the report from isocamp...

science dorks hard at work...

nerd camp was great! my brain was full (okay, exploding) by the end, but i learned sooo much. for me the best part was learning how to run different types of samples on different instruments. we also got to do a few projects during the class. the variety included trees, cricket poo, and chicken eggs. my group was really proud of our egg project...we presented it as a spin-off of dr. seuss's 'green eggs and ham.' it is hard to rhyme with words like enriched, carbonate, and supplements... the outcome - go for the local chickens! while we worked long hours in the lab, we did get a free day to do some hiking, play horseshoes, and enjoy a 16 dutchoven dinner. a world champion dutchoven cook made us a delicious spread that included ribs (even i tried them!), soup, fried potatoes, parmesan rolls, and apple crisp. yum. many friends were made and fun was had by all.
matt made it out the last day of the class and we headed for southern utah the next day. we had three days to spend in bryce canyon and zion. they were both amazing! we went for a run one morning at bryce and nearly killed ourselves...turns out running up hills at 9,000 feet is a little tough when you are used to sea level atmosphere. we did lots of hiking at both places and saw some really beautiful spots. the photo below is from the top of angels landing. i'd show some photos of how we got up there, but they make me kind of nauseous so i'll spare everyone. the views were spectacular, though. our last night in utah was spent on antelope island in the great salt lake. in the morning we were treated to a whole host of wildlife spottings...chukars, antelope, coyotes (one w/ a pup), buffalo, mule deer (w/ two fawns)...it was wonderful. the last wildlife siting for the trip was bears in yosemite.
i am actually in santa cruz for most of the next month. there will be some field work mixed in along with a few day camps and possibly a short trip up to lopez island in the san juans.

angels landing, zion

on the road again...

niece and nephew - madeline and kieran

my friend trevor was giving me a hard time for not updating this site very often. my excuse is that tomorrow will be the 10th (and final) day i am in santa cruz in the 6 week period between mid-may and the end of june. i have entered the feast cycle of my travel schedule...

i have been in the field quite a bit in the last few weeks. my friend and former co-worker matt came down from oregon to help me out with one of the trips...it was great to get to work with him for a few days again. kate and i were a little less lucky with the weather the last couple of days. the wind has been crazy strong. on the bright side, we now have a new metric for crappy days on the water (my mom worries already so i won't say anything more than that).

last week i was in minnesota visiting the family. i got to see everyone including my aunts and uncles on my dad's side, which is a rare occurrence. i was also able to spend some time with good friends, which was a bonus. my niece is nearly as tall as me (she's 8!) and kieran is running around and babbling up a storm. i also got my fix of lake fishing and thunderstorms but was a little too early for lightning bugs. my mom and i built a raised garden bed for their veggies...hopefully the little plants are growing like mad.

on saturday i am off to salt lake city, utah, for a couple weeks. i could tell you that i am taking a stable isotopes class...but you can just think of it as nerd camp. i'm okay with that, really. i know that i am a science geek. i am really excited about the class - i think it will be great! i am also looking forward to the days following the class because my brother is going to ride out to salt lake on his motorcycle and then we are going to southern utah for a few days to enjoy the beauty and magic of the redrock that is zion, bryce, and the canyonlands.