2018

   Scotland,  Antarctica,  JoshuaTreeNP,  New Zealand,  East Africa,  Nepal,  SW--USA, Svalbard,  Norway-Iceland

I hope that 2018 was a good year for you, it seems to have been as full of adventure as usual for me, plus a couple awards and such along the way as well.
Remember that you can click on links and most photos to take you to more information on a place or a whole photo album about the place.

Enjoy!

2017 Tree but...

Let me start with a photo of last year's tree.  I took it down in March, so it really was a big part of 2018.   I returned to Snowy Range to teach skiing and snowboarding so was doing that most Saturdays through the end of March.  

Snowboarded in Colorado with my brother one day and then did a bunch of cross-country skiing with Cindy and Amanda in Colorado.  Hoping to do more of that this season as well.

In December of 2017, I was part of a live show called Boldly Went.  Three folks from Laramie stood up and each told a story of adventure from our lives.  I shared a story of fishing in a New England stream as a 6 year old.  If you would like to hear that podcast that was made of our three stories click here. The podcast was broadcast in February.

Callie

Spent a day in March doing field work with one of my favorite field assistants: Callie 






 

Capital Reef NP

Over Spring Break,  I took a trip to Utah, to Capital Reef National Park, Horseshoe Canyon as well as to Goblin Valley State Park with a couple friends from Colorado. 

Red Desert, WY

In April, I headed to the Red Desert to help John, an undergraduate, with some field work for an afternoon.

SW coast of Ireland

In June, Cindy and I flew to Shannon, Ireland with our bikes and panniers and biked around SW Ireland for about two weeks.  We were apparently on the first flight by Air Canada from Toronto to Shannon as they had a buffet to see us off and, after an uneventful flight, we were greeted with fire hoses in Shannon.  It seems that is common for a first flight from a new location.  Other than leaving my duffel bag at the airport and having to return to get it, we had about as perfect a trip as one can.  No bike trouble, great roads, lovely weather (no rain and good temps), found lovely campsites when we needed them, and a soccer field for camping one night.  We got a bit of drizzle as we headed back to a hostel in Limerick on our last day on the road.  We got to see everything except the Cliffs of Moher as they were in the fog, but it was still pretty cool!

Portland Head

 After returning, I spent a week in Portland, ME at the Arctic Futures Institute workshop.  I stayed at a very homey AirB&B and even got a bike.  So, when I was not at the workshop, I was pedaling around Portland.  While I know it is well photographed, here is my photo of Portland Head Lighthouse.

Hyalite Peak, MT

Over the weekend of 4 July, a Colorado friend, Matt, and I hiked Hyalite Peak, near Bozeman, MT to check out the hyalite which is a type of opal.

Yellowstone and Teton NPs

And then we drove through Yellowstone National Park and into Jackson Hole and Teton National Park.  Amazingly we hit very little traffic, though finding a camping spot was a bit more challenging. We ended up camping on Grassy Lake Road along the Snake River, and woke to a beautiful sunrise.

Medicine Bow Peak

Later in July, an old friend and his family visited for a hike up Medicine Bow Peak in the Snowy Range.  

The Mighty Mississippi

In early August I presented a poster on my research at the ESA (Ecological Society of America) annual conference in New Orleans.  One morning I ran downtown with one of the grad students sharing the AirB&B for beignets and another afternoon I toured around the French Quarter. It was terrific to catch up with several Dartmouth friends.
My last afternoon there, I visited the aquarium as you will see if you check out the photo link.  It was quite good and only a little further up the river from the conference center.
I did present my poster while I was there, so I did not do just tourist
things.

ICCE Trip in the Winds

In  later August I spent about 2 weeks with the wonderful folks from Central Wyoming College on their annual ICCE (Interdisciplinary Climate Change Expedition) collecting soil samples for my PhD research on Soil Microbial Ecology.

Lake Marie

On 9 September, I took a little driving tour around SE Wyoming, through Shirley Basin, and then back by Independence Rock and through the Snowy Range, and by Lake Marie.  The hawks are Ferruginous hawks, the biggest hawks in the West.

Standup Paddleboarding on the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon, in September.

In November, I defended my PhD proposal.  Still a long ways to go, but nice to have that step done.

Along the way, I was honored with a scholarship from the Society for Range Management

I also received an award from SSSA (Soil Science Society of America) which will take me to DC in March to spend a day with soil scientists and Wyoming's congressional delegation to learn more about federal policy and how it relates to soil science.  I hope the government is open by then.

I am also working on a children's book about the exciting world of soil microorganisms.

One really big honor is that I will be inducted into the New York State High School Girls Soccer Hall of Fame next September.    Pretty cool!

 I submitted a photo to the Soil Science Society of America annual photo contest and took first place in People at Work, if you want to read the article click here. Or here is the photo 














Finally, just to round things out, here are a few photos from around my home, or the nearby scenery.

home 2018

Just a note that Blogger is being very difficult.  I can't seem to adjust the spacing, so my apologies for some weird layout.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy my 2018 adventures.