Field Work!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the posts will be fewer and farther between for the next few weeks.  I'm leaving Friday night for 3 weeks of field work.  I'm very excited because I haven't done any real field work (no, New Jersey doesn't count) since my last time in Argentina 3 years ago. 

I'll be 2 weeks in the Bighorn Basin in southern Montana at the Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association camp hunting dinosaurs, collecting early mammal microfossils, and whatever else comes up.  After that I'll be with another group in the famous Hell Creek Formation in Harding County (northwest corner), South Dakota. 

I really can't wait for the field work, but I'm also looking forward to the down time - weekends and a couple of days between the MT and SD legs of the trip.  There is SO MUCH to do in that area.  So, I'm planning do go fly fishing, camping, hiking, exploring, etc.  We'll only be ~60 miles from the north entrance of Yellowstone, but I think I'm going to concentrate on sites to the north of the field site.  It looks like I'll be going back every year for a while, so I'll explore a different area each time.  I'm also going to drive up to Glasgow, MT.  My grandmother Max was born on a ranch in northeastern Montana, and when the Fort Peck Reservoir was filled, the family moved to Glagow for about a year when she was very young.  I just thought it would be cool to go see the area.  To be honest, there isn't a whole lot else up there, so I thought I'd explore the area since I'll be close by.

For those of you who are wondering - no, I'm not leaving Sarah alone for 3 weeks with 2 young kids.  Her mom, who comes up to visit us and her sister every summer, has VERY nicely offered to help Sarah a lot while I'm gone.  In a couple of year, hopefully they'll be able to come with me each summer.  I really can't wait for that.

Anyway, I don't know when or if I'll be able to post anything while I'm up there, but I'll try.  In the mean time, there will be a new post tomorrow about our trip to Long Island in May, and if I find the time, I'll create another one to post a few days later.