Field Trip Postponed . . . What a Drag

Yesterday afternoon, I received this note in my inbox from Baylor. Pretty self-explanatory.

"Speaking on behalf of the BGS, we have decided to postpone the upcoming Saturday field trip. The rescheduled field trip date has not been determined.

The current weather and forecast conditions for Temple and Waco TX are not conducive to driving on dirt two-tracks (we got the van stuck on our field trip dry-run) and the current state of Williams Creek (currently 6-8 ft above channel bottom) will not permit viewing of the soil-sediment trenches. Given these conditions, two of our stops (Owl Creek and Williams Creek) would be difficult to access. If we were to visit these sites in their current state, the field trip WOULD NOT reflect the considerable amount of effort and hard work that has gone into the field trip guide.... If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right!

On the bright side, the BGS research symposium and spaghetti supper will run as scheduled! Also, we plan to post the field trip guide in PDF format on our website and we would be happy to discuss the research with all of you.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. If you are still planning to visit the Waco area early Saturday, I encourage you to visit the Waco Mammoth site and check out the Mayborn Museum. Otherwise, I will keep you posted on potential field trip dates for the future.

-Head CLOD

Gary Stinchcomb
Baylor University
Department of Geology"

But, on the other hand, go Saints!

BGS Fieldtrip 2/13/10

As you all probably know by now, the field trip is scheduled for the Saturday before Valentine's day but February is kind of an "iffy" month in central Texas for outdoor activities. If we get too much rain, or even snow (!), next week, the Head Clod has determined that two of the stops will be inaccessible and the field trip will be postponed (somewhat bummed here). Here's a link to NOAA's 7-day forecast for Waco, just so you'll know as much as the anybody knows about whether it's a go or no-go situation:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Waco&state=TX&site=FWD&textField1=31.569&textField2=-97.1832&e=0

There's a probable agenda for the trip below (see post of Oct. 15, 2009).

Then yesterday, we got a note from Aislyn Trendel - vice-clod, always the optimist, reminding us that we have to sign a safety waiver prior to the trip. BGS personnel will have copies by the vans Saturday morning for us to sign.

. . . so keep track of the weather and keep your fingers crossed!

Say Goodbye

I was sitting in a parking garage down in Houston today when I got a call from Mary Sue Hayward. Sadly, Harriet Hayward passed away last night.

To honor her life and some of her interests, the family has requested that donations be made to:
The Waco Foundation
Designated/Applied to Art Center Waco Fund
900 Austin Avenue
Waco, TX 76701

The foundation may be contacted by phone at 254-754-3404 and it's web address is:
http://www.wacofoundation.org/index.html

To go to a printable donation form, follow this link:
http://www.wacofoundation.org/donation.html

To request further info, call or email me or Art or contact the Geology Dept.

BGS organizes Geo Bowling Night

This was held last Wednesday evening, organized by Ryan Lindsay and Aislyn Trendell. At maximum, between 20 and 25 students attended, and I'm sure that high jinks ensued (since it was reported to me as a HUGE success).

It's Almost Time . . .

. . . for the Fall 2009 Board Meeting.

It will be held from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm on Friday, October 23rd in room E401, Baylor Sciences Building. The Homecoming Geology Department Open House will follow from 7:00-9:00 pm that same evening.

It will be good to see you guys again.

The agenda is available at this link. Don't forget the mineral sale, detailed just below, that will run from 11:00 to 6:00 that same day.

Finally too, we learned of the theme for the spring 2010 fieldtrip, "Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of Central Texas". The trip will be held on Saturday, February 13th and will probably include the following stops:

Lampasas Cut Plain, Lake Belton - led by Peter Allen and Lee Nordt

Owl Creek, late Pleistocene-Holocene floodplain and alluvial fan section with "spectacular" paleosols, Fort Hood Military Reservation - led by Holly Meier (Holly's Ph.D.) and an unnamed undergraduate leader

Brezina Farm, late Holocene floodplain-channel deposits on Williams Creek near Axtell, in McLennan County, TX, GEO 5340 Paleopedology and GEO 5342 Micromorphology class projects - led by Gary Stinchcomb and Aislyn Trendell with two undergraduate leaders

Finally, a Waco Mammoth Site, 68-72 kyr fluvial, colluvial and alluvial deposits with fossil Columbian mammoths located in Waco, TX - led by John Bongino (his M.S. thesis).

Apparently leaders do not get to have names until they reach at least graduate status or maybe the undergrad leaders have yet to be named. Either way, I'm pretty sure that they actually do have names but either we or they do not know them yet.

Need New Rocks?

The geology department received a bequest from an old alum of his gem and mineral collection. The samples are all mounted and labeled and are being sold on October 23rd for only a buck apiece!


Click here for the full-sized flyer (pdf).

Come see us. Buy rocks!

Dr. Namy survives plane crash yesterday

A lot of you probably know Jerry Namy from his years at Baylor and beyond. He was in a plane crash yesterday afternoon. See this morning's Star Telegram article about the crash here. After we had read it, Art got on the phone and called around to some of the other ex-students in this area. He just walked in and let me know that Cliff Walker tells us Dr. Namy has a dislocated hip but otherwise will be OK.

I have his home address around here somewhere. If anyone would like to send a card or flowers, leave a comment here and I will supply it to you.