I loved field work. Getting hands on experience in the great outdoors was so enjoyable for me. I loved the fresh air and the feel of the ground under my feet. It beats being stuck in an office.
FIELD PALEONTOLOGY
While exploring an interest in Paleontology, I jumped at the chance to get some real field work under my belt.
In the summer of 1995, I headed out to Pierre, South Dakota to take a week-long Field Paleontology course.
While there, I helped excavate the bones of a mosasaur, a marine reptile that once swam the Western Interior Seaway.
Using dental tools, I learned how to carefully pick away the grey shale that encased the jumble of bones, and then wrapped the mass of bone and shale in a protective plaster cast.
I loved every minute of it. One of the instructor’s young sons would run around the camp at the end of the day, yelling “Bring out your dead, Bring out your dead!”, ala Monty Python. This was a call for everyone to get together and share what they had found in the field that day. It was a fun group and a fun trip.
FIELD GEOLOGY
The next summer, I took a Field Geology course in New Mexico.
I needed to take a Field Geology course in order to finish my Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and the six-week course in New Mexico came highly recommended.
The other students and I traveled to different parts of the state, where we were tasked with mapping a variety of geologic land forms, such as alluvial fans and arroyos.
It was a tough course, and sometimes required mapping in the rain.
But this course allowed me to see some amazing things. One mapping site really wowed me because it was filled with metamorphic rocks. I got to see shiny schist outcrops containing mica, garnets, as well as staurolite and kyanite crystals. I even slipped on an outcrop consisting of pure talc.
When weren’t mapping, we had the opportunity to explore Albuquerque, Taos, and Santa Fe.
Beautiful, bright red chile ristras were hanging almost everywhere, and the brown Adobe buildings were absolutely gorgeous.
The New Mexican cuisine was also amazing and I fell in love hard with blue corn enchiladas and sopaipillas.
I learned that the official state question of New Mexico is “Red or Green?”, which refers to the state’s famous red and green chile peppers. The chiles actually start out green and turn red as they ripen. Most restaurants serve entrees with the option of either red or green chile sauce, which is where the “Red or Green?” question comes into play. “Christmas” is code for both.
Back out in the field, we were mapping a hillside when I misread the topographic map, getting my mapping partner and I lost. My screw up also lead us at least a mile from the mapping area.
As we pushed through a stand of ponderosa pines, we came face to face with an ostrich. We had wandered onto an ostrich farm and lucky for us there was a very tall fence between us and big bird.
Whether the property owners would be understanding, about our trespassing, became a big concern. We crept quietly around the perimeter of the ostrich pen, and eventually a house came into view. There were no cars in front of the house, so we made a quick beeline for the driveway. Mid-way down the driveway we saw a very tall, locked gate at the end of the drive.
I paused to look back at the house and saw a doggie door, then I heard barking. We picked up the pace, but they reached us before we could get to the gate.
A pack of vicious little dachshunds had descended upon us. Seriously. I couldn’t make this up. There were 7 or 8 weiner dogs actually trying to bite my ankles.
We scaled the locked gate and made our way to the highway, where we were eventually picked up by the rest of our group.
It was an experience I’ll never forget.
-Jen, aka.”Power Chair Dorothy”
Not in Kansas Anymore 