Rawlins and My New Found Work Ethic

Big day. For some reason today I sprouted a work ethic! Woke up in the Rattlesnake Hills and finished my work there by measuring the exposed section of rocks. Then drove to Rawlins, checked into the KOA (loving the KOA's for some reason, easy I guess) and then went to check out my sample location. Described the section in Rawlins, took my samples and I'm off to Utah tomorrow. Crazy.

I can't express how pretty the Rattlesnake Hills are. Here's a shot of the road I used to access the sample location. Those are foliated diorites in the background.

The Land Rover seems so at home on dirt roads. I had about 30 miles of dirt to do today and I was puttering along so happily with a big smile on my face. So much better than an Interstate.

There was so much wildlife in the Rattlesnake Hills you almost stopped looking at it. Antelope and elk were everywhere. When I rolled out of bed this morning I startled a herd of elk on the hill beside my campsite. I grabbed my camera, put on my telephoto and went stalking to see whether I could get a good shot of an elk . Not a chance. Those wily creatures were miles ahead of me and clearly knew exactly where I was at all times! This is the best I could do. They were about 400m away and this photo was taken with a 300mm lens. I have a whole new respect for hunters and nature photographers.

Back to the geology. Ends up the geology I wanted to see was best accessed through a backyard. The landowner was mowing the yard and he graciously allowed me to pass through. Not as spectacular a location as the last one but the geology is excellent. Big conglomeratic sandstones! I love conglomerates so was in heaven when I saw these.

I only measured the lower section of the Flathead, that part which was exposed on the slopes I was working. I suspect that this represents about half of the section. Unfortunately the section is dismembered and I would have to piece the entire section together from several outcrops. I have what I need for my purposes so I'm done here.

Had a scary moment with the Land Rover today. The idle was terrible, it kept losing power climbing hills which is a strong symptom of fuel starvation and was running a bit hot, not overheating, but hot. These symptoms added up to a sticky carburetor needle valve which was causing it to run out of fuel at high throttle (starvation), idle poorly (fuel bowl level too low) and overheat (lean condition caused by fuel bowl level being too low). I called Rovers North and they agreed. Fifteen minutes of work later and the symptoms have cleared up for now. I suspect the rough road I took to and from the last sample location shook some dirt loose which jammed up the valve. Hopefully that's the last I see of that problem.

I think it is starting to dawn on me that I will have to ship some samples back at some point. I have filled an MEC large duffel bag already and will start on a second tomorrow. I have only so much space so my original plan may not work out.

I'll be in the middle of nowhere tomorrow, random camping at the East end of the Uinta Mountains near Vernal, Utah. I'll update you again when I get to Glenwood Springs, Colorado on the weekend.