Six weeks in Montana/Wyoming/Idaho with 30 geologists... I have to admit it was really intimidating at first, and I did not want to go (but when do I ever really start out wanting to go anywhere?), but now all I can think about is getting back. (Or just anywhere other than suburbia...)
I walked off the plane last night, and the thick, hot, humid air almost choked me. Add in the jet fuel fumes, and you've got a noxious concoction that would make anyone who's spent 6 weeks at elevation want to hurl. And the people... Even just sitting in the Denver airport, watching all these "normal" people was like watching a whole new species of human. And they smell funny too. But the thing that got me the most was the sheer number of people. It was really overwhelming. There had to be thousands of people just standing/sitting around in the airport terminal.
Enough of that. Field camp was a pretty awesome experience. We went to some pretty amazing places, and while some of them were a little crowded (ahem, Yellowstone), it was still an experience I wouldn't give up. The group we had was one of the best parts - it was such a diverse group, and everyone had something interesting to add to the group. And I may be the only one, but I really liked all of the mapping projects we did. I wish we had done more mapping (I might have been shot for saying that a week ago).
I don't really know what I want to do anymore now. Before, all I had really been exposed to was structural geology and geomorphology, and I really liked both of those, but now I'm curious about other things, like oil and economic geology, and I have no idea what I want to do anymore. The plan used to be to get my Ph.D. and teach, but now I'm not so sure. I know I'm definitely taking at least a year off of academia after I get my masters. I could see myself working for an oil company or a mining company in the future, maybe, possibly. Well I guess I have a little while to figure this out, or at least until summer internship applications for 2012 are due.
Now all I want to do is go camping and hiking... Some time soon I will put up pictures.
