Everywhere but Wyoming - and the benefits of paper maps

These last few weeks have been travel-packed. Washington, Colorado, Kansas, Texas. But like I said, driving around doesn't take a lot of planning, even with kids. Make sure you have plenty of water, a full tank of gas, good tires, and a map of the area your headed to.

A paper map is essential. Wyoming is a VERY large state that does not always have reliable cell phone reception. Using your smartphone's GPS is not always an option. Mapquest.com is a good resource, as well as AAA.

Friends are also great resources! If you're new to an area, talk to a friend that's been there before going, or bring them along for the ride. The trip is always more fun with people to share it with.

I went to Peru!

I do want to talk about our travels to other places. Hope that's Ok. :)

Our travels mix geology and anthropology so seamlessly, it's hard to talk about them separately. But to shorten each post, I'll give it a whirl:

Peru is smack in the middle of the Andes. Because of this geography, one side is Amazon Rainforest, and the western side is mostly desert (Google "rainshadow"). I was on the western side for my recent trip, so the similarities between where I visited and southwest Wyoming were striking.

The rocks of Peru are amazing. Andesite, one of the fundamental types of igneous rocks (made from magma and lava), was first understood by studying the rocks of the Andes. The geological of the Andes is similar to the Cascades in Washington State, but different because of the availability of different elements and minerals in the crust there.

Here are a few photos of both landscape and rocks I found during my time in Lima, Cusco, and at Machu Pichu. I took LOTS of pictures, more than I can possibly share.

And yes, I love taking pictures of rocks.

PS - The food is AMAZING. The original home of the potato!

A few things we saw near Green River (the town and the river)

Green River, WY is a wonderful town with an amazing river, and Expedition Island, which was the starting point for two expeditions down the Green and Colorado rivers directed by John Wesley Powell in 1869 and 1871. On these journeys, Powell and crew completed the exploration of the last, large unknown land area in the continental United States, including the Grand Canyon.

At Expedition Island Park, the City has created easy access for floating and swimming, as well as rapids for kayaking. The Whitewater Park and North Channel Tubing projects were completed in the summers of 2008 and 2009. While this project may have made the river more versitile for users, it's created a few erosion and flooding problems. Ah, the challenges of making money vs. the environment!

Me trying to understand the mind of an engineer.....

Why the Green River has its name: algae. It's harmless, but it sure is slimy....

River lobster!

The beautiful sage of Wyoming.

It doesn't rain often in the Red Desert, but when it does....

Erosion. I'll mention this again.

Wyoming has some of the best and most famous fossils in the world.

Doing the things that I need to do in order to get back out to the field....

The scenic geology of Southwest Wyoming:

You have to get off the main roads. Maik does it all the time. The county road system is the best for finding amazing sites, but you need a vehicle with good ground clearance, as some of the roads are a bit rough. Don't be afraid to get lost, just make sure you have a full tank of gas and water. Take a map - smartphones don't work so well in the wilds of Wyoming.

Don't ever feel like you've made a wasted trip if you don't get to where you thought you wanted to go, that's really missing the point of Wyoming.