Cool Runnings

Today was a slow day in the chem lab ... and I still don't get to go out in the field. Cleaned bottles, mixed reagent ... Shook a 4-L bottle of reagent to try to mix it until my arms felt like they were going to fall off...

I did, however, escape a little during the afternoon to go for a short run away around Toolik lake. I realized if I ran fast enough the mosquitoes wouldn't bother me too much (although the nice breeze from the lake helped quite a lot as well!). It was kind of amusing to look behind while running at the swarm of mosquitoes following me. As I was running the clouds billowed in and the wind kicked up, bringing afternoon showers, which forced me back to the lab.

Other than that here are some random fun pictures of Toolik:


This is a picture of Toolik lake and the Brooks range taken a little after midnight. The sky was dusky -- painted with reds, yellows, and oranges -- which made the mountains appear red.


This morning there were 6 of these butterflies that landed in the mud to suck out water and nutrients. We could get really close to all of them.



This is a picture of my tent (the rounded one, not the pointy pyramid) and my view of Toolik I see every morning ...