May 14, 2022
10:30 to 12:00
Our first stop for the day was the Kelso Dunes, where we would be looking for different species than we’d seen in the Bajada.
Continue reading “Kelso Dunes”Kelso Dunes
Driving to the Desert Studies Center
May 12, 2022
7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Distance traveled: 861 km
The culminating experience for this year’s Vertebrate Biology class was a multi-day trip down to the Mojave Desert, to stay at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, California. Anticipated throughout the semester, the trip did not disappoint. On this first day, most of our wildlife sightings were incidental, seen from the van while driving down I-5. After a long day on the road, we arrived at the Desert Studies Center, where everything looked pretty much the same as I remembered it from 2011, when I took this trip as a student. Immediately upon arrival, I remember just what a good place this is. After we’d arrived, I did see a few animals on site, and we made some fantastic finds along Zzyzx Road after having dinner in Baker.
Continue reading “Driving to the Desert Studies Center”Paleontology: Emigrant Pass
September 11, 2010
Today, we spent the morning mapping the Carrera Formation, looked for a few more fossils in the trilobite bed near camp, and then headed into the town of Shoshone for some afternoon and evening fun.
Continue reading “Paleontology: Emigrant Pass”Paleontology: Kelso Dunes and Emigrant Pass
September 10, 2010
The next morning, we packed up our camp (we’d be staying the remaining nights at another site), and headed to Kelso Dunes, an active – and impressive – sand dune habitat, the largest field of aeolian deposits in the Mojave Desert. According to the National Park Service website, about 25,000 years ago, nearby Lake Manix catastrophically drained. As the land dried out, sediment was exposed, and as those sediments are picked up by the wind, they are consistently deposited onto the dunes due to the eddies and crosswinds formed by nearby landforms (the Granite and Providence mountain ranges). Most of our group went up to the top of the dunes, but a couple of us didn’t feel up to quite such a strenuous hike, and wandered around at the lower elevation.
Continue reading “Paleontology: Kelso Dunes and Emigrant Pass”Paleontology: Marble Mountains
September 9, 2010
This multi-day trip took us to the Mojave Desert and Nopah Range in San Bernardino and Inyo Counties, with the Paleontology class taught by Matt James. It was a fantastic trip where we looked for fossils and assessed rock formations, as well as taking in some of the local sights. This post covers our first full day in the desert.
Continue reading “Paleontology: Marble Mountains”Kangaroo Island
April 20, 2005
The day after arriving in Adelaide, we took a little side trip to Kangaroo Island – a large island 12 km off of the southern coast of Australia – in search of wildlife and birds we hadn’t seen before. We spent two nights at the Ozone Hotel in the Kingscote, and booked two full days of sightseeing tours, to make the most of our time on the island. On April 19, we took a bus from Adelaide to the coast, and then a ferry out to the island. It was getting dark when the ferry arrived at Kangaroo Island and we arrived at our hotel just in time for dinner, about ten minutes before the restaurant closed. From what we could see, though, the island and hotel looked lovely. I was looking forward to seeing it all in the daylight!
Continue reading “Kangaroo Island”Lake Monger
April 17, 2005
Afternoon
After the wineries, we stopped at Lake Monger, very near Helen & Daniel’s home. There, we discovered a big lake just PACKED with great birds. OMG so many birds, including several new species for me!
Continue reading “Lake Monger”On Our Way to Perth
April 14, 2005
On Thursday, 14 April, we were still in Sydney. Connor and I had a final walk through Hyde Park, and then it was time for the coach to take us to the airport for our flight to Perth.
Continue reading “On Our Way to Perth”Chinese Gardens and Darling Harbour
April 13, 2005
Managed to sleep a bit later the next morning (until about 6.00), had breakfast at the hotel, and then out into the city. Our first real stop: The Australian Museum. Today, we timed our start so we arrived right when the museum was opening, and headed straight towards the dinosaur exhibit.
Continue reading “Chinese Gardens and Darling Harbour”Australia – April, 2005
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to visit Australia. I think I really started in earnest after my grandparents went several years ago, and it sounded like the most wonderful, exotic place imaginable. So, when my father died and left me a fair chunk of money, I decided that one of the things we were going to do was take this trip I’d always dreamed of taking. It worked out very well, timing-wise, that our friends, Mark and Vicky Hobba, had recently had their first child. If we came in the Spring of 2005, the baby would be the perfect age for a week on a houseboat along the Murray River (something that sounded fantastic). Everything was falling into place very nicely, and we made our plans . . . we were going to Australia!
Continue reading “Australia – April, 2005”Hyde Park and City Bus Tour
April 11, 2005
Our hotel was one block south of Hyde Park, so that was the first place we visited (and would be the place we visited every day in Sydney, on our way to and from everywhere. This park is smaller than the one in London, which I assume is its namesake, but it’s lovely. Of course, after seeing Silver Gull at the airport, I was thrilled to see more Australian birds, all of which were new to me.
Continue reading “Hyde Park and City Bus Tour”Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland
July 5, 1996
Rainy and cool
After our late night, we slept in and went down to breakfast at 9:00 (as we’d promised John the night before). When leaving, John bid us a fond farewell, and gifted me with a framed poster (he took it right off his wall!) that had the lyrics to a song called “The Highland Welcome.” Very touching! He is such a lovely man.
Continue reading “Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland”York, England
June 30, 1996
After a two hour train ride from London’s King Cross station, we arrived in what would prove to be my favorite place in England. When we got off the train and walked out of the station in York, the first thing I saw was the Minster off in the distance, slightly out of focus due to the haze in the air. It was a beautiful and mysterious first view of the city. Our hotel, the Royal York, was next to the station and we were soon checked into a lovely room in this historic hotel once visited by Queen Victoria. It was fairly late in the day, so we had dinner at Pierre Victoire, and then retired to our hotel for the night.
Continue reading “York, England”