Had a lovely afternoon hike today. Ed and I drove up Old NE Road and parked near castle trail. Hiked east a bit, down the trail, then veered off into one of the draws. Ed had climbed to the top of the ridge along here last summer with another paleo, so knew a way up. It was a relatively short yet tricky enough climb, with a nice view from the top. Some neat fossil specimens to be found there as well, including an oreodont skull with a clastic dyke running through it. Spent some time at the top wandering about to the edges, looking at fossils, taking a rest and looking off into the distance. Came back down a different way, headed back to the quad, then worked on some things until dinner time. A bunch of us met at Badlands Bar in Wall for pizza and talking.
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| Looking back down the draw we climbed up. |
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| View towards Cedar Pass. |
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| Oreodont skull, brain case visible, muzzle in the dyke. |
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| Nice clastic dyke. |
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| Juvenile tortoise. |
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| Big Horn Sheep have keen senses, we were very far away. |
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| Looking back up the way we hiked down. |
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| Patterns in the mud. |
