Having lots of weather here
Jul. 22nd, 2008 06:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
compilerbitchJust an FYI, we're in the middle of a storm here (for the British definition of storm). 80-100kph winds, rain. It's *cold*. Our comms are being flaky -- the Ka band is having weather problems. Tents all holding fine so far.
My first traverse went well today. 3km on ATVs to some hydrothermal vents on the crater rim, crossing a variety of surfaces from playa-like loose dust, gravel, mud, water to rubble and boulder fields. They are amazing vehicles, though I'm told the route we took was a bit of a baptism of fire for someone first time out. Nevertheless, we have found a location for the drill, so we'll be setting it up as soon as the storm clears, probably Thursday according to weather forecasts.
Today was my first view into the actual crater. No pictures, sorry, I didn't take cameras because I wasn't sure what the environment was going to be like, and I am going to be spending a week or so out there anyway so there isn't a particular rush. I'll probably take the 4x5 out there because we'll be shipping the gear out in the Humvee so there won't be a risk of damaging it with the amount of thrashing about that ATVs tend to exert on their payloads, and it's a really good vantage point for panos anyway. I'd also like to be able to image our own project with the big camera, so it kind-of makes sense. I can even leave it plugged in to the mains (we will have a generator out there) and run a long USB cable to it from the dome tent if I have to, should it be necessary.
Impressions: the crater. Enormous, beautiful, stark, slightly frightening in some ways. I've been to Meteor Crater, AZ, and frankly this place makes it look like a pinprick. The far rim was just visible in the distance -- I've noticed previously that no photos I've ever seen actually look 'cratery', and I can see why now. It's so huge that you probably have to be there to 'get' the scale of the place. Obviously, I see this as a challenge, so hopefully I will be able to pull off at least one genuinely cratery image. :-)
Dinner tonight was spag bol. Not bad. Followed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
brian1789's birthday cake, complete with chocolate mushrooms. (Happy birthday, by the way!)
My first traverse went well today. 3km on ATVs to some hydrothermal vents on the crater rim, crossing a variety of surfaces from playa-like loose dust, gravel, mud, water to rubble and boulder fields. They are amazing vehicles, though I'm told the route we took was a bit of a baptism of fire for someone first time out. Nevertheless, we have found a location for the drill, so we'll be setting it up as soon as the storm clears, probably Thursday according to weather forecasts.
Today was my first view into the actual crater. No pictures, sorry, I didn't take cameras because I wasn't sure what the environment was going to be like, and I am going to be spending a week or so out there anyway so there isn't a particular rush. I'll probably take the 4x5 out there because we'll be shipping the gear out in the Humvee so there won't be a risk of damaging it with the amount of thrashing about that ATVs tend to exert on their payloads, and it's a really good vantage point for panos anyway. I'd also like to be able to image our own project with the big camera, so it kind-of makes sense. I can even leave it plugged in to the mains (we will have a generator out there) and run a long USB cable to it from the dome tent if I have to, should it be necessary.
Impressions: the crater. Enormous, beautiful, stark, slightly frightening in some ways. I've been to Meteor Crater, AZ, and frankly this place makes it look like a pinprick. The far rim was just visible in the distance -- I've noticed previously that no photos I've ever seen actually look 'cratery', and I can see why now. It's so huge that you probably have to be there to 'get' the scale of the place. Obviously, I see this as a challenge, so hopefully I will be able to pull off at least one genuinely cratery image. :-)
Dinner tonight was spag bol. Not bad. Followed by
brian1789's birthday cake, complete with chocolate mushrooms. (Happy birthday, by the way!)