Geo-RoadTrip 2011: The Bighorn Mountains

For the next road trip entry we've got several shots of the beautifully diverse and extremely photogenic Bighorn Mountains and Bighorn National Forest:





Video coming soon!

Geo-Road Trip 2011: Ayres Natural Bridge Park

Our next stop in Wyoming took us to the beautiful Ayres Natural Bridge Park. This area was close to the Oregon Trail and was one of Wyoming's first tourist attractions.


Devin gets a look at the bridge from the bottom:


And the top:


And here's a semi-out of focus shot of a sign there that explains a little about the park.


An old Indian legend says that a young brave was struck by lightning and killed on the bridge and that an evil spirit lives beneath. We didn't see any evil spirits...just other tourists.

Video coming soon!

Geo-Road Trip 2011: World's Largest Jackalope

Our next stop on the Geo-Road Trip 2011 took us to what may or may not be the World's Largest Jackalope in Douglas, Wyoming:


There's always controversy surrounding anything that claims to be the World's Largest Something so I usually take it with a grain of salt. I think this one is slightly larger than the one I saw in South Dakota but can't be sure without seeing them side by side (which would be really cool).


The Jackalope sits next to the Douglas Chamber of Commerce and the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center so here are some bonus train pictures:



And yet another bonus! Remember when we mentioned we were shooting a quick Food Field Review before we left on this trip? Of course you do.

Here it is: Devin takes on both the Tactical Sammich and the Candwich:

Geo-Road Trip 2011: Famous Formations

Our road trip took us to Nebraska next where we saw some historically significant rock formations. Rock formations like these were often used by pioneers, trappers and travelers to help navigate the the difficult journey across the west.

Here's Court House Rock & Jail Rock (sorry that they are so small in the frame. They were really far away from the road!):


And some information about them:



Next is Chimney Rock:


And its historical marker:


Which was next to monuments commemorating the Oregon Trail:


And the Pony Express:


Tomorrow the journey continues with more pictures from the trip!

Geo-RoadTrip 2011: The Sternberg Museum

One of the first stops on the historic Geo-RoadTrip 2011 was at the Sternberg Museum on the campus of Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS. We were very impressed by the place and definitely recommend it. Here are some pictures:


Devin checks out one of the "Terrors of the Deep."


They've got a multitude of giant dinosaurs on display (and some of them move which is very surprising).


One of the museum's big claim to fame is the "Fish-Within-A-Fish" fossil.


I'm always a sucker for a good fluorescent rock display!


Devin checks out yet another sea creature (he loves 'em)!

Thanks to Fort Hays State University for putting together some great exhibits! Check out the museum online:

http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/

(Video coming soon!)

Road Trip 2011: Prelude

Shooting a quick "Food Field Review" before we leave in a few hours:

Eruption/You Really Got Me Going

Here's some great footage by filmmaker Jon Gustafsson of the Icelandic volcano Grimsvötn erupting:

Volcanic Eruption in Grimsvotn, Iceland May 21 2011 from Jon Gustafsson on Vimeo.

Check out Bad Astronomy for more on this.