Back to the Triassic!

My last flight was very empty and reminded me of a Jurassic Park III movie moment.

Yesterday began my second trip of the summer field season.  I am currently writing you from New Mexico where I will be starting another Triassic adventure. Tonight I will be meeting with the field team and going over preparations for tomorrow at which time we will be heading out early in the morning.  Our field class will be exploring an area called the Redonda Formation which dates back around 200 million years ago (the late Triassic Period).  The Triassic Period comes before the Jurassic and is filled with all sorts of interesting prehistoric beasts.  The unique place we will be digging contains specimens that existed just before a mass extinction wiped them out.  This mass extinction eventually gave rise to the dinosaurs which flourished for millions of years after.  I am very excited to be here and have been visiting this site with my professor, mentor, and good friend Dr. Axel Hungerbuehler for many years.  One of my first treks to this site was mind blowing and can be read about here!

Field work being done during 2013 season.

This field season should be a grand one!  For the first time, I will be posting live from the field. I am limited as to what I can post as always, but I will do what I can to take you along with me.  Over the years, I have accumulated 1,000s of photos, videos, and documentation.  One of the questions I get a lot is "Gary, how come you don't show anything?"  Some things can not be shown on social media.  The reason(s) being is because a lot of what we do is still in research.  Not to mention it is also important to respect the land we work on and to protect it from the public.  My field work is not volunteer and involves working with academia.  That being said, we still have a lot of fun!

I get plastered during the 2013 field season.  

Field work can be a lot of fun, but the "work" end of it for sure holds up to its name.  If you click here, you can read an example from our 2011 field season.  OK, I'm off to a lecture about our field studies, but tune in tomorrow for a post about our first day's work.  As an added bonus to my recent adventure out west, I found out today that I was featured in a newspaper article back home!  It is about blockbuster movies and opening weekends.  I simply give my take on the opening of Jurassic World from an entertainment perspective.  Click here to read!