Upon arriving in El Paso, we were given a short lecture on Moh’s Hardness Scale and the rock cycle.  We also received several rock and mineral samples as examples of rocks in the rock cycle.  All of that stuff seemed routine and a standard component of any good earth science workshop.  It wasn’t until we got into the vans and the landscape became our actual classroom that things became a little more interesting.

 

Using the text, Roadside Geology of Texas, and a standard Texas map, we navigated from El Paso toward the Davis Mountains.  While I had gone on several road trips as a child, I still did not know the magnitude of what was in store.    

 

As we left El Paso the landscape seemed to open up.  As the town drifted behind us in the distance, I began to think about where we were and where we were going.  We were in “God’s” country.  From the scenic road cuts to the colorful rocks the jutted out, everything around us confirmed my personal beliefs about religion.  It became amazing (Image above.).  With so many colors and formations, each with an explanation, a story, it wasn’t hard to wonder how it was all created.  

 

I rode in a van with Diane Brownlee, Director of Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute.  During the 3 – 4 hour ride she explained the layout of the land, directing our attention toward fault lines, slumps, the desert bowl and columnar jointing.   She talked about the Laramide orogney, what the area probably looked like during Cenozoic times, and began to paint a picture of why we were seeing what we were seeing.  

 

Was it hot?  Yes.  Did I listen all the time?  No.  Sometimes I couldn’t help but think about simpler times when road trips gave you the opportunity to look, stare, and wonder about the landscape, cars, and people you passed on your journey.  However, it became hard to simply stare out of the window.  No matter where you looked, the landscape was laid before you like a natural textbook that was always open, beckoning for you to “read” its pages (Image right).  As questions would come to mind, the voice of Dr. Brownlee would answer the question.  It was like being on tour with an expert tour guide that was on call.

 

At our break stop, I decided to buy corn-nuts, gummy bears, and beef jerky to truly make the experience a little more authentic.  After all, a road trip is not official unless you eat junk food.  Little did I know that this was not just any ordinary road trip, but the beginning of a fantastic voyage.  

 

Upon our arrival at Indian lodge (image left), we were greeted by friendly staff that indicated where we would be living for the next four days. Polished wooden floors with matching ceilings and quaint southwest Native American motif greeted us as we placed our luggage in the rooms.  Warned to look under our beds for scorpions or spiders, we complied by looking throughout the room.  To our disappointment, we didn’t find any.

 

The next day seemed to come quickly.  We headed to Woodward Ranch for a rock hunt after an early morning breakfast.   While I like rocks, I only thought of them as pretty and shiny pieces of history that were required study for the TEKS.  I cannot recall ever being exposed to rocks in such a manner that would cause so much excitement.  

 

With scratches on my legs, sweat on my brow, and a keenly trained eye, I waded through the thicket looking for “biscuits” of agate and other neat finds.  I didn’t want to leave.  I found all sorts of stuff.  Pulling out my jeweler’s loupe or holding the object to the sun, I checked for bumps, transparency, and/or the presence of crystals (image above).  My appetite for rocks grew as did my appetite for lunch.  Leaving the Woodward Ranch, we drove to the McDonald Observatory, atop one of the Davis Mountains, for lunch and the beginning of our astronomy lesson.  

 

In one of the McDonald Observatory classrooms, we investigated magnifiers and cameras and built a simple refracting telescope.  Each activity provided a powerful connection to what we would be experiencing and touring on the following day.  While we were surrounded by huge telescopes, the lessons seemed too simple as compared to the scale of the telescope technology.  In retrospect, the activities provided a great foundation for the core concepts needed to build each of the large telescopes at the McDonald observatory.