A fly in the ointment

July 3

Ooookay, so the day did not turn out exactly as planned. We got in to Palmer Lake yesterday at around six and as it turned out, there was absolutely no extra room for our stuff on the next incoming plane. This meant that I had to spend another day in the pants that I had been wearing since the morning of July 1st. Also, since we had no gear, we would not be able to go out into the field. Gary, the project leader (and owner of the company!) had to stay back until this afternoon because the bags could not travel unattended. Absolutely no work got done today AND I didn't get to drink my birthday wine last night, since I had packed it in my big bag. Alas. Other than the gorgeous mountain scenery, there was not much else to celebrate that I was another year older, though the mountains were nothing to scoff at.

Today was spent mostly sleeping and watching movies, as the bugs were just a little too swarm-like to make the outdoors bearable. Gary showed up with our gear just before supper and I am currently luxuriating in a wonderfully clean pair of socks (among other things). Hopefully tomorrow will involve some actual geology.

Another thing I found out was that there is no internet up here, which is actually very surprising, considering the size of the camp. Usually that is one of the few guarantees of all but the most basic bush camps. You may not have running water, but there is always some kind of contact with the office. I have a feeling that they won't let me use the satellite phone to dictate out my blog postings so I will have to post all of this when I get back on Sunday night.

-A.