Halfway Home

Tonight I’m almost halfway home after regretfully leaving the Rockies and Boulder in my rearview mirror. Tomorrow is Zanesville OH, and then home on Tuesday!

After leaving Moab, I made one short stop at Arches to get a photo of the Moab Fault which controls which formations are exposed in the park.

The trip across the plateau and Rockies was mostly uneventful, except for tons of bugs on my windshield near Grand Junction. I did notice in the stretch between Parachute and Rifle at least 12 oil wells operating. There are probably more, these are just the ones visible from the interstate. I wonder if this activity has anything to do with recent trends in oil prices? Hmm...

Rocky Mountain N.P. was spectacular as usual. Of course there were the animal nuts, who couldn’t resist stopping for every critter seen from the road. It wouldn’t be so bad, except they insist on not following the park instructions, getting out of their cars and crossing fields to get close-up photos. Oh well, one of these days a moose will stomp them to death and then they will learn.

It got brutally cold at the crest of the park; the temperature there was 40 degress F, about 30 less than at the park entrance.

Tonight I’m in Boulder and tomorrow I sadly leave the mountains behind and head out across the plains.

Three parks in one day!

Arches Nat’l Park was first on today’s to do list. The Navajo and Entrada sandstones are the primary rocks seen in the park. The fins and arches are in the Entrada, formed as evaporite deposits beneath upwelled and caused the overlying rocks to bow upward. This caused the upper layers (Entrada) spread forming the “fins” that weathering and erosion modified into arches and windows.

The next park is Canyonlands which again includes the Navajo along with formations beneath (Kayenta, Wingate, White Rim, Moenkopi…). This park illustrates the weathering and erosion processes that result in the entrenchment of the Green and Colorado Rivers that join inside the park.

The third park is Dead Horse Point State Park, which also gives a very good view of the entrenched Colorado River.

Tomorrow I’m heading for Boulder Colorado and passing through Rocky Mountain N.P.

In Geo-heaven

Today’s trip from Winnemucca to Moab UT, was a quasi-religious experience for an eastern geologist like me.

First was a continuation of the crossing of the desolate Basin and Range of northern Nevada. Since crossing the Sierra Nevadas I have essentially been re-tracing the route of the Donner Party on the way to their rendezvous with the mountains named for snow.

Then came the extremely flat, white expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats. It’s true that they are so flat and cover such a large area that you can actually see the curvature of the Earth.

Heading across the Wasatch Mountains and onto the Colorado Plateau I was able to see and touch rocks and formations that previously I’ve only taught about before like the Mancos Shale and Mesaverde Group sandstones and coal.

Driving into Moab I crossed the incredibly red Entrada and Wingate Formations and tomorrow I will head out to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

Turning for home

The trip today carried me down from Oregon, through the Sacramento Valley, up the Sierras and around Lake Tahoe, and across the Basin and Range.

At the north end of California I passed by Mt. Shasta, which came out from the clouds in a spectacular manner. The flat Sacramento Valley between the Sierras and the Coast Ranges was filled with cattle ranches.

The Sierra range was capped with red soils covering granite on the western slope, but the granite was bare of soil on the crest and eastern slope. The views of Lake Tahoe showing the forested slopes surrounding the lake contrast sharply with the treeless Basin and Range to the east.

The Basin and Range was strangely beautiful in its starkness, with the vast distances giving a sense of incredible loneliness.

Dismal Day

The weather today was the worst of the trip so far...rain and clouds almost the whole day. Crater Lake was mostly closed due to heavy amounts of snow on some roads, but I did get up to the rim. It was misting, cold and windy, but the clouds did part long enough to get a few photos of the lake. One bright spot was that gas in the park was only $3.56/gal!!!

It may snow tonight here (Medford, OR), but tomorrow promises to be much warmer as I head into California. My goal tomorrow is to cross the Sierras and reach Winnemucca, NV (a real hot spot!)

San Juan Island and Mt. St. Helens

On Saturday and Sunday I was on San Juan Island in Puget Sound. On the rocks around South Beach I noticed glacial striations. I have also posted a shot from the top of the island looking southwest toward the Olympic Mtns.

Today was a very good day. I traveled south to make a pilgrimage to Mt. St Helens. The photo of me shows the crater in the background with the stream-carved pyroclastic flow from the 1980 eruption at the base of the volcano. The material visible in the stream bed under the pyroclastic flow is from the landslide that immediately preceded the eruption in May 1980. The lava dome is visible in the crater.

Up into the Cascades

Today Jim and I went for a hike up Twin Falls Trail along the South Branch of the Snoqualmie River. The falls we encountered is a result of glacial activity. The South Branch was a smaller glacier flowing into a much larger glacier in the Middle Branch. When the ice melted, it left a hangining valley at the confluence resulting in the water falls. Since the end of the ice ages, erosion has caused the falls to retreat up the valley of the South Branch about 1.5 miles.

Along the way there was evidence of soil creep (trees with curved trunks) and a nice debris flow comng down the side of th valley.

Tomorrow I head for Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.

Yesterday I passed through the Columbia Plateau/Channeled Scablands area, then headed south to come back north through Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park. Along the way I stopped at Gingko Petrified Forest State Park, but the Information Center was closed on Tue.-Wed. due to budget constraints, but I did get some photos of some very nice specimens of petrified wood. You can see growth rings in some of them.

Rt. 12 from Yakima to Mt Rainier was spectacular along Clear Creek and i ran into some bicyclists who were kind enough to take my photo at the falls.

Mt. Rainier was kind of disappointing because the mountain was mostly wrapped in clouds and hard to photograph. after leaving the park I headed to Oorting to see the town direclty in the path of a lahar that froms as a result of the next eruption of Mt. Rainier.

Later I met up with Jim and spent the night at his home with his family.

Travel Again

Today was a day of travel from Yellowstone to Spokane, WA. I stopped in Butte for lunch and made a side trip to see the Berkeley Pit, the remains of the copper mine that marks the former location of the "richest hill on Earth."

Tomorrow I head to Mt. Rainier and the Seattle area.

Here comes the sun

The weather broke some today for the trip to the Grand Tetons. It was cloudy for most of the trip through Yellowstone, but as I came down the slope towards Jackson Lake, the clouds began to break a little and the first sight of the Tetons was magnificent. This is what movie directors refer to as a scenic climax. On a scale of 1 to 10 the Tetons rate a 50.

The Teton topography illustrates the forces that formed them, with the flat valley of Jackson Hole meeting the mountains right at the slope break where the fault is that caused the uplift of the mountains and down-dropping of the basin. The imprint of the glaciers that carved the Tetons is unmistakable, from the cirques to the U-shaped valleys to the moraines the glaciers left behind.

All in all, today was a very good day!

Hot springs, canyons and bison...oh my!

The weather was not very cooperative today either. Cold, cloudy, periods of rain and occasional snow. Because of the weather, it was easier to get an appreciation of the amount of geothermal activity. Lots of very small hot springs that I might have missed were visible because of the steam vapors.

I saw many geysers and hot springs today, but Norris Geyser Basin was definitely the most impressive. I wanted to see Obsidian Cliffs up close but the trail was covered with very deep snow.

Yellowstone Canyon was truly impressive, but photographs do not adequately show just how steep the terrain really is.

Wildlife was in abundance today, particularly the bison. I saw hundreds today (or the same ones hundreds of times). I’m beginning to be of the opinion that if you’ve seen one bison, you’ve seen them all.

Yellowstone at last!

Today’s travel was lengthened by last night’s snow which closed Powder River Pass, thus forcing a re-routing through Montana. It wasn’t a total waste though, as I was able to see the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.

In my short trip throughYellowstone I saw bison and elk, rhyolite, hot springs and geysers. Old Faithful put on a good show, and right on time! The scenery is spectacular!!!

Tomorrow I plan on heading to the north side of the park to see Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs. Sunday I will be going to Grand Teton for the day.

Finally, some relief (topographic, that is)

Today I finished crossing the flatlands of South Dakota. The weather was overcast most of the day with occasional downpours, but the rain lifted when I came to the Badlands. The outcrops make a remarkable illustration of Steno's Laws. However, I left without accomplishing my goal of finding the sign.

Devil's Tower was very impressive, but the rains returned with a vengeance and it looks like Buffalo will wash away before tonight.

Tomorrow I am on the road to Yellowstone. It's good to be back in the Rockies!

The Flatlands

Today was spent crossing some of the flattest terrain I've ever seen. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota...

There was one interesting note: At two locations, one in northern Iowa, the other in southern Minnesota, I noticed very large boulders (approximately the size of a VW Beetle) sitting in farmers' fields. They did not seem to be made of local rock, so the only conclusion I can come to is that they are glacial erratics.

Another interesting sight are the occasional wind farms...collections of 2,3,5... 20 windmills in farmers' fields.

The weather for the weekend in and around Yellowstone is calling for rain...and snow!

The Great Adventure Begins

Today I took leave from my family (some might say my senses) to begin my trek across country. I have crossed the Appalachian mobile belt, left the rain behind and landed upon the firm foundation of the North American craton. Boy, is it flat here! Gas is not getting any cheaper either!

Tomorrow I plan to cross the mighty Mississippi and head across the Great Plains to Sioux Falls, SD. With any luck I will be in Yellowstone by Friday as they open all the roads for the first time since last fall.