The flying geologist’s summer 2011 vacation

Well, this blog is supposed to be about turbidites, and I think it probably will be.  However, I have some photos I would like to share from a recent trip that was a trip of a lifetime.

I am a pilot and have a Cessna 206, a (slow) single engine 4 place airplane.  My beautiful girlfriend and I decided this summer to take a big long trip to see some of the best geology in the world in the western US, and to visit her family on the way.  The map below shows our round trip route from Houston, TX, just over 5,000 miles, and a total of 30 hours in the plane!

1. my family’s ranch in west (Trans Pecos) Texas

2. Grand Canyon national Park

3. (Viva) Las Vegas

4. Colorado River (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks)

5.Yellowstone National Park

6. Columbia River

7. Leadville, CO (highest airport and city in North America, 10,152 ft)

1. Ranch

First stop on the trip was an overnight in west Texas at my family’s ranch, which was featured in my first blog post and WoGE #297.  I will do a detailed post on the geology there later, so let’s fly on down the road…

2. Grand Canyon

Here is me and the Mrs on the western end of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where you can take a bus, then get out, hike a while, and then get back on the bus.  Pretty nice!  This is taken around sunset, so the red Supai group is lit up nicely.

Here is the classic Grand Canyon shot – you can see Phantom Ranch as a tiny green dot at the base of the canyon, and then the long canyon running N-S goes up to the North Rim.

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3. (Viva) Las Vegas

Next we went to Vegas, mainly to take a shower – neither of us gamble.  So, we went around and saw the largest bronze statue in the US, and the cool light show at the Bellagio.  No gambling, but we did see the Lion King – hakuna matata!

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4. Colorado River from the air:

We got to fly over the Grand Canyon, and trust me, pictures do not do it justice.

Colorado River north of the Grand Canyon, but south of Lake Powell.

wow. this is a fluvial wonderland!  For a nice multi-scale exhibit, see this page by Ron Schott.

This is a potash evaporation pond just about 10- miles south of Moab and Arches National Park.  This has not been photoshopped.  I know, hard to believe.

from the comment of Ron Schott:

“the bright blue ponds are potash evaporation ponds. Potash is extracted from the mineral sylvite which is mined in the area by a brine solution process. The bright colors are caused by food coloring added to the brine to increase its ability to absorb sunlight (and thus evaporate faster). I’ve been on the ground next to these and they’re as impressive up close as they are from the air: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rschott/4415887754/in/set-72157600137119310“

Grand Tetons – these were VERY impressive, and some rugged mountains.  This photo was taken from 17,000 feet, so these are some high mountains!

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5. Yellowstone National Park

Check out the wild horses in the background   This is the entrance at West Yellowstone.

One of the many beautiful unnamed hot springs in Yellowstone – this one is on the Firehole Lake Drive.

No post about Yellowstone is complete without a nice photo of Old Faithful!

Here is Mammoth Hot Springs, a travertine buildup. This is caused by hot magmatic water rising through limestones and becoming supersaturated with calcium and bicarbonate.  When this solution hits fresh air (usually aided by microbe activity), calcium carbonate is precipitated in spectacular fashion!

Here is a BIG grizzly bear that got very close to us, perhaps a bit too close.  West Thumb Geyser basin in the background, and then Yellowstone Lake, then the Absaroka Range.

Some beautiful, deep mudcracks near the Mud Volcano.  This is my new desktop background.

Yellowstone Falls, with lots of volcanic rocks making up the slopes.  I am told this is the most common photo taken at Yellowstone.

One of the most interesting things about the hot springs were the different colors, which are caused by various microbes that are happy in different water temperatures.  The hotter the water, the less life and therefore color in the hot spring (but the color turns out blue).  As the water temperature cools, yellows give way to oranges and reds, then finally blacks.  In this case, two small hot springs of different temperatures coalesce.  Nice.

This is Grand Prismatic Spring, with the blues reflected in the steam, and outwards from the spring, the different colors are apparent.  Wow, the Mrs. takes great photos, huh?

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6. Columbia River

And a final photo of some fun on the Columbia River – water temperature was 55 degrees, though – brrr!

7. Leadville, CO

I dont have any photos handy from this stop, but needless to say it is a beautiful place.  We had a pizza at High Mountain Pies, highly recommended!  This town also has a great mining museum and some old mines that you can tour – very cool.