Snow? Bog Hot!

06/06/2007

So today is day 2 of 2 unplanned days off. The weather just wasn’t cooperating for field research. Woke up Tuesday morning to pouring rain and wind. No one worked that day. Everyone either went to Alturas CA, or Cedarville CA. Matt and I did the Cedarville run, which explains how I got all that blog posting up. We also bought some groceries, (since I’m now not going to have a day off until next Friday). Last night it was still raining, so I moved into the big tent. There were 6 of us in there on our cots on the platform. We stayed nice and toasty… even when we woke up to about an inch of snow on the ground. So we had today off too because when we should have been point counting it was still snowing and howling wind… Not exactly conducive to listening and looking for birds, if they’re even out.
So we slept in, until 7:30. It was luxurious. Then Aaron told us to go to bog hot for the day. It’s awesome when your boss essentially tells you to go play for the day. So Matt, Berti, Viddy, Patty, Justin and I crammed into a truck and drove to the hotsprings. The springs were actually a creek, with water pooled at one end, which is where we entered and hung out for a bit. It was like bath water. Then we decided to crawl upstream… the further up the creek we got the hotter it got, until you couldn’t stand it anymore. We swam back after a bit of hanging out and basking in the sulpherous massaging bubbles. I started a trend on the way back when I discovered that there was clay on the bottom of the creek in certain parts. I drew a mustache on my face, joining the guys on the crew who have decided that they’re going to grow mustaches this summer to fit in with all the ranchers and cowboys when we go into town. The mustache quickly escalated into tribal face paint, and then a full face mask. Everyone followed suit, and we swam the rest of the way back to our clothes and cameras with the clay drying on our faces. We frequently reapplied to make sure I could get good pictures. They definitely are awesome, although not all should be posted online… haha.
We’re planning on going back sometime at night to hang out there and check out the view of the stars. Who knew Nevada was so beautiful?
I’m off to hang out for a bit in Badger Cabin and take in the live music before bed… then up at 4:10 tomorrow, to finally do the point count route that’s been delayed for 2 days.
~me