Field Camp

After the painfully long 28 hours of driving we finally arrived in Red Lodge, Montana, the first stop for the University of Houston's geology field camp. The drive up wasn't too bad, Kansas has that classic running-on-the-treadmill feel that makes you want to give up living, aside from that, it went smoothly. The first night we stayed in Wichita Kansas at a hotel and the second night we camped at a KOA in Casper Wyoming.

Thats our fearless leader? Thats the mens washroom in the background which, to put mildly, is a bit interesting.

View looking up at the "high rent" district. Thats where the faculty gets to stay. They have their own bathrooms complete with showers and heat!
These are the 2 study halls. This is where late night report writing and map completion takes place.

A nice look at some of the geology the students will be mapping. We are mapping in Elk Basin, Wyoming, which is dominated by Laramide deformation. This is a view of a limb of a doubly-plunging anticline.

Students lookin' at the outcrop!

As far as field camps go, this one is pretty plush. I'm used to camping and cooking all of our own meals, but not here. We have cabins, cooks, study halls, limited internet access...all the comforts of home, almost. The cabins don't have heat, and, well, its been pretty darn cold here in southern Montana. Nights have been below freezing and daytime temps haven't risen above 55. Needless to say, many students have been complaining about the cold. To their credit, when we left Houston it was 105 on the heat index, so, its been a bit of an abrupt change. The food has been surprisingly amazing! Breakfast generally consists of cereal and 2 hot items such as pancakes, french toast, hashbrowns, sausage or eggs. Lunch is brown bag style. They set out meats, cheeses, PB & J, etc. and you pack your lunch before leaving for the field. Dinner has been phenomenal. Everything from burgers and sausages to burritos! Cookies, ice cream, brownies, carrot cake are the desserts we've had thus far. All the food is good ole' home cookin'. Nothing is store bought and the lady that makes the desserts definitely knows what shes doing.

What the hell am I doing here? Well, I'm TAing field camp, so, I help the students in the field. I've had to do a little grading, which consumes quite a lot of time, but overall my duties have been pretty easy. Basically I just go out, map the area so I can intelligently help the students, and help students!