I tried to do a TORUS diary like I did last summer in San Diego, and it turned out that long days of fieldwork proved not to be conducive to a diary series. So instead, I’m just going to write a quick recap of a hectic two weeks. The bottom line: with the storms largely …
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National Parks Trip: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Our clockwise loop from Midway Geyser basin back to the return point was complete. It had been a busy, rainy, and cold day – the kind of day that could really be rescued by a nice dinner. Unfortunately, our experience two nights ago in Canyon Village underscored how difficult it might be to actually get …
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National Parks Trip: Norris Geyser Basin
For a day that started late, we had certainly managed to backload a productive sight-seeing afternoon on Wednesday, August 18. Norris Geyser Basin is a few miles north along the Grand Loop Road from the Artist Paint Pots. It’s at the junction between the Grand Loop and the aptly named Norris-Canyon Road, the last attraction …
National Parks Trip: Artist Paint Pots
Among the many poetic names for the thermal features at Yellowstone is the humble paint pot. A paint pot is basically a mud pot that takes on a characteristic color due to the oxidation state of the mud around it. Paint pots range from red to yellow to bright blue, and we’d seen several already …
Spring Break 2022: Emerald Lake
I’ve previously blogged about the beginning of spring break 2022 in Breckenridge, Colorado. Following that weekend with Elizabeth’s family, the two of us headed up to Estes Park to spend some time at our wedding venue for next year and to work through some of the many possible vendors. I’ll write about that part of …
TORUS 2022 Diary: May 16 – Salina, KS
That’s right. For some reason, I’m back with another dedicated diary. Given how busy field projects are, I’m going to try to keep these to under 1,000 words per day and possibly expand the post as needed at a later date. Today marked the opening of TORUS 2022 operations. Despite the fact that there is …
National Parks Trip: West Yellowstone and Gibbon Falls
The thermal features of the assorted geyser basins along the Firehole River sent up steam plumes into the dreary sky. It was a fitting Yellowstone tribute for our drive to West Yellowstone to find lunch. Along the way, Elizabeth, Pam and I would get the chance to see some of Yellowstone’s west entrance region. At …
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May 2nd, 2022 Chase Log: Loyal, Oklahoma Tornadoes
I’m on my 6th year living in Oklahoma, and have seen quite a bit of what I wanted to see storm chasing. I’ve caught tornadoes in 5 states, seen giant hail, and seen some of the greatest storm structure days of the last decade. I’ve had the chance to participate in field projects that made …
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National Parks Trip: Midway Geyser Basin
For the first time in this entire blog series, on Day 7 of this trip, I can finally not talk about smoke obscuring vision. It’s a bit of a trade-off though, because the weather pattern shift had finally come through, so now I get to talk about 40 degree weather and rain showers. In real …
National Parks Trip: Gardiner, Lamar Valley and the Big Mammal Hunt
I have written at some length about my wildlife quest in Yellowstone in August 2021. As a refresher, I was after six big mammals in particular: elk (spotted first at Grant Village the day before), bison (all over Hayden Valley), pronghorn, bear, wolf, and moose. This was the night to get them. Elizabeth, Pam and …
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