talking figures and dinosaurs.

As I walked into town, I bumped into my track and field coach from high school. What a surprise! What are the chances?

Dinosaurs!

Dinosaurs!

Yep, today was pretty much awesome. We went to Dinosaur National Monument and got to see the formation that contains a lot of the large dinosaur bones. They built the exhibit around the outcrop, so you know that the bones are in place and real, which was amazing.

Later on, we found tracks of these dinos on an outcrop overlooking a reservoir. Using their foot size and stride length, we could figure out how big they were and how fast they were moving. At the end of the day, it was only natural to see if we could outrun the dinosaurs. We found the same metrics and then tested our walking, jogging, and sprinting stride length. It is a good thing we weren't alive during their time, or we'd be lunch!

Drive to Dinosaur National Monument

We left beautiful Teton Village in search of dinosaurs today. To be fair, we will hunt dinos tomorrow, since today was our drive day. We stopped somewhere along the way for lunch and found a playground. Naturally, we all channeled our inner child and went a bit nuts. Even Carl joined us!

As we again look at the hydrology of the area, we cannot escape the history of dams in the area. We stopped at one along the way to get a real world view of the pros and cons of damming rivers, especially out west.

Mapping Teton Fault Scarp

 So today we got to do some mapping of the fault scarp that contributed to the rise of the Tetons. In reality, we got to bushwhack all along the mountainside and take in the breathtaking views. Not a bad day.

Drive to Tetons

Today was one of our longer days. We drove to Norris to see the hot springs and to test the water chemistry. Then, we drove down to Old Faithful because, well, you have to if you are in Yellowstone. It was pretty spectacular.

Due to a road closure, though, we had to drive all the way back through Yellowstone to get to the southern entrance. It was another 4 hours in the vans, but the views were great. Due to our detour, we got to drive past Yellowstone Lake and see the snowy mountains in the distance. It's kinda crazy to think you are driving right above a giant caldera. Did someone say SUPER VOLCANO?

As the sun began to set, we approached the Tetons. They are striking as they rise up against the plains. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy the view for the next couple nights in Teton Village in Jackson Hole, WY.

Yellowstone Day 2

The clouds cleared today, although the cold remained. Carl took us out to the Soda Butte to look at stream terraces and erosional processes. We mapped four terraces with a laser scanner and stadia rods in order to find the incision rate of the river.

After that, we drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs and talked about the geothermal activity in the area. I must say, the sites are beautiful. I was here as a child, so it cool to match my experiences with a deep understanding of the processes that form such magnificent features.

Tomorrow is Katie's birthday. Woo! We will be in the vans all day, so it was decided that we should celebrate with a cake tonight. Happy 20th Katie!

Yellowstone Day 1

Well, we have moved on from the mountains of Montana to Yellowstone National Park. Carl Renshaw has taken over for Devon and will take us through many of the parks over the next two weeks.

We started out today looking at a petrified tree and talking about the hotspot volcanics in the area. We hiked up Mt. Washburn to get a better view of the caldera, and oh, what's that? Snow. Yes, it snowed again. It was gorgeous.

Later on that day, we went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and had a lecture on the geologic history of the area. We thought we could escape the elevation snow by coming down to the valley, but no, it kept on precipitating.

We finished the day of with a nice soak in the Boiling River--a hot spring-fed river right inside the park. The trick is to find the perfect balance between scalding hot and ice cold. We did eventually warm up after such a cold day.